In a paper recently published at the European Conference on Information Systems in Milan, professor Stéphanie Missonier highlighted a lack of critical thinking about technology in her field. A problem that may also be present in society.
New technologies can capture carbon, optimize energy consumption, and help monitor biodiversity. But at what cost? “Technologies are never neutral”, says Stéphanie Missonier, professor at HEC Lausanne in the department of Information Systems. While it can offer environmental benefits, it always comes with a cost, even if only through the environmental impact of its production.
However, those costs are often minimized, a phenomenon known as technological optimism, the idea that technologies will solve the climate crisis. “I’m quite sure that technology alone cannot address our problems because it is also part of the problem.”, continues the researcher. Moreover, technological optimism comes with a potentially dangerous consequence: if we believe a solution will be found, there is no need to change behaviour or production models. “It is business as usual”, notes Stéphanie Missonier.
A lack of critical view on technology
In a paper recently published with her co-author Florence Laval (University of Poitiers/CEREGE Laboratory)1, the researcher found that a critical analysis of technology is missing within scientific publications of the information systems field. This field of research focuses on helping organizations navigate digital transformation and innovation. But when it comes to framing these analyses, the researcher realised there is a bias: “I was quite surprised to identify that scientific papers were mainly focused on how digital technologies could support sustainability.” More specifically, she found that 88 % of the 50 analysed articles published in the top journals of the field only mentioned the benefits of technologies for the environment, while giving little attention to the environmental costs of digital technologies. The dominant discourse framed digital technologies primarily as enablers of sustainability, while the environmental costs of digitalisation were rarely problematized. “We need more critical research to address and question the negative side of technologies.”, she comments.
Why questioning assumptions matters
It is not about deciding whether technology is good or bad, but about questioning the assumptions that shape perceptions of it. A critical assessment requires examining both its promises and its costs, as well as the beliefs that influence how it is perceived. As the researcher wrote in her recently published paper1, “how a problem is framed determines the tools and approaches deemed appropriate for solving it: if you hold a hammer, all problems may look like nails.,” echoing Abraham Maslow’s well-known “law of the instrument” (Maslow, 1966).
Whether in science or in daily life, questioning assumptions is the only way to make sure we are going in the desired direction, she argues: “I think that, especially in the AI era, we need to be critical about the dominant narratives surrounding technology. It is crucial to know where our beliefs come from.” It allows us to know whether it is worth challenging those views and consider alternative possibilities that may better reflect collective goals. To the question often asked “at what speed should we adapt?”, Stéphanie Missonier answers with another question: “is it really the trajectory we want?”.
Reference
1. Missonier S., Laval F. (2026, June). Dominance and marginalisation in IS research on digital environmental sustainability: a critical discourse analysis. Thirty-Fourth European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS 2026), Milan, Italy.
Vidéo de présentation de la recherche à l’Unil – Numérique et IA: le piège de nos «lunettes invisibles» | Stéphanie Missonier – juin 2026 (< 7 min)
Maslow, A. H. (1966). The Psychology of Science: A Reconnaissance. Harper & Row.
