CHAPTER -SIX
ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM
OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Contents
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❖ Distinguish the link between ethics and technology.
❖ Understand general, professional and leadership ethical
questions.
❖ Explain what digital privacy is, its components and why it is
important.
❖ know the importance of accountability and trust in emerging
technologies.
❖ Identify the threats and challenges we face in developing and
utilizing emerging technologies
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Technology and ethics
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❖ The Internet boom has provided many benefits for society,
allowing the creation of new tools and new ways for people to
interact.
❖ As with many technological advances, however, the Internet
has not been without negative aspects.
❖ For example, it has created new concerns about privacy, and it
has been hampered by spam and viruses.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
New ethical questions
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❖ The increasing use of big data, algorithmic decision-
making, and artificial intelligence can enable more
consistent, evidence-based and accurate judgments or
decisions, often more quickly and efficiently.
❖ However, these strengths can potentially have a darker
side too, throwing up questions around the ethical use of
these fairly new technologies.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
New ethical questions
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❖ For example, outputs can be based on biased data, which could
lead to discriminatory outcomes.
❖ Indeed, where systems learn from real-world data, there is a
significant risk that those systems simply recreate the past
and subsequently build in errors or systemic biases.
❖ Closely linked to discrimination is personalization, and the
impact of tailoring decisions very specifically to individuals,
based on preferences, activities and other features.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Cont.
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❖ Additionally, questions are being asked regarding the
interaction between computers and humans.
❖ How much reliance can we place on data and models, and what
is the role of human judgment, as well as how do we ensure
that we understand the decision-making process?
❖ Whatever the power of the machine, humans will still need to
be involved, so that people can be held accountable, or
explain the reasons behind a decision.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
General ethical principles
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1. Contribute to society and to human well-being, acknowledging
that all people are stakeholders in computing.
2. Avoid harm.
3. Be honest and trustworthy.
4. Be fair and take action not to discriminate
5. Respect the work required to produce new ideas, inventions,
creative works, and computing artifacts.
6. Respect privacy.
7. Honor confidentiality
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Professional responsibilities.
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1.Strive to achieve high quality in both the processes and products
of professional work.
2. Maintain high standards of professional competence, conduct,
and ethical practice.
3. Know and respect existing rules pertaining to professional work.
4. Accept and provide appropriate professional review.
5. Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer
systems and their impacts, including analysis of possible risks.
6. Perform work only in areas of competence.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Professional responsibilities.
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7. Foster public awareness and understanding of computing,
related technologies, and their consequences.
8. Access computing and communication resources only when
authorized or when compelled by the public good.
9. Design and implement systems that are robustly and usably
secure.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Professional leadership principles.
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1. Ensure that the public good is the central concern during all
professional computing work.
2. Articulate, encourage acceptance of and evaluate fulfillment of
social responsibilities by members of the organization or group.
3. Manage personnel and resources to enhance the quality of
working life.
4. Articulate, apply, and support policies and processes that
reflect the principles of the Code.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Professional leadership principles.
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5. Create opportunities for members of the organization or
group to grow as professionals.
6. Use care when modifying or retiring systems. Interface
changes, the removal of features, and even software updates
have an impact on the productivity of users and the quality of
their work.
7. Recognize and take special care of systems that become
integrated into the infrastructure of society
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Digital privacy
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➢ Digital Privacy is the protection of personally identifiable
or business identifiable information that is collected from
respondents through information collection activities or
from other sources
➢ It is a collective definition that encompasses three sub-
related categories; information privacy, communication
privacy, and individual privacy
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Digital privacy
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➢ It is often used in contexts that promote advocacy on
behalf of individual and consumer privacy rights in
digital spheres, and is typically used in opposition to the
business practices of many
emarketers/businesses/companies to collect and use
such information and data
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Information Privacy
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➢ In the context of digital privacy, information privacy is the notion
that individuals should have the freedom, or right, to determine how
their digital information, mainly that pertaining to personally
identifiable information, is collected and used.
➢ Every country has various laws that dictate how information may be
collected and used by companies
➢ For example, some legislation, or lack of, allows companies to self-
regulate their collection and dissemination practices of consumer
information.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Communication Privacy
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➢ In the context of digital privacy, communication privacy is the
notion that individuals should have the freedom, or right, to
communicate information digitally with the expectation that
their communications are secure; meaning that messages and
communications will only be accessible to the sender's original
intended recipient.
➢ However, communications can be intercepted or delivered to
other recipients without the sender's knowledge, in a multitude
of ways.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Communication Privacy
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➢ Communications can also be delivered to recipients
unbeknownst to the sender due to false assumptions made
regarding the platform or medium which was used to send
information.
➢ An example of this is a failure to read a company's privacy
policy regarding communications on their platform could
lead one to assume their communication is protected when
it is in fact not.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Communication Privacy
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➢ Discussion of communication privacy necessarily requires
consideration of technological methods of protecting
information/communication in digital mediums, the
effectiveness, and ineffectiveness of such
methods/systems, and the development/advancement of
new and current technologies
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Individual Privacy
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➢ In the context of digital privacy, individual privacy is the
notion that individuals have a right to exist freely on the
internet, in that they can choose what types of
information they are exposed to, and more importantly
that unwanted information should not interrupt them
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Individual Privacy
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❖ An example of a digital breach of individual privacy would
be an internet user receiving unwanted ads and
emails/spam, or a computer virus that forces the user to
take actions they otherwise wouldn’t.
❖ In such cases the individual, during that moment, doesn't
exist digitally without interruption from unwanted
information; thus, their individual privacy has been
infringed upon.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Some digital privacy principles
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❖ Data Minimization:.
❖ Transparency:.
❖ Accuracy:.
❖ Security:
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Accountability and trust
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➢ When emerging technology creates far-reaching and rapid
change, it can also bring new risks.
Understanding and mitigating them will help to build
confidence.
Often legal and regulatory frameworks haven’t kept pace
with digital transformation, and organizations are seeking
guidance.
This challenge is exacerbated by the speed at which
technological change is occurring and the breadth of its
adoption – which is introducing new risks that demand new
responses
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Accountability and trust
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❖ Emerging technologies can provide improved accuracy, better
quality and cost efficiencies for businesses in every sector.
❖ They can enhance trust in the organization’s operations and
financial processes, which is crucial for sustainable success.
❖ But this can produce a paradox: the very solutions that can be
used to better manage risk, increase transparency and build
confidence are often themselves the source of new risks, which
may go unnoticed.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Accountability and trust
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❖ There’s a danger that the use of technology will degrade people’s
willingness to judge and intervene because they feel that they are
less personally connected to consumers and consumer outcomes
the logic of the machine has taken over from individual
responsibility.
❖ The obligation of an individual or organization to account for its
activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the
results in a transparent manner.
❖ It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted
property
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Treats and challenges
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Ethical and regulatory challenges:
✓ Challenges in using Artificial Intelligence
✓ Challenges in using Robotics in manufacturing
✓ Challenges in using the Internet of Things
✓ Challenges in Big Data
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Treats
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❖ New and emerging technologies pose significant opportunities
for businesses if they utilize them well and understand their
true value early on.
❖ They also pose risks and questions not only to business but to
society as a whole.
❖ Planning for how to deal with these emerging technologies and
where value can be derived while assessing potential risks
before they become a full-fledged reality is essential for
businesses that want to thrive in the world of AI, Big Data and
IoT.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Treats
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Some risks of emerging technology are:
Driverless car: while a compelling option for future fleer cars,
companies could crash and burn from claims related to bodily
injury and property damage.
Wearables: Google glass, Fitbit and other wearables can
expose companies to the invasion of privacy claims that may not
be covered by general liability or personal injury claims that
weren’t foreseen.
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
Treats
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Drones: Turbulence is in the offing for manufacturers and
organizations that fail to protect themselves for property
damage and bodily injury, as well as errors and omissions.
Internet of things: The proliferation of sensors and cross-
platform integration creates potential exposure from privacy
invasion, bodily injury and property damage that may connect
an organization to huge liabilities
By Tekalign T. & Asrat S. 12/12/2020
