Ethical responsibility in agricultural innovations: The role of technological imaginaries

This article explores the influence of the narrative and symbolic milieu around in-progress technologies on innovator’s awareness of the moral significance of their actions and decisions. Discussing technological imaginaries within the framework of Responsible Innovation, we elaborate on the concept of ‘naturalness’ in the development of agricultural technologies. Arguably, this ‘thick’ concept, when associated with these imaginaries, can diminish the perceived moral significance of technology. We will take as a case study the biomonitoring technologies using beehives, a hybrid of digital tools and traditional agriculture. This example will illustrate how technological imaginaries around ‘natural’ technologies can influence ethical perceptions and, thereby, innovator’s responsibility-taking.