In recent years, we have all felt the massive societal impact of technologies such as machine learning, social networks and data-driven decision-making. And it has become increasingly clear to many of us that it is time for engineers to stop just "chasing the challenge." We need to assume greater responsibility for our technological creations, or we risk the possibility of waking up one day to find that our technologies have done society far more harm than good.

That is why we decided to develop the draft Good Technology Standard (GTS) at the Good Technology Collective. It is aimed at helping technologists consider what "good technology" is and ensuring that the technologies they create reflect the ethical values that guide them.

The GTSI is a practical, everyday set of guidelines and principles that can help engineers and technology organizations build products and applications that not only serve the bottom-line but also reduce their adverse impact on society. The standard is divided into five primary criteria, which we feel encompass the most pressing ethical challenges facing us today.

We are always looking for new ideas about how to develop better technologies. So please feel free to send us your thoughts. Contact us directly if you wish to speak with us in person. If you would like to propose changes, please make a pull request, although we recommend you first discuss the request with the maintainers (except for minor changes, of course).

The standard consists of three parts: This readme, which gives you an overview over what the Good Technology Standard is. The second document is the Standards itself, which consists of a list of brief mantras and checklists. The third document is a guideline which explains how to implement the Standard within an organization.

Right now, these document are still a draft. We want to collect feedback from diverse groups of people before they will be used in practise by any organization.

The Good Technology Collective was founded in December 2017 in Berlin by a diverse group of experts from academia, government and the private sector to address significant issues at the cross-section of technology and society. We host regular events to educate engineers, publish articles and commentary, and hold internal roundtables and workshops. If you want to know more or partner with us, write us at: [email protected].

The document is licensed CC-BY-SA-4.0, which means others can use and modify it. If you would like to redistribute the document, you need to do so under a similar license.