Ethics of Smart Cities and Smart Societies

The special issue deals with the ethical effects that the digital revolution has brought about such as the normative implications of “smart cities” and "smart societies“. While the initial concept of smart cities was largely technology- and data-driven, this concept is currently being replaced by technology-enabled, human-centred solutions. In this ongoing development, questions of human freedom and human dignity in the context of datafied societal management have become pertinent. The contributions to the special issue will investigate how a value-sensitive design approach could promote a more sustainable pathway of smart cities and smart societies that better serves people and nature and takes into account ethics, law and culture.