Compassionate Digital Innovation: A Pluralistic Perspective and Research Agenda

Abstract

Digital innovation offers significant societal, economic, and environmental benefits but is also a source of profound harms. Prior Information Systems (IS) research has often overlooked the ethical tensions involved, framing harms as "unintended consequences" rather than symptoms of deeper systemic problems. In response, this paper presents a problematization review that critiques and revises three widely held assumptions about digital innovations: 1) that they generate net benefits that outweigh the associated harm; 2) that their ethicality can be calculated through utility; and 3) that their harms can be mitigated through technological, corporate, or regulatory intervention. We argue that compassion provides a pluralistic ethical foundation that integrates the strengths of consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. This framework prioritises serving all stakeholders, especially the most vulnerable, while avoiding harm. It sets a research agenda focused on addressing structural dysfunctions, amplifying marginalised voices, and fostering sustainable systems. By reimagining digital innovation as a force for the common good, this paper contributes to a more just and equitable digital future for all.

Keywords: compassion, ethics, systemic inequity, common good, digital innovation