Introduction to the Special Issue on Recommender Systems for Good

Abstract

In this special issue, we bring together contributions that frame recommender systems for good as a broader reorientation of recommender systems research toward societal impact, responsibility, inclusion, and beneficial intervention. The papers collected here help define the emerging RS4Good agenda, examine its risks and normative constraints, study high-stakes and vulnerable contexts, and demonstrate constructive applications in domains such as healthcare, education, tourism, and sustainability. Taken together, they show that recommender systems for good are defined not only by the domains in which they are deployed, but also by the values, design processes, and evaluation criteria that guide their development.