Public non-accountability of organizations developing technology

Many institutions including corporations, military commands, research institutes and universities developing technology are not accountable to the public in any way for the use or consequences of the products they are developing. In large part, the highly competitive atmosphere in which research is done results in great efforts to maintain secrecy during the development process and in some cases after the product is in use; for example, the Stealth Bomber was virtually operational before it came to the public's attention. Also, in many cases the impact of a product is not clear until after the product has been in use for some time. But the main reasons for the failure in accountability to the public are neither the public wants the responsibility nor the organization wants to be accountable.