Should We Develop a Social Norms Index for Technology?
Do We Need a Social Norms Index for Society?? A case for developing a country-specific social norms index for technology in order for us to have a baseline understanding of our populace’s tolerances and comfort levels with regard to technology development.
Abstract: A case for developing a country-specific social norms index for technology in order for us to have a baseline understanding of our populace’s tolerances and comfort levels with regard to technology development. This index could be updated similarly to the census and provide essential insight into how technology norms change over time. This can then inform technology law making and design and give regulators a baseline to hold companies accountable.
What it is: A Social Norms Index for Technology is a proposed, country-specific baseline measure of people’s tolerances, comfort levels, and expectations about technology development and deployment. The index could be updated periodically (similar to a census) to track how norms shift over time, and to support better technology lawmaking, design decisions, and accountability standards for companies.
Why it helps: When regulators and designers lack a baseline understanding of social expectations, “consent” becomes inconsistent, performative, and hard to enforce. A norms index can help align technology policies and product decisions with what communities actually consider acceptable—and where they draw red lines.
Example (illustrative): Different generations may hold different norms for emerging technologies (e.g., self-driving cars). A norms index helps document and compare these differences over time, instead of relying on assumptions.