Collapse (and other futures) software engineering

Authors

  • Birgit Penzenstadler
  • Ankita Raturi
  • Debra J. Richardson
  • M. Six Silberman
  • Bill Tomlinson

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v20i8.6123

Abstract

Current software engineering efforts typically rely heavily on industrial infrastructure. In a situation of civilizational collapse — which various researchers have suggested could ensue in the next century via an assortment of environmental, economic, and/or social pathways — this infrastructure may become less reliable. Previous research has offered some thoughts about what new forms of software may be relevant in the context of collapse. However, those papers did not consider how these new kinds of software would arise. Building on previous work in software engineering for sustainability (SE4S), information and communications technology for development (ICT4D), and collapse informatics, this paper explores how various forms of civilizational collapse would affect the software development process.

Author Biographies

Birgit Penzenstadler

Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Long Beach

Ankita Raturi

doctoral student in the Social Code Group in the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine

Debra J. Richardson

Professor of Informatics and founding dean of the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine

Bill Tomlinson

associate professor in the Department of Informatics at the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine

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Published

2015-07-31

How to Cite

Penzenstadler, B., Raturi, A., Richardson, D. J., Silberman, M. S., & Tomlinson, B. (2015). Collapse (and other futures) software engineering. First Monday, 20(8). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v20i8.6123