Track Co-Chairs
Raffaele F Ciriello, The University of Sydney,
Marc Cheong, University of Melbourne,
Ida A Someh, University of Queensland,
Blair Wang, Curtin University,
Jenine Beekhuyzen, Griffith University
Track Description
Digital technologies – from generative AI and platform ecosystems to blockchain and data infrastructures – are increasingly constitutive of how individuals, communities, and institutions relate, act, and govern. As these systems permeate social, economic, and political life, questions of value, responsibility, and collective outcomes move to the centre of Information Systems (IS) research.
This track focuses on digital innovation for the common good as a distinct and evolving domain of inquiry. We are interested in ethical challenges relating to how digital technologies are designed, governed, and experienced in ways that shape public value, socio-emotional wellbeing, human flourishing, and long-term societal resilience. Building on growing momentum within the IS field, the track provides a dedicated venue for research that advances sustained critical engagement with the societal implications of digital technologies. Now in its 4th year, this track has become a visible platform for socially responsible IS scholarship at ACIS.
We particularly encourage work that examines the responsible governance, design, and use of digital infrastructures and platforms, the socio-emotional and relational impacts of emerging technologies (including AI companions, Web3 platforms, and decentralised social media), and alternative value logics that extend beyond market-centric optimisation. This includes research on public-interest AI, digital sovereignty, community-governed systems, and the role of digital innovation in addressing complex societal challenges.
Rather than privileging any single paradigm, we welcome empirical, conceptual, design-oriented, and critical contributions that engage seriously with systems that may perpetuate harm, exclusion, or dependency, while also articulating plausible and desirable sociotechnical futures. Submissions should demonstrate analytical depth and conceptual clarity, moving beyond surface-level critique toward theoretically and practically meaningful insights.
We value scholarship that is attentive to diverse contexts and stakeholders, particularly those disproportionately affected by digital transformation. Contributions may engage with issues such as equity, inclusion, and justice, but should do so through careful analysis and constructive theorising. Overall, the track seeks to advance a cumulative research agenda that not only diagnoses challenges but also informs the ethical design, governance, and use of digital technologies aligned with human flourishing and the common good.
We encourage submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following tensions and questions:
- How can digital infrastructures and platforms be governed to balance innovation with public accountability, resilience, and collective wellbeing?
- In what ways do emerging technologies reshape social relations, trust, and human agency, and how should these dynamics be governed?
- How can digital innovation be designed to support socio-emotional wellbeing, particularly for vulnerable populations, while avoiding dependency, manipulation, or harm?
- What alternative value logics (e.g., public value, commons-based, or solidarity-oriented approaches) can guide the design and evaluation of digital infrastructures beyond efficiency and profit maximisation?
- How do digital technologies reproduce or mitigate structural inequalities, and what design or governance interventions can address these dynamics?
- What constitutes meaningful digital responsibility in the context of generative, agentic, and companionship technologies?
- How can IS research contribute to the development of public-interest AI and sovereign digital infrastructures in pluralistic and globally interconnected contexts?
- In what ways can digital platforms enable or constrain pro-social behaviour, civic participation, and collective action?
- How should digital harms, including algorithmic manipulation, emotional exploitation, and systemic bias, be conceptualised, measured, and governed?
- How can IS scholarship develop forward-looking frameworks, methods, or design principles that support more desirable and sustainable sociotechnical futures?