Information Technology Ethics

"The study of Ethics is really a study of what is good. But what is good? And that leads us to another question; Good for whom? What if your good is my bad? What is the minimum good before it comes bad?"



I came across this video on Youtube. It is an introduction to a study of Ethics, Society & Technology, and how technology has influenced ethics.

Ethics of technology is a subfield of ethics adressing the ethical questions specific to the Technology Age. Technology in itself is incapable of possessing moral or ethical qualities, since "technology" is merely tool making. But were should we draw the line? Does a scientist have an ethical obligation to produce or fail to produce a nuclear weapon? Is it ok to clone humans? Or what about the ethical questions surrounding the production of technologies that waste or conserve energy and resources? For me these quiestions are difficult to give an answer to. I think the evergoing developement of new technologies makes it harder to draw that line. The right of privacy is being continually attenuated by the emergence of new forms of surveillance and anonymity. The old ethical questions of privacy and freedom of speech are given new shape and urgency in the Internet age.

The 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology in The Netherlands are trying to answer these quiestions for us, and help us draw the line. They say that: "Science and technology are of paramount social, political and economic importance in the 21st century. They are not only drivers of economic and social developements; they shape our societies, practices and institutions. In order to grips with science and technology, political and policy decisions regarding them, we need to reflect on the ethical aspects of their development, the moral acceptability of their application and their contribution to the quality of life and well-being. Education is important as well. Engineers and scientists are often confronted with ethical questions in their professional life. The knowledge and the technology they produce directly influence the well-being of individuals. The education should prepare them thoroughly and systematically for dealing with such ethical questions. We have a need for balanced, high quality and comprehensive reflection and judgement on moral, political and policy issues associated with science and technology."

With this as motivation, the 3TU is now trying to answer some of the most crucial questions of the 21st century: "What have the recent global financial crisis, the threat of climate change, the matter of poverty alleviation and the emergence of controversial and risky technologies in common?" All these realities have enormous impacts on contemporary society; each of them is influenced by specific technological developments, yet futured by universal ethical issues. The process can no longer be determined by mere cost-benefit appraisals or the push of uncontrolled economical growth. Solid and consistent ethical considerations shall be embedded in the processes of design and innovation. This is both the contribution and the ambition of 3TU, adding ethical value to technology and, i so doing, answering to the most challenging and crucial questions of our time.

Amen! This has to be some of the most resonable I have heard so far. We must not forget "ethics and moral". We learned about it when we were in pre-school! Where on our journey in society did we forget it? I am sorry to say, but I think in our society today it's all about economy and power. So ones good becomes anothers bad...

Finally, I really recommend a visit to 3TU's homepage.