A History of the Society on Social Implications of Technology 1981-2009: Some Themes and Activities

The group was founded in 1971 as the Committee on Social Implications of Technology, largely in response to its founders' concerns about nuclear weapons and disarmament. It became an IEEE society in 1982 as the Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT). Since 1982, SSIT has addressed technology policy, risk, sustainability, the education of engineers, women and minorities in engineering and technology, peace and weapons, privacy, and ethics, among other topics. We publish refereed articles in our awardwinning journal "Technology and Society Magazine". Our annual conference provides a forum for IEEE members to discuss topical subjects with social scientists, ethicists, and historians. Members join the society because they value the scope of its interests and the importance of discussing them. This paper looks at some of our conference themes and the issues we have discussed in the magazine over the years to demonstrate how we have enabled engineers to see beyond the technical challenges.