Ethical Coalitions for Change: Building a Better World with New Technologies
By Frances Forde Plude
[These brief comments were presented at John Carroll University, the Cleveland Jesuit institution.]
Technology catalyzes changes not only in what we do but in how we think. It changes people's awareness of themselves, of one another, of their relationship with the world. - Sherry Turkle, The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit
We are aware that technological change is a challenge to us as individuals, as nations, as a global family. Change creates disorientation in these forums. And technology accelerates the pace of change, compounding society's problems.
This commentary proposes a collaborative approach (coalitions) to address the ethical issues of an Information Age. I will first explore emerging information technologies and then reflect upon some larger issues that form the context of global technological change. To relate these challenges to individual lives, however, we also need to examine some specific technology and ethical issues.
Significant change occurred when we plugged computers into communication technologies. This created the information network, a seamless garment of technologies including telephones, discs, satellites, mobile phones, fax machines, radio and TV sources, and computers that could talk to each other and access vast amounts of information stored in data bases. European Union leaders estimated early that these technological arenas would supply 12% of its GNP and employ over 60% of its workers.
Thus, global citizens negotiate multiple media and information technologies. Just as we began to grasp the impact of the mass media – radio and TV – a whole range of new (and interactive) technologies appeared, competing for consumer dollars and audience time. Communication tools have fragmented the mass media market into multiple communication forums.
In the face of such communication and information technologies, one must adopt a sensible attitude toward them. To be avoided is the "Gee Whiz!" approach – the kind of seductive awe that many experienced during military exercises when our TV screens showed technological weapons, guided by computers, hitting targets with thrilling accuracy.
Information technologies are tools – new ways of solving old problems. However, the product "manufactured" by these tools – the information itself – becomes a new kind of commodity. And ownership of this product brings with it a new kind of economic and political power. Ethical issues arise when communication and information technologies are used without reference to social responsibility guidelines.
Two major ethical questions confront us in this new information-power world. Are individuals manipulated unfairly? Do individuals have relatively equal access to information sources?