Theory of Knowledge - Course Companion for Students Marija Uzunova Dang Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang

are instances in which the
“[There]
process of technical development
very
so thoroughly biased in a particular
is
that it regularly produces
direction
counted as wonderful
results
by some social interests
breakthroughs
crushing setbacks by others. In such
and
it is neither correct nor insightful to
cases
‘Someone intended to do somebody
say,
harm.’ Rather, one must say that
else
technological deck has been stacked
the
in advance to favor certain social
long
and that some people were
interests,
to receive a better hand than
bound
can be developed and deployed
Technology
quickly that its impact, and corresponding
so
concerns, are understood only in
ethical
Modern technologies may soon
retrospect.
beyond what human creators can
progress
comprehend. What happens, for example,
fully
the source code for a computer program
when
too complex (or, more simply, too long)
becomes
an individual to be able to read in a lifetime?
for
happens when high-frequency financial
What
bots trade with each other too rapidly for
trading
to keep track of in real time? Generally
humans
the benefits of these hard-to-keeptrack-of
speaking,
technological activities have outweighed
risks, even though computer glitches, stock
the
flash-crashes and security vulnerabilities
market
become common. But what of the other
have
of technology, known and unknown?
impacts
implications of this idea—that technology
The
one day outpace human comprehension—
may
significant for how we encourage and
are
technology, and understand its role
regulate
technologies have proved able to
Certainly,
us, in terms of both intended and
surprise
impacts. One argument is that
unintended
incentives behind the development and
the
of technology—towards, for
application
the competitive strategic interests of
example,
states, corporations or entrepreneurs—
nation
push its developers and adopters to move
can
quickly. Another structural argument is
too
those in a position to develop and deploy
that
technologies—technical experts, business
new
and government administrators—
managers
not have the incentive or interest to fret
may
potential negative implications, or may
over
the power to violate ethical boundaries
have
withimpunity.
technology itself can appear to be a
While
box”, the human processes that drive it,
“black
business and state interests, regulation
including
research, can be comprehended. This can
and
observers to anticipate potential ethical
allow
The insights obtained from Big
implications.
only tell us about what has happened in the
Data
We still need human thought and morality
past.
consider what we should do in the future.
to
we need to consider the kinds of models
Indeed,
data that we use, and how these are aligned
and
our wants and needs. When businesses make
to
of data, for example, should they only be
use
with profits, or should they also
concerned
one of the more common arguments
Perhaps
that technology is neutral—that its ethical
is
are dependent on the user. Writing
implications
the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, John
of
former head of the Cambridge University
Rust,
Centre, noted that “if you know
Psychometric
3IV. Ethics
For discussion
The technological deck
others.” (Winner 1980)
What systems, technologies and/or
1.
of infrastructure have you
arrangements
or inferred to benefit certain
observed
at the expense of others?
groups
How can we recognize when human
2.
begin conforming to technological
politics
politics?
IV.2 Can we predict the impacts of
technology?
insociety.
consider ethics?
the research you’re doing is groundbreaking, it
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