Week 3 — CI 4311W
When developing and deploying an omnipresent technology, there is a wide range of ethical concerns involved. Importantly, whether a technology is ‘ethical’ depends on how ‘ethics’ are defined in the first place. Within the context of a ‘democratic culture’ — as described by Diane P. Michelfelder in her chapter “Technological Ethics in a Different Voice” — an ethical technology might be one that reflects or enhances values like “self-respect, dignity, community, and personal responsibility” (275).
Unfortunately, the actors who create omnipresent technologies — often large corporations or research institutions — rarely recognize, let alone uphold these values. This does not mean these actors are malicious; they simply focus more on efficiency and ‘the bottom line’ than they do on democratic values, which they often view as impractical at best, and wasteful at worst. Michelfelder echoes this conclusion when she asserts that “the public needs to be more involved with technology…as active participants in its design” (273). These ‘technology-creating’ actors naturally prioritize their needs — namely, productivity and profitability — over ethics and morals. Because of this, society should absolutely be more concerned about the impacts of the technologies they design.
However, relying on consumers alone to change the practices of businesses and researchers is deeply misguided. This approach ignores the social context in which innovation operates. Specifically, as a civilization — in particular, a capitalistic and individualistic one — we are wired to streamline and to conserve. When presented with something novel that promises to ‘cut the fat’ from our daily lives, we rarely pause to think about its long-term ethical consequences. Rather, we welcome its convenience with open arms. This is the case with Autom, the diet-and-exercise coach that Cynthia Breazeal discusses in her TED Talk “The Rise of Personal Robots.” What is Autom’s edge, exactly? Put simply, it does work so you do not have to. This technology is undoubtedly efficient, but in a cold, impersonal way that hardly replicates the real, human work of planning and logging.
