The advancement of technology is truly remarkable. If you were to take a moment and imagine a world without the different kinds of technology we have today, as much of us probably do once in a while, you would wonder how anybody could go through the day. It could be anything: electricity, the Internet, gas engines, Velcro, and on goes the list. It would be a hard case to make against the use and importance of technology and their constant development, since so much of our lives are enhanced, made convenient, and sometimes even made safer through the use of technology. In fact, it probably does more good than harm in most cases. However, even if the use of technology may look harmless or even beneficial, it is always important to debate the hidden ethical ramifications of such use.
A dear friend recommended the book What Money Can’t Buy – which I wholeheartedly recommend to everyone for a thought provoking perspective on the market – and it made me think. Michael J. Sandel, the author, gives his perspective on how the market justifies morally questionable transactions. He states that economists only value the economic soundness of these transactions and forget to consider the impact they would have in shaping our ethical standards. Although his points are arguably biased, his points are not entirely insignificant. Much like how the market could numb society’s ethical senses, the use of technology could potentially do so too, even if the use of a particular technological entity is widely considered to be accepted. One of such examples is the use of social networking sites. Most people are probably familiar, if not exhausted by the overuse, with the ethical problems such sites raise. The Internet provides a forum in which information travels with unfathomable speed and coverage. Posts online spread on a global scope in an instant, but users find voicing their opinions on such a platform so easy that they forget the amount of power they hold in that moment. With that amount of reach, one should be more mindful of what they say online, but the reality is most people give posts online less thought than they do to talking out in public. Without even thinking twice, millions of users post messages of hate and personal attack, but they have already been encouraged to voice their opinions through the use of technology. These sites were meant to connect people, even if they are physically far apart so that friends, families, and other people of interest can still interact and keep in touch, but such inviting atmosphere cause some to act more comfortably than they should.
Sometimes, technology robs us of moments of growth through its convenience. Due to the advances of technology, consumers can enjoy products with a longer lifespan than they did before, not only because of the advances in material engineering but more importantly, because of the ability to reverse damage on certain products with ease. For example, the invention of washing machines and other textile cleaning tools allow for minimal effort in restoring stained clothes. A friend told me about how a complete stranger spilled coffee on him and all she did was simply hand him some cash to get his clothes washed before she stormed away, annoyed that the incident interrupted her phone call. Sure, the woman’s action was probably not entirely due to the fact that she knew that it is easy to get clothes washed, but would she have acted that way if we still had to wash clothes by hand?
Technology of the future must be examined with a similarly cautious mind. Technologies currently being explored, like automated driving for cars, remote medical assistance, and wearable technology, raise similar ethical questions. If a driverless car, like the ones developed by Google or the ones being developed in KAIST, were to get into an accident, who would be held accountable? Should we let children and the elderly be allowed to “drive” these vehicles? If remotely given medical diagnosis from doctors physically far away becomes the norm, would doctors care as much as they would in person? Should people be allowed to wear wearable devices, like Google Glass, into public or private places? Would the ease of filming and uploading through these devices cause violation of individual privacy or become unconsciously accepted? Questions like these are yet to be answered, but one thing is for sure: a reminder for such a debate and a cautious attitude are needed to evaluate technology and its impacts.
