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The Covid-19 pandemic has led to considerable disruption and raised a number of issues for both individuals and society as a whole. Many of these issues have both technology and ethics dimensions. Several of them are discussed in this paper. In the session the authors will be making brief presentations from their perspectives and the experiences of Covid-19 in their different countries. This will be followed by a comment/question and answer session and final summing up by the authors.

This paper has been submitted as Survey Paperon technology development with the emphasis on manufacturingin view of their impact on humans, society, the environment and international stability. It deals with automation per se, the "Factory of the Past" and the "Factory of the Future" and "Industry 4.0", also referring explicitly to AI systems. It thus incorporates Looking backas well as Looking forward. Considering the complexity and the wide span of such a theme, we are expecting a discourse with a wide spectrum of participants. In the center of our paper stands the engineer, philosopher and author Michael Cooleyfrom Ireland, and his recent poem Insulting Machines.It means that we are using the narrative patterns of poetryleading up to Cooley’s fight for the - still controversial - concept of Human Centered Technology Design.

The most fundamental changes of information exchange and communication in society today have been caused by the fast and thorough penetration of all facets of life through networked computers and mobile phones, which will both soon merge with our traditional TV. In this report, these developments will be discussed on four different levels: individuals, groups, organisationsand networks.Furthermore contradictory developmental patterns are considered: global versus regional development, entrepreneurship on different scales, data availability versus data security, reality versus virtuality, education, and the ethics of multimedia and the Internet.

It is a serious challenge to design and implement software systems within the existing structures of work, organization and technology in large industrial enterprises. Software engineering therefore cannot be seen as the pure development of technology. This paper shows how a predictive adaptive control cyclereflects and supports planning and managing a software-engineering process in such a complex environment. It takes into account the needs of different types of users of the system. The use of the closedloop control is shown for the case study in the automotive industry.

The most fundamental changes of information and communication in society today have been caused by the fast and thorough penetration of all facets of life through the networked computers and the new mobile phones which both will soon merge with our traditional TV. In this report, these developments will be discussed on four different levels: individuals, groups, organisations and networks. The trends and counter-trends to be considered are: Global versus Regional Development, Enterpreneurship on Different Scales, Data Availability versus Data Security, Reality versus Virtuality, Education, and the Ethics of Multimedia Information and Internet-based Action. These perspectives are complemented by corresponding statements suggesting tasks of professional engineers world-wide.

Today, technology design, technology use, and organizational structures in enterprises can no longer be regarded as isolated from each other because they are highly correlated in networks, which become increasingly complex and dynamic. Enterprises must be understood as sociotechnical systems that consist of human and technical subsystems and their relations with each other. They can be analyzed by referring to the concept of self-similarity (or fractals). In (re)designing such systems, modeling and simulation methods are needed. This report describes a method that combines two different simulation methods. They can be integrated to model and simulate complex sociotechnical systems as a whole. The method has been developed by modeling and simulating computer-supported cooperation and communication along the logistic chain in intermodal traffic (train–truck freight transportation). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

In this report, the concept of Human-Centred Technology will briefly be described. Its different aspects will be illustrated by a series of case studies representing several European countries. The report discusses the roles of control and information technology in enterprises today and the strategies of designing and implementing such technology taking into account the specific aspects of human-centred systems.

Enterprises today are to be considered as sociotechnical systems integrating high levels of technology, and human communication and cooperation. They are “living systems” including humans with their processes of work and life. Therefore, the “normal state” of enterprise functioning may be characterized by exceptions-handling and the solving of unexpected problems through the human operators. In contrast to this view of enterprises. In this paper, it is suggested to consider additionally a modelling approach which is based on the analysis and modelling of the working processes and communication of people including exception handling. This working-process based modelling approach is complementary to the technology based, computer-compatible modelling approachmentioned above. The integration of both approaches leads to the Human-Oriented Modelling Strategywhich is described in this paper. Furthermore, the meaning of this approach for change processes in enterprises today is discussed in some detail.

Today, technology design, technology use, and organizational structures in enterprises can no longer be regarded as isolated from each other because they are highly correlated in networks, which become increasingly complex and dynamic. Enterprises must be understood as sociotechnical systems that consist of human and technical subsystems and their relations with each other. They can be analyzed by referring to the concept of self‐similarity (or fractals). In (re)designing such systems, modeling and simulation methods are needed. This report describes a method that combines two different simulation methods. They can be integrated to model and simulate complex sociotechnical systems as a whole. The method has been developed by modeling and simulating computer‐supported cooperation and communication along the logistic chain in intermodal traffic (train–truck freight transportation). © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

During a study in Slovenia, six important factors were found to be relevant to the success of computer control applications: management, education, economics, organization, technology and human/social orientation, In this paper, the role of human/social orientation of control technology is discussed from the viewpoint of a new approach to the design of large-scaleor complex control systems, It was found that important design issues of this new approach, specifically those concerned with human orientation, could be solved through the so-called Dual Design Approach, In order to test this on an example, a specific process control project was assessed using the criteria developed from the Dual Design Approach, Results indicate that these general technology assessment criteria, after some minor modifications, could successfully be used as guidelines for including human orientation into the design of complex or large-scale control systems.

In a research carried out recently in Slovenia, six important factors were found to be relevant for success of a computer control application. In the paper the role of the organization in comparison with other success factors is discussed. The analysis is based on an inquiry about the relative importance of the success factors in design, implementation and use of computer control systems. In the inquiry 86 experts from end user companies, engineering companies and academic institutions have taken part. An original approach for proper integration of technology and organization is also suggested.

Today human operators of complex computer supported processes have to deal with complexity on several levels. On the lowest level of system complexity, the human operator controls the computerized system which represents a "virtual" process rather than the "real" process. This discrepancy of reality and technological system may cause safety difficulties. On the second level of system complexity, the algorithms describing the process show in themselves "chaotic" behavior thus reducing system safety. On the third level of complexity, the system is highly networked thus increasing even further the impact of mistakes and intrinsic chaotic behavior. In this report, the concept of mental models of human operators is proposed. It is to be used in software design in order improve safety by coutinuing human control of complex, networked systems in case of chaotic behavior. This concept will be applied to two examples: modeling of a solar panel as a free-moving massspring system, and reengineering of a large touristic booking system as a highly networked system.

In a long-term study, our research has shown that young engineers in industry experience a lack of knowledge, skills and competencies in nearly all non-engineering areas of work. Hence we have implemented within our university, educational innovations to improve this situation. These include the provision of an industry forum and course in which students work in small groups in a project which is a real life problem.

The authors express the view that algorithms and heuristics may be used to help improve professional problem solving abilities provided that they are appropriately contextualised within the relevant discipline.The first part of this paper presents a basic algorithm applied to the engineering discipline. A similar algorithm applicable in the solving of legal problems is presented later in the paper. Problem complexity and related variables are discussed as are ways of teaching problem solving and integrating problem solving into the curriculum. Typical problem solving exercises are described.

In this report, the concept of Human-Centred Technology will briefly be described. Its different aspects will be illustrated by a series of case studies representing several European countries. The report discusses the roles of control and information technology in enterprises today and the strategies of designing and implementing such technology taking into account the specific aspects of human-centred systems.

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