Demands for, and motivations of, technology assessment

Technology assessment is an interdisciplinary scientific endeavor motivated from outside science. With the cognition that technological and societal changes go hand in hand, that intended functions of a technology also entail unintended consequences, that the same technology is considered desirable by some citizens and undesirable by others, that technological developments are ultimately ambivalent, the need arose in society that one would like to have these consequences researched in advance in order to avoid technology conflicts and to enable sustainable development. The need is most apparent in the political decision-making process as a desire for prospective analysis of socio-technical challenges, e.g., the energy transition, that is as comprehensive as possible, that explores the various dimensions of consequences, derives alternative courses of action from them with their opportunities and risks for society, and is able to distinguish between the relevant aspects from the less relevant ones sufficiently quickly that it fits into the agenda of decision-making at various levels.