ISL452U-BUSINESS ETHICS
Chapter 6: Technology and Ethics
Introduction
Business organizations including non-profits and governmental agencies have seen large changes in technology over the past few decades and an increasing need to address new ethical considerations. Technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to bring forth far reaching changes in economy, employment, law and policy.
Over the past few decades, frequent and large changes in technology have brought about urgent needs to address new ethical implications by businesses, nonprofits and governmental organizations globally.
Technology and Ethics
Under this section, we will discuss in detail about technoethics concept and the advances and developments in technology.
Technology and Technoethics
Although the word technology has various definitions and dimensions, we are concerned here with two components: the physical component of technology such as computers, tools, equipment and products; and the informational component of technology such as the knowledge in functional business areas (e.g. marketing, production, management, etc.), techniques, work methods and processes (Wahab et al., 2012, p.62).
At the technology level, a particular technology and its features are defined. Ethical issues can arise from the characteristics or features that are inherent to the technology independent of artifact and applications. Questions can be asked whether a technology should be developed at all or if there are potential negative consequences that lead to dangerous or morally problematic applications.
Field of Technoethics
An interdisciplinary field of study in applied ethics that concerns ethical aspects of technology within a society shaped by technology is called technoethics.
For instance, there are several ethical challenges of Internet ethics involving computer crime or computer abuse that threaten user privacy and security.
Specifically, we will look at information and communication technology (ICT) in the area of computer or cyber ethics, Internet ethics and information or data ethics.
Technoethics is a research area that draws on theories and methods from multiple domains to provide knowledge on ethical dimensions of technological systems and practices.
Technological Advances and Developments
As mentioned earlier, there have been large and frequent technological changes that organizations are facing today. To have a better understanding of these changes, we will
discuss technology developments and trends that give rise to ethical implications. We will give an overview of the trends, transformations and breakthroughs in the following part.
ICT Trends
The exponential increases in computer processor capabilities, mass digital storage and the associated fall in their prices have made it possible for most businesses to use information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) for their core production processes in both manufacturing and service industries worldwide.
Businesses and governmental agencies keep huge amounts of different types of data such as demographic data, social media data, business transactions and financial data including images, audio and video coming from various sources.
Digitization and Digital Transformation
Significant digitization and digital transformation of organizations and economies have been made over the last decade in order to compete in today’s digital society. These are organizations that are utilizing digital technologies and capabilities to improve business processes while driving more value from new business models and engaging with every employee (Kane, 2019, p. 44).
A digital firm is an organization where its core business processes, its relationships with stakeholders and its key assets are managed digitally using ICT.
They are called digital firms. Laudon and Laudon (2020) identify a digital firm as having the following characteristics:
• Nearly all its significant business relationships with customers, suppliers, business partners and employees are digitally enabled and mediated • Key corporate assets such as intellectual property, core competencies, human and financial assets are managed digitally • Core business processes such as new product development and marketing strategies and plans are accomplished through digital networks that span the entire firm and link to other firms.
Scientific Breakthrough
Although we focus on ICT and ethics issues in this chapter, other important domains of technology resulting from advances in life sciences should also be discussed. In the following part, we review biotechnology and bioethics.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology (biotech) involves the use of biology to solve problems and to develop products and services such as in the prominent area of genetic engineering (Britannica, 2019). Genetic engineering involving the applications to human beings, such as stem cell research
and cloning, have raised enormous ethical challenges for the biotech industry.
Biotechnology that involves biological information with computer technology is called bioinformatics, such as the use of microscopic equipment using nanotechnology that can enter the human body (Britannica, 2019).
Neuroscience is another area that makes rapid and significant developments and discoveries involving the human brain and nervous system. Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary science that is concerned with the development, structure and function of the nervous system.
Brain interventions, brain imaging, memory dampening and stem cell therapy are examples of neuroethics topics.
Bioethics
The bioethics field is concerned with the ethical evaluations involving biology and medicine, and the ethical implications and applications of the healthrelated life sciences. Potter (1988) describes a global perspective on the bioethics concept which links biology, ecology, medicine and human values. It includes the actions of humans within an ecosystem (sustainable life) and the connections between health and habitat, conservation and medicine. Several specific areas of study within bioethics are for instance, genetics, neuroethics, and precision medicine.
Digital Divide
Digital divide refers to the gap between some people who have access to information and information technology while others do not. For the purpose of ethical analysis, we can look at the term more broadly. Compaine (2001) suggests that individuals having access to ICT is not sufficient as they also need to possess the knowledge and ability to use the technology.
Moss (2002) notes the impact of this inequality of digital divide in three important areas:
1. The access to knowledge that is lessened or prevented by a divide. 2. The barrier to participate in democratic decision making process. 3. The reduction in the prospects of economic growth and prosperity that are driven by ICT.
Disparity or gaps among individuals, groups, organizations and countries from the inequality resulting from the broadening digital divide will gain more significance in today’s digitization of the global economy.
Overview of ICT With Ethical Considerations
We will give an overview of four major groups of technology: artificial intelligence, big data & analytics, Internet-based technologies and digital reality.
Artificial Intelligence
Components or abilities that characterize human intelligence in AI include:
• Learning such as trial and error (i.e. each possible solution is tried until a right solution is found). • Reasoning or drawing inferences appropriate to the situation (e.g. data are collected and a model is developed to predict future behavior). • Problem solving using a systematic search through a range of possible solutions/ actions to reach a predefined goal. • Perception by scanning the environment using sensory organs such as optical sensors to identify people. • Languages like spoken words and signs.
AI and Ethics
There are two main ethical issues relating to AI that companies, governmental agencies and researchers should address: (Siau and Wang, 2020)
1. Ethics of AI issues examine ethical principles, rules, guidelines, policies and regulations related to AI that may arise when designing and developing AI (such as data privacy and transparency issues); and ethical issues caused by AI (such as job loss). 2. Ethical AI is an AI that performs and behaves ethically, for example intelligent agents that behave morally and exhibit moral values.
Big Data & Analytics
Technology advances in computer processing and storage capacity, significant reduction in technology price points, including the move towards digitization of organizations and economies, have facilitated and enabled the big data industry of today. Data has become one of the most valuable resources for companies (large and small) and in different industry sectors.
Overview of Big Data
Big data is often characterized as having three dimensions:
• Data variety in multimedia formats (such as text, images, voice, video) and from a variety of sources (such as transactions data, social media data, email messages, etc.) • Data volume that is very large, i.e. billions and trillions of records. • Data velocity at which a large amount of data is quickly created, collected and processed.
Data Analytics
To gain insights from big data, tools and techniques such as data mining techniques are used for analyzing and understanding data. Data mining involves exploring and analyzing big data to find meaningful patterns and relationships. It can be used to predict customers’ future
behavior/purchase or to forecast outcomes from the effects of certain business decisions.
Ethical Considerations
Similar to the discussion in the previous section, big data and analytics amplify risks to privacy, fairness, rights and equality issues. For example, web mining techniques are able to build links across multiple web pages for individuals such that personal information may be disclosed which is an intrusion on information privacy.
Data de-identification process can be made to remove any identifiable information from the dataset so that individuals remain anonymous. However, when the dataset is combined and used in conjunction with other datasets, data can reveal highly sensitive personal information. Data re-identification is a process made to anonymous data and combined with publicly available information to discover the individual to which the data belongs.
Although technology benefits societies immensely, organizations have obligations to address negative unintended consequences, unethical or intended misuse of the technology. The principles of ethical technology need to apply to people and processes across organizations.
Biometric Technology
Biometric data can be examined alongside big data as it is increasingly used for commercial applications in a business context. Biometrics are physical and behavioral human characteristics such as fingerprints, voice and face recognition that can be used to digitally identify individuals.
Data Ethics
The field of data ethics refers to the branch of applied ethics that “evaluates moral problems related to data, algorithms and corresponding practices in order to support morally good solutions.” (Floridi, 2016). Ethical issues relate to data generation, storage, processing, dissemination, sharing and use of big data. The ethics of algorithms focuses on increasingly complex applications of AI, machine learning, artificial agents and robots. The ethics of practices addresses professional codes and responsible innovation, development and usage.
Internet-Based Technology
Over the last decades, Internet-based technologies such as e-Commerce, social networking and more recently m-Commerce, cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT) have steadily infiltrated business operations and markets. Organizations around the world have changed existing business models while introducing new ones.
e-Commerce and m-Commerce
e-Commerce has been transforming the way business is conducted globally and has broadened its products/services for consumers during the last two decades. This trend will only continue to accelerate as
societies become more digitized and connected. e-Commerce transactions can be classified as business-to- consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B) and consumer-toconsumer (C2C).
Privacy is seen as one of the most important ethical concerns in e-commerce, especially when transaction data, financial data and customer data are digitally stored, transmitted and used by businesses.
There are several dimensions concerning information security in e-commerce:
• Confidentiality of information such that private data is protected from unauthorized parties. • Availability of information such as access to the websites and associated services and data to authorized users in a timely fashion. • Integrity of information by protecting the accuracy, reliability and validity of data. • Authentication by ensuring users (businesses and customers) are who they claim to be. • Nonrepudiation by ensuring customers cannot deny access to the data/system.
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing has come to dominate enterprise information technology during the last decade and increasingly has become a driver of business/digital transformation, and the foundation upon which organizational innovation is built (http-9). Cloud computing is a model of computing that enables individuals and organizations to rent/buy/share resources such as computer processing, storage, software and other services over the Internet. There are three popular models of cloud services:
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - ICT hardware resources such as computer processing power, data storage and networking resources are offered by cloud service providers. • Software as a Service (SaaS) – software is delivered as a service from cloud service providers’ own cloud infrastructure. • Platform as a Service (PaaS) – both ICT infrastructure and programming tools are offered as a platform for customers to develop their own applications.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things can be broadly defined as a complex network linking physical and virtual objects/ machines/devices through sensors, communication functions and actuation capabilities. The ability of objects to communicate with each other and to be active in the physical realm (i.e. ability to generate motion) without human intervention are the key elements of IoT.
IoT pervasiveness and connectivity with smart or intelligence capabilities highlight its ethical considerations. For example, more than 16 billion IoT
devices were active in 2018 with the projection of 34 billion connected devices by 2025.
Blockchain
Blockchain technology has emerged in the financial industry as the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies (digital or virtual currencies such as bitcoin). Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that work as a medium of exchange. Iansit and Lakhani (2017) define blockchain as “…open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way.” During the past few years, Blockchain applications have expanded from the financial industry and became more widely adopted in government, healthcare technology, media and communications.
Ethics of Blockchain
The development of blockchain technology by public and private organizations can have positive social impacts and ethically favorable outcomes. For example, national and local governments can use blockchain to establish digital identities, land registry, health and education data for use in accessing capital, health care and education in transparent ways, and avoid services corruption and manipulation by third parties.
However, there are ethically unfavorable blockchain applications such as those used to escape public scrutiny to facilitate criminal digital activities or buying illegal and/or immoral products/items (e.g. illegal drugs and weapons) as these transactions give anonymity to all parties involved.
Digital Reality
Digital reality is a term used to describe a combination of the following technologies:
• Virtual reality (VR) - a 3D interactive computer- generated environment with first-person perspective (Brey, 1999, p.5). • Augmented reality (AR) – a digital augmentation overlaid on the user’s real world environment. Such as shopping apps to “try on clothes” at home and computer games such as Pokemon Go. • Mixed reality (MR) – merges real and virtual worlds to produce new environments where physical and virtual items coexist and interact. • Immersive technology – allows users to deeply engage in digital experiences with multisensory (like see, hear and feel) using VR, AR, MR, 360° video and other technologies. • Digital reality – combination of VR, AR, MR and immersive technology.
Ethics of Technology Issues
Current and future use of applications, devices and systems raise new or heightened existing ethical dilemmas relating to customers, employees, business partners and societies in general.
Privacy
There are many views and definitions of the concept of privacy.
• Freedom from unauthorized access and/or inappropriate use of private data • Availability of access to data content, ownership rights and the rights to inspect, update or correct the data by individuals. • Accuracy and completeness of data collected.
As we are using the Internet and digital technologies more and more for work and entertainment in our daily lives, we should be more aware of the negative consequences of their usage including fraud and other malicious attacks.
Opt-in and opt-out systems determine consumers’ consent status when their data are being collected. An Opt-in system means an individual must take action to opt in prior to data collection while an opt-out system means data can be collected without prior consent.
The following lists ACM’s seven general ethical principles: (ACM, 2018)
• Contribute to society and to human wellbeing, acknowledging that all people are stakeholders in computing. • Avoid harm. • Be honest and trustworthy. • Be fair and take action not to discriminate. • Respect the work required to produce new ideas, inventions, creative works and computing artifacts. • Honor confidentiality.
The code serves as a basis for ethical decisionmaking and to promote accountability and transparency in organizations.