Previously I examined ethical problems and health risks related to mobile devices and wireless networks.
Now I will list some recommendations to make inventing and innovation more sustainable. (Updated, 27th December 2007 and 29th May 2008).
In the global level:
- Start talking about ethics and consequences of inventing within engineer communities. Why don't forums like Wimax Forum , UMTS Forum , Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) , Symbian and Open Handset Alliance have discussion about ethics (including radiation risks)? Why can't International Telecom Union (ITU) initiate this discussion?
- Raise awareness among device manufacturers and teleoperators (carriers). Why is it so difficult to discuss openly about these issues? Every company nowadays has their 'Values' and 'Code of Conduct' and 'Sustainability Policy', but these documents / web sites are are not talking about ethical risks of innovation. Can business risks be handled by denying ethical problems?
- Separate financial benefits from mobile device development. There is a long history of denying health risks, e.g. with tobacco, when
money is at stake. Would there be needed an international treaty like with tobacco? (Please, note: I am not suggesting here a total ban of mobile devices and networks, more like independent control and re-invention)
- Put more resources on longitudinal, medical studies of mobile phones and mobile networks use. Do doctors, engineers and researchers talk enough with each other?
- Reconsider the "burden" of landlines maintenance for carriers. Now carriers are trying to get rid of their landline subscribers, but at which cost? What if people using landlines (corded phones) are eventually more fortunate (healthier) than those who abandoned them? Why do parents give up landline and buy mobile phones to children as young as five years? Are there inequality questions involved in development countries where Wimax is the only possibility?
In the local community level:
- Start discussing about 3G + Wimax base stations and their locations. Why are there base stations just 50 meters from schools and hospitals? Why can not teleoperators (carriers) consult citizen organisations and healthcare professionals where these masts are installed and how their antennas are equipped? (Now the 'formal' discussion is mostly about aesthetics ;-)
- Rethink the scale of those WiFi City Programs. Are these programs really sustainable with hundreds of antennas? Do people really become 'free', 'creative ' and 'innovative' through WLANs and ubiquitous computing? Are people are asked any permission when their offices and apartments are WiFied? How sustainable is FON in a longer run?
- Reconsider WLAN use in schools and in homes. The state of Bavaria just recently recommended schools not to proceed with WiFi because of health risks. How do these kind of recommendations affect programs like OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) ? When will the mobile learning community discuss about these topics? Is 24/7 WLAN as risky as frequent GSM calls?
- Find out what can be done with materials that protect from radiation. How can spaces be built and designed in another way?
In the technological design level:
- Re-think the construction of masts, antennas and software. How optimised is for example W-CDMA from sustainability perspective? Which frequencies are the most harmful? The biggest risk seems to be that standards are based only on thermal effects, not biological ones. Please, check also the background info how ICNIRP guidelines were "democratically" set. OK, the views of Don Maisch may be harsh, but I am afraid there a seed of truth in his document. Who dares to change ICNIRP staff and guidelines?
- Focus more on sustainable hands-free design. Is Bluetooth really the answer with additional radiation? I would recommend air-tube or similar solutions.
- Redesign speaker-phone functionality in mobile phones. Now only expensive mobile phones enable you to have talk with the mobile phone on the table. When will somebody re-invent mobile phones with excellent conference phone functionality?
- Be prepared for the rebirth of corded phones and their design.
- Enable more devices with off-line functionality. Make calendar, alarm clock, notepad etc work even when the connection (transceiver) is switched off. Would this be useful for time-management as well?
- Put more focus on client-software and it's functionality (Mobile Java + Symbian's newest release with enhanced DB + Lotus Notes ). See also MIT Technology Review and awarded Offline Applications . Why do mobile portal software and mobile web servers require continuous connection to the network/server? Can this piece of software be designed to support timed, scheduled data transfer?
- Think about synchronisation and replication. Where are those good practices gone with PDAs and their synchronisation / docking stations? Can replication be used between devices and base stations?
Prediction:
The first mobile device manufacturer and the first carrier opening the discussion about radiation risks and changing it's innovation and design policy will most likely be the biggest winners in the business in the future.
Why? That move would be advantageous for their brand and sustainability counts among consumers.
End note: According to philosopher John Mackie: "Within ethics there are no objective values. Morality can not be discovered, it must be made."
Question: Do you have a recommendation to share?
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