ABSTRACT
For thousands of years, economies and societies have been transformed by scientific discoveries and their innovative use in new products and processes. History is replete with examples of societal transformations that have been ushered in by new technologies, often in “waves” of change, such as in the agricultural revolution, industrial revolution and most recently the information revolution (Boyden 1987). Human ingenuity and inventiveness – often spurred by human desperation and misery or by commercial drive – has undoubtedly spawned remarkable achievements. Yet the development and implementation of new technologies has also produced unintended, often unwanted, outcomes.
