12 SOCIAL CAPITAL ACCOUNTING

In order to quantify and improve the quality of our lives, we have long been dependent upon economic metrics at a national level. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) created in 1937 has been a major metric for our society and helped to drive our economy. In 2009, Stiglitz, Sen, and Fitoussi
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pointed out that GDP had not accurately represented citizen well-being. They also made recommendations on measuring a society from three angles: economic capital, non-economic capital, and sustainability. Since then, new ways to measure non-economic capital, combined with an increase in digital technology, have been explored. The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems categorizes those emerging metrics into four areas: Positive Psychology Well-Being Metrics, International Governmental Well-Being Metrics, Business Well-Being Metrics, and Social Media Well-Being Metrics.
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While these metrics have relied upon a long list of survey questions or social network data, there is another new approach that captures real-life data by utilizing various sensor devices including smartphones, wearable devices, and cameras. Mood Meter Project is one of the examples of utilizing advanced technology to quantify emotion.
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However, the novel metrics that have been developed are not widely deployed or accepted.