When Paradigms Shift: IT Evaluation in a Brave New World

Abstract

Over the years, there have been many foci in the search for IT value. However impending developments in information and other technologies may be about to change the nature of the quest entirely. For example, the prospect of technologically enhanced biological function raises new, difficult and disturbing questions about value that need to be explored. Longer term, developments areas such as cyborg technology, artificial intelligence and robotics could have profound, and potentially disruptive, implications for societies and even humanity as a whole. As of now, there is a rapidly diminishing window of opportunity in which to get our values and value systems clear before a combination of technological advance and market forces overwhelms our ability to make important value choices. This paper explores some of the possibilities that may be coming our way and asks some difficult questions about IT value in what may be a brave new world.