Title
How Technology Is Reshaping Emergency Management. From Crisis Informatics to AI
Record Type
Video
URL
https://youtu.be/Z7JQmQETNFg
Contact
Sarah Miller
Year
2,022
Publisher
Imara IHG

Summary
This lecture examines technology's impact on emergency management, focusing on crisis informatics and the dangers of misinformation. It highlights the cultural gap between tech design and operational needs, warning that data overload and automation can cause secondary disasters if not ethically aligned.
Description
This session explores how technology is transforming emergency management — and why adopting tools without understanding their limits can do more harm than good.

Drawing from real-world disasters, academic research, and practitioner experience, this lecture examines crisis informatics, misinformation, social media, data overload, and the deep cultural gap between technologists and emergency managers. It highlights why technology often fails in practice, how misuse can create secondary disasters, and what it would actually take to design systems that emergency managers can trust and use.

Topics covered include:

* Crisis informatics and disaster data
* Social media, misinformation, and disinformation in emergencies
* Lessons from the Boston Marathon bombing and crowd-based investigations
* Data overload, AI, and the limits of automation
* Ethics, equity, and unintended consequences of technology
* Why “great tech” often fails emergency management
* Designing technology that augments real-world practice
* The future of emergency management innovation

This video is part of our educational series designed for students, practitioners, researchers, and organizations working in disaster management, resilience, and public safety.