Time for a Tech Ethics Council
Source: Joel S. Bloom
Photo courtesy of New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)
The recent misuse of technology -- when terrorists likely used encrypted messages for attacks around the globe -- was shocking but predictable. The list of things to worry about and how technology can be abused or create unintended consequences is getting quite long and needs to be addressed.
Recently in New Jersey a drone crashed into a car near an oil refinery and, apparently, the drone operator just grabbed the device and took off. If it had crashed into that refinery, it may have been a homeland-security nightmare. China uses drones to fight air pollution; farmers are turning to drones to improve crops; and there are massive applications. While no one can truly control technology, best practices must precede regulation.
Lawyers may be licking their lips at the thought of unmanned cars and cars that override poor driving decisions -- because when there is a fatal accident there will be so many to sue. There is even a city in Japan where people have been given unmanned cars, in an attempt to work out such kinks.
Then there are the combat bots being designed to fight side by side with human soldiers. When something goes wrong will the term "friendly fire" still apply? We need thoughtful analysis of the new artificial intelligence devices and systems that are being designed to think for people, like Facebook studying trends and then only serving up items it predicts will be liked. Inevitably, the makers of those things that fail to meet the feed will complain about discrimination.
Yet we're already behind with best practices related to issues that should be regulated such as overt discrimination online, including cyberbullying and outing. Many people have good ideas but we need a respected body to bring heightened focus to threats, opportunities and best practices. When the cloud now stores anything it picks up from verbal-command devices -- including such seemingly innocent objects as a Barbie doll -- a recommended recipe for how that information is stored and used is just common sense.
We have the ability to ensure we optimize the use of technology. As Robert Oppenheimer once said, "When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and you argue about what to do about it only after you have had your technical success. That is the way it was with the atomic bomb."
While the issue of technology being used for good and evil is a very old one, so is the fact that societies need reasonable practices to remain civil. As Plato observed, "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light." There is a plethora of very smart people who can be convened to examine, debate and conclude the best ways to use technology while mitigating its misuse. Governments have been afraid of the light, perhaps because the task seems colossal.
Several popular TV shows, including Minority Report, like to play with moral and ethical issues with themes such as pre-crime units that use profiles and databases to arrest or detain people before crimes happen. If people could read other people's minds, we might all be in jail. Such is the nature of humanity. But there are thousands of Black, Arab and other people who have already experienced this rush to judgment and who are demanding justice. Those movements won't stop until action is taken.
Just around the corner is the day when DNA can be manipulated to custom order newborns. Society has known, at least since the maniacal undertakings of the Nazis were exposed, that this day is coming. Just this month, scientists from around the world convened in the U.S. capitol to discuss such threats and opportunities - a step in the right direction.
Creating a national Tech Ethics Council is the least we can do. Perhaps it should be imbued with the powers of a federal agency; perhaps it should be based at a university. However it is created, it should get to work without delay with diverse representatives such as CEOs of biomedical tech firms, professors, ethicists, philosophers, cybersecurity pros and developers.
There's not always a right answer, but there's always a best practice. Technology is here to make our lives better yet, at least for today, that's something only humans can do.
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