Public interest technology

Public interest technology (PIT) is an approach to the use of technology to promote "the development and realization of socially responsible solutions to the challenges in a technology-driven world." It has been characterized as "people-centered problem solving." PIT emerged as a field of academic research and action in higher education in 2019 with the establishment of the Public Interest Technology University Network (PIT-UN) by New America.

PIT applies technological expertise in an effort to advance the public interest and promote the public good. These goals are centered around the intentional inclusion of a collective need for justice, dignity and autonomy. PIT strives to encourage interoperability between technology, policy and society. PIT puts people at the center of policy making and improving community-driven problem-solving through the use of design, data and delivery skills and draws from technical fields like computer science, data science, and engineering, along with law, public policy, movement-building, philosophy, the social sciences, the arts and humanities, and more. PIT aims to improve "user experience" through the assessment of practices in an "iterative manner continuously learning, improving, and aiming to deliver better outcomes to the public."

The PIT ecosystem requires the cultivation of partnerships with a range of organizations, advocacy groups, policy makers, academic institutions, community groups and strategic partners. Most definitions of PIT emphasize that the development of these partnerships is critical and that the growth of the PIT ecosystem needs to be one that is inclusive, equitable, diverse, accessible, ethical and effective. In addition, while public interest technology can be developed and delivered by multinationals within an international business context, the emphasis is generally on the national or local context, such as the civic context.