Ethics and Technology

Este artículo parte del reconocimiento de los profundos cambios que la inteligencia artificial está provocando en diversas esferas de la vida humana e invita a una reflexión sobre la necesidad de incorporar criterios éticos de responsabilidad en la práctica tecnológica. Para ello se toma como punto de partida el terreno político, por entender que es un terreno fértil desde el que formular el concepto de inteligencia artificial responsable. Este concepto de responsabilidad tecnológica se expresa desde la preocupación por los asuntos políticos humanos relativos a los derechos humanos y los objetivos de desarrollo sostenible y concibe que los avances en materia de inteligencia artificial deben incorporar a sus proyectos criterios de responsabilidad que sepan reconocer el valor y la necesidad de fortalecer las habilidades cívicas y la democracia desde la tecnología. Palabras clave: inteligencia artificial; responsabilidad; democracia; derechos humanos; objetivos de desarrollo sostenible

In this article, we argue that the animated TV-show Rick and Morty depicts several important and relevant themes about the impact of technology in contemporary societies. By using certain concepts and ideas from the philosophy of technology, especially from thinkers like Jacques Ellul, Jacques Derrida, Neil Postman, and George Ritzer, we investigate how this show brings to the fore certain ontological and ethical assumptions and problems that stem from the advance of technology. We shall use the term technopolitical thinking to refer to these core assumptions and principles which are inherent in contemporary technological societies. By providing various examples from certain episodes and scenes of the show, we shall illustrate how this animated series can provide a basis for a more extensive discussion.

The essay introduces a distinction between a person-related and a circumstance directed type of happiness in order to investigate in which way modern technology can contribute to human happiness. This distinction is elaborated as the difference between ‘achiever’s happiness’ and ‘spectator’s happiness’. Looking at the ethical tradition, it is argued that moral philosophers have certain expectations about what should count as true happiness for human beings, who can act in accordance with moral values. The essay presents three arguments for the superiority of achiever’s happiness from a moral point of view. Looking at modern technology it is argued that we find both in an optimistic and a pessimistic evaluation of modern technology valuable insights into the role that technology can (and can not) play for the human striving for happiness. Finally persuasive technologies are presented as one type of recent technologies that promises to contribute to achiever’s happiness if developed while taking ethical requirements into account.

Human obsolescence is imminent. We are living through an era in which our activity is becoming less and less relevant to our well-being and to the fate of our planet. This trend toward increased obsolescence is likely to continue in the future, and we must do our best to prepare ourselves and our societies for this reality. Far from being a cause for despair, this is in fact an opportunity for optimism. Harnessed in the right way, the technology that hastens our obsolescence can open us up to new utopian possibilities and enable heightened forms of human flourishing.

Meaningful and relevant design of humanitarian technology must be informed by a deeper understanding of information practices found within successful humanitarian fieldwork. Existing largely in geographic isolation and through implicit expertise, these practices have yet to be adequately articulated. This research reveals hidden practices of peer-identified, successful International Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) practitioners in order to inform more effective design of humanitarian information and communication technology (ICT). The results draw from the qualitative analysis of 116 practitioner interviews and ethnographic observations across six countries and multiple contexts. From their stories of success and failure, I distill a grounded theory of information practices for successful outcomes within humanitarian resilience work. This paper presents a theoretical framework for depicting relevant information needs of field-level practitioners, and how that information is accessed and applied within a "Wheel of Successful Practice." The outer wheel depicts (1) community trust, (2) community organization, (3) community agency, and (4) long-term impact as four, high-level, information essentials practitioners' identified they "Must-Have" for success. The inner wheels consist of 11 Success Factors and 30 Information-Driven Behaviors repeated across contexts for achieving those Must-Haves. These results uniquely identify (1) social agency as the place where critical information resides, and (2) community discourse and community-practitioner interactions for how that critical information is revealed. Thus, the Wheel of Successful Practice identifies that information needs reside within social interactions. My findings challenge technology developers and designers-in alignment with emerging trends in human-centered design and engineering-to innovate for greater participatory and sociomaterial methodologies to account for the exigencies of humanitarian values within the design humanitarian ICT.

Notions of ethical technology design are gaining increasing attention from companies, legislators, researchers, and activists. But what does it mean to integrate values into a technology’s design? Where and how do we find them? And do technologies actually have politics?

The following study takes a disclosive computer ethics approach (DCE) to reconstruct the ethics and politics of cooperatively owned digital platforms. DCE focuses on identifying and evaluating embedded values, moral and political issues, and normativity in information technologies, applications, and practices; especially when these are morally opaque. To do so, I investigate the platforms’ technical components and operations in relation to the institutional conditions in which they operate (as part of their socio- technical complex). The study focuses on two case studies of cooperative platforms: the food delivery platform CoopCycle and the short-term rental platform Fairbnb. For each case study, I identified the moral and political values that are embedded in the platform’s technical design and analyzed them in relation to the platform’s institutional structures as a cooperative. My analysis also stresses the key differences of these platforms from their mainstream platform counterparts (Deliveroo, UberEats, Wolt, and Airbnb).

Humans are experiencing a crisis in our relationship with the natural world. Our impact on all other living systems, through climate change, land clearing and use of chemicals and plastics is, frankly, apocalyptic. Yet to speak in these binary terms of 'human' and 'natural' is fundamental to the problem. Having set ourselves so far apart from 'nature' we risk losing track of our biological interdependency with the planet's living systems and atmosphere. This paper inquires into the sources of our alienation from the environment, with the aim of preparing the ground for some tentative solutions. A basic problem derives from our understanding of what it is to be human, one dominant species on a planet that teems with life. What is our relationship to other species? There are many ways to cut into this question. Monotheistic, and particularly Christian theologies have proposed a distinction between 'man and animal' based in the soul and in our relationship to God, The relationship between humans and the environment is becoming unsustainable. Technologies mediate this relationship. In turn, technology is a product of dense cultural phenomena, from research institutions to capitalism, from ethics to cosmology. This paper investigates the 'cosmotechnics' of technical interactions with the environment and explores the sources of these social, ethical and environmental problems. The disconnect between humans and nature is traced to the roots of Western culture, while alternative views have emerged within the West and through its awareness of other cultures. Technology in the West betrays a titanic urge to overcome nature. Since all technologies mesh with their immediate and global environment, invention arises from the interaction between assemblages of humans, machines and the environment. All contribute incrementally to new developments, which are not conscious projects fulfilling specific intentions, but evolving scenarios. Without any clear intentional drive determining technological developments-nor any clear distinction between intended and unintended consequences-the concept of intention has little probative value. Instead, we approach the ethical judgment of outcomes from the viewpoint of responsibility. The social milieu and its actors are to be held to account for the consequences, regardless of intentions. The paper identifies a malaise arising when the products of labour are split from an awareness of agency. This alienation opens up a misrecognition basic to unsustainable technologies. It operates at three discernible levels: technology split from culture; technology split from ethics and values; and theory split from technological practice. Solutions are sought through overcoming each of these gaps.

Nella storia delle idee è sempre presente il dilemma se si debba cominciare la narrazione dalla comparsa del termine che indica il concetto, o se si debba invece cominciare dal concetto, a prescindere dall’esistenza di un termine convenzionalmente accettato per significarlo. Possiamo dire che per ogni idea c’è una preistoria (prima della parola) e una storia (dopo la parola). In questo articolo ci occuperemo soltanto della storia della “tecnoetica”. Anche se riflessioni di carattere etico o morale – termini che a noi piace utilizzare come sinonimi, in ossequio agli etimi – sull’utilizzo di determinate tecniche, oggetti artificiali, macchine, o utensili, sono verosimilmente antiche quanto l’uomo, è relativamente nuova l’esigenza di organizzare queste riflessioni in un campo di studio definito, con una denominazione convenzionalmente accettata e il necessario corredo di istituzioni accademiche, corsi universitari, pubblicazioni e simposi internazionali. Uno dei termini-ombrello che è stato proposto per indicare l’insieme di queste riflessioni, e che ha ricevuto un apprezzabile consenso, è “tecnoetica”. Tutto fa pensare che quest’area di ricerca sia avviata a diventare una disciplina autonoma, simile alla bioetica e ad essa complementare.

The 21st century is witnessing unprecedented automation in many areas of life. As a result, tasks previously undertaken by a person are now done by a machine. Humans who previously undertook these tasks brought particular views and approaches to each task. These or alternative views or approaches are now embodied in the machine. Rather than entirely removing humans from the process, however, replacement of human by machine has meant that the direct engagement of a person in a task has been replaced by the indirect engagement of the technologist who creates the machine. Among other things this has meant that the ethical responsibilities of the original human operator have devolved to the technologist. This raises questions of substantive ethics, and the responsibility of the technologist, including as " whistle-blower ". This paper examines three areas of technology development which highlight the growing ethical responsibility of technologists: the automation of work; the mechanization of humans; and autonomous warfare. The three areas selected have implications today, even in an early stage of development. Soon the responsibilities these technologies engender will confront technologists in their professional life.

An Investigation Into the Relation Between Technology and
Ethics and the Possibility of a “Good-Life”
Although we are concerned about the recent developments in the field of technology radically changing and taking control of our lives, this is undoubtedly not a new concern. These concerns are among the issues that Martin Heidegger addressed in his analysis of technology nearly half a century ago. While Heidegger’s ideas on technology received a lot of attention in various disciplines and fields, their relevance to ethics has rarely been addressed. This is probably because he did not directly associate his thoughts on technology with ethics. Nevertheless,
although Heidegger’s investigation of technology is not directly related to ethics, it does provide us with clues about the basis of the relation between ethics and technology. In this article, based on Heidegger’s philosophy, the relation between technology and ethics and the
possibility of a “good-life” are examined. In this regard, it is concluded that ethics is a product of the technological way of thinking and that current ethical approaches exist on such a ground. In addition, it is claimed that Heidegger’s meditative thinking in opposition totechnological thinking can provide the basis for a new ethical approach and an idea of a good-life, per the idea of being-there (Da-sein) that he has developed for human beings.

In this paper I present a first assessment of the ethical and legal issues raised by a new kind of technology based on human-robot integration aimed at the assistance of disable people in delivering ordinary tasks. In particular, I am concerned with active exoskeletons, with integrated biometric data analysis capacities as well as ambient intelligence, for supporting upper limbs movements in achieving practical goals. After a brief review of the state of the art of the ethical literature on point, I will deal in particular with three main issues: a) the protection of rights and freedom of the subjects whose movements are supported; b) the legitimacy of different kinds of data processing; c) the evaluation of the responsibility for damages related to the interaction between human and robotic agency.

The nanotechnology hype, engendering both fanatical optimism and apocalyptic fears, has produced calls from different commentators for "a radical change in the way we address ethical issues" and a "novel [ethical] approach to the future" that must be divorced from existing moral theories. However, a unique ethical framework devised specifically for nanotechnology is both impossible and unnecessary. The ethical issues predicted to accompany nanomedicine and nanotechnology (e.g., safety, justice, and privacy concerns) are raised by medicine, biotechnology, genetics, and other technologies, and will call for balancing familiar values: autonomy, beneficence, fairness, etc. At present, ethical attention should concentrate on safety and environmental studies and preparing for unforeseeable consequences, while the scientific community should prepare for a public dialogue.

This paper is related to the development of global engineering ethics education, with a focus on China. To assist instructors and administrators in providing more effective ethics education, it discusses three related projects developed at the University of Michigan-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Joint Institute (China). The first is a course on global engineering ethics, developed for and attended by engineering students from different cultural backgrounds and countries. The second project is a website hosting contents on global engineering ethics education and conducting research related to cross-cultural moral psychology. The third explores methods of assessing engineering ethics education and moral development, using two paradigms of ethical decision-making. Although these projects have developed in a Chinese-US collaboration with university students, these multicultural contexts would facilitate the adoption of similar programs elsewhere, with not only university students but also practicing engineers.

Φαντασία και Επιστήμη-Τεχνολογία και Ανθρωπινότητα Ευλαμπία Τσιρέλη

Παρουσίαση του βιβλίου «Τομές και Ασυμβατότητες», Πέτρος Παναγιωτόπουλος, Φυσικός και Επίκ. Καθηγητής Θεολογίας ΑΠΘ., εκδόσεις Ροπή.

Παρατηρώντας τον κόσμο συνολικά και διαχρονικά βλέπει κανείς την πορεία του ανθρώπου, μια βόλτα γύρω από τον εαυτό του. Σαν έμβρυο, μωράκι αθώο που δεν ξέρει τίποτα για τον κόσμο, ξεκινά στο πρωτόγονο και αρχαϊκό στάδιο του πολιτισμού του. Όταν λύνει το ζήτημα της τροφής, με την ανακάλυψη της γεωργίας, και διασφαλίζει τη διαιώνιση του είδους του, αρχίζει να κοιτάζει πιο βαθιά στην ύπαρξή του. Αρχικά, αναρωτιέται πού πάνε αυτοί που πεθαίνουν, κι έτσι επινοεί την προγονολατρεία. Έπειτα, θαυμάζει τις ικανότητες των ζώων, τα θεοποιεί, έπειτα κοιτάζει ψηλά στον ουρανό ή, πέρα, στην ανεξερεύνητη θάλασσα, και επινοεί θεούς και δυνάμεις τρομερές που καθορίζουν και διασφαλίζουν την ύπαρξή του. Κάνει τέχνη και κατακτά τη γνώση του κόσμου γύρω του σιγά σιγά. Ερμηνεύει, ταξινομεί, ορίζει. Οι θεοί γίνονται μύθοι, γίνονται ιστορίες παλιές, του κάποτε. Οι παλιές ιστορίες γίνονται σύμβολα και αρχέτυπα και φωλιάζουν μέσα μας. Κι έπειτα συνειδητοποιεί τη δύναμή του. Ασκεί εξουσία, αποκτά υλικό πλούτο, κάνει πολιτική, διπλωματία, διεκδικεί γη, γράφει ιστορία και τη διεκδικεί. Σκοτώνει και σκοτώνεται, θυσιάζεται, μαρτυρεί για θεούς και έθνη. Για πατρίδες, για ιδανικά που έχει φτιάξει για να ορίσει τη θέση του στον κόσμο. Πάντα αγωνίζεται για τη θέση του στον κόσμο. Και μετά, μελετά, παρατηρεί, καταγράφει, μαθαίνει, κάνει επιστήμη, διαφωτίζεται. Δημιουργεί θαυμαστά πράγματα. Γίνεται ένας μικρός θεός. Ώσπου, βγαίνει από τον κόσμο, προς τα αστέρια. Θέλει να μάθει κι άλλα. Πόσο θαυμαστό το ταξίδι στους άλλους πλανήτες. Όμως… τι περίεργο, επιστρέφει εκεί από όπου ξεκίνησε… σε μια μήτρα, ένα έμβρυο, μέσα σε ένα μητροειδές διαστημόπλοιο, που τον γεννά σε έναν νέο κόσμο, στο αχανές διάστημα ή σε έναν άγνωστο, ξένο πλανήτη. Όπου είναι και πάλι μωρό, μικρό και απροστάτευτο. Χωρίς την τεχνογνωσία που χρειάζεται εκεί, χωρίς την οργανική δομή και τις σωματικές αντοχές που θα τον βοηθήσουν να επιβιώσει, χωρίς τροφή, χωρίς ιστορία, χωρίς θεούς, χωρίς επιστήμη, όλα από την αρχή. Όταν η επιστήμη προχωρά, η τέχνη παρατηρεί και κάνει ένα βήμα παραπέρα. Μπορεί να προβλέψει με βαθιά περισυλλογή και προσεκτική παρατήρηση ο καλλιτέχνης.

The published Ethics Framework performs an important function in the sense that it directs our attention to an emergent problem that "network societies"-current and emergent-will need to increasingly grapple with. At the heart of the matter-technological concerns aside-is the critical question regarding the nature of governance that Australia and the Australian society-at-large want and may want in the future, and the ethical substrate on which such governance models should rest. Technology-AI in this context-appears to be the mechanism by which this question is being addressed. The proposed Framework, however, has undertaken a task that is beset with issues/ problem areas-conceptual and instrumental-which are worth considering since they indicate the magnitude of the problem on hand and may, after further reflection, allow us to chart a way to address at least some of them. These issues may be listed as under: 1) Model of Governance in an Age of Network Societies 2) Understanding of the state of AI today 3) The relationship between the State and AI 4) The Data Problem 5) The Economic Imperative 6) Impact on Policy-Domestic and Foreign 7) The need for and the role of Ethics These issues, as their titles suggest, are "meta" issues and it is the task of this position paper to reflect on how the Principles articulated in the proposed Framework impact them. In the process, this paper will identify and recommend a limited number of areas that it contends should constitute an operational framework or guideline, which can be used to influence-rather than direct-both the research and development of the technology and its application in the civilian sector.

Guerín, certifica que el artículo "LA NECESIDAD DE UNA MIRADA ÉTICA RESPONSABLE FRENTE AL IMPACTO DE LA INTELIGENCIA ARTIFICIAL EN EL CAMPO PROFESIONAL" autoría del sr. Antonio Luis Terrones Rodríguez, se ha publicado en el volumen 16 nº2 correspondiente al segundo semestre del 2017. Se confiere dicho certificado para los fines que se estimen convenientes. Dr. Ignacio Miralbell Guerín Director Concepción, abril de 2018.

Asked to serve in an ongoing position as Editor for the International Review of Information Ethics, I join a team of seven editors for IRIE. "The IRIE is the official journal of the International Center for Information Ethics (ICIE). It envisions an international as well as intercultural discussion focusing on the ethical impacts of information technology on human practices and thinking, social interaction, other areas of science and research and the society itself."