Ethical Problems Posed by Disruptive Technologies
The rapid development of technology has influenced all levels of human society. Technology plays a powerful role in improving the quality of life, changing people’s attitudes toward relations, as well as molding the culture. Technology has such a profound effect on the human societies that people consider it as the most important productive force of the modern society. However, as Stanford fellow Vivek Wadhwa (2014) argued, laws and ethics cannot keep pace with technology. As a result, the conflict between disruptive technologies and ethical problems becomes more and more prominent, which has given rise to a wide public concern and discussion. As a result, in order to keep technological development sustainable, focusing on what ethical problems have been posed by disruptive technologies is imperative.
Disruptive technologies are loosely defined as ones that displace an established technology and shake up the industry or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry. It has also been claimed that disruptive technology lacks refinement, often has performance problems because it is new (Clayton M. Christensen 1997). The so- called “ethic” is a moral principle under a particular social economic condition. So, the ethical problem, to be blank, is a phenomenon caused by beggar-thy- neighbour or immoral behaviours.The article will discuss the ethical problems based on some major technological causes.
Firstly, the bioethical problems caused by the advanced medical technology attracted much attention. For example, Genome editing offers a greater degree of control and precision in how specific DNA sequences are changed. It could be used in basic science, for human health, or improvements to crops. However, because a mistake could harm future individuals by placing that mistake in every cell, there are significant ethical concerns over the potential scope and scale of genome editing modifications. Moreover, people need to carefully consider genome editing’s ethical implications. For instance, those unable to access the desired genetic alterations, be they humans with diseases, humans without enhanced genetic characteristics, or farmers without genetically modified animals or crops, may all find themselves gravely and unfairly disadvantaged.Besides, Dolly, the ewe, was the first mammal to have been successfully cloned from an adult cell. She is regarded as a major breakthrough in clone technology. In 2004, another groundbreaking research, cloning a human embryo, shocked the world. This brought us one step closer to the dream of human cloning. Although clone technology is one of the most important medical discoveries, the ethical problems it may cause cannot be understated. Human cloning will affect the uniqueness and particularity of participants, thus, their autonomy and other human rights may be denied as well. Similar to clone technology, many recent medical research results, like tube babies, have provoked discussions of bioethics too. Some people wonder whether this technology contradicts natural laws and blood relationship, while some people condemn the egg donation of surrogate motherhood for violating parental relation ethics. The coldness of medical technologies initiates our reflections on ourselves: whether human beings are just simple animals with several chromosomes, and how the future generations will judge us.
Secondly, the latest military technologies have also caused ethical issues. The nuclear weapons, and many new weapons that have potential of mass destruction are developing. However, as killing tools, weapons are used for genocide, ethic cleansing or crimes against humanity. It is seriously threatening the peace of the world.
Last but not least, privacy disclosure is another serious problem. Yet now, not just computers, but smartphones, cars, televisions and plenty of other devices all connect to the Internet. We are in an era of internet and big-data. A report from the McKinsey Global Institute (2013), identifies 12 technologies that could drive economic transformations and disruptions in the coming years. The 12 technologies include mobile internet and cloud technology. It implies the internet and big data will increasingly effect our life. However, they create a hotbed of hackers and surveillance. Stories began to crop up about data disclosure, for example, Ashley Madison, which has sparked an outcry by matching people seeking partners for extramarital affairs. It resulted in privacy violation or damaged reputation of many socialites. Besides, the databases of many large corporations are attacked by hackers. For example, TalkTalk, a British broadband provider, as well as Anthem, the second largest American health insurance company. The leaked information includes contact address, telephone number, credit-card data, etc. Users have to face countless spam messages and the risk for theft and fraud. Furthermore, the PRISM surveillance program, exposed by Edward Joseph Snowden, stirred the society panic and even the conflict between countries. People who possess the newest technologies sell personal privacy to maximize their benefits. This severely violates others’ right and disobeys the ethical rules.
Obviously, it is impossible to cover all the ethical problems posed by disruptive technologies. But the above three points I mentioned can strongly prove that the potential ethical issues should be attached great importance to. If they are not handled properly, people will face greater threat in the future. So, on the one hand, we should focus more on moral education. It means we should cultivate a thinking pattern combining sensual and rational layers, and develop the all-round abilities of our future generations, instead of just focusing on their academic ability. Meanwhile, we should teach them that technologies should work for the development of human being, rather than exploitation, theft, or individualism. On the other hand, the government should strengthen ethical protection by carrying relevant laws and regulations. The laws should be prescient to figure out the specific illegal behaviours which are likely to happen among different technological fields. Furthermore, as the influence of globalisation, the whole world is highly interconnected. The problems brought about by disruptive technologies will not just harm one country but all mankind, so it is the responsibility for us to pay attention to them. What we need is a more explicit technological standard on an international scale. I believe, with a perfection of legal system and the silent transforming educational power, the ethical problems posed by disruptive technologies will decrease.
References
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Anthony, W. & Ainsley, N. (2015), “Genome Editing Poses Ethical Problems That We Cannot Ignore”, http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/genome- editing-poses-ethical-problems-we-cannot-ignore [accessed 8 Jan 2016].
Clayton M. Christensen (1997), The Innovator’s Dilemma, Boston: Massachusetts.
James, M., Michael, C., Jacques, B., Richard, D., Peter, B. & Alex, M. (2013), “Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy”, http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/disruptive_technologies [accessed 1 Jan 2016].
Rafael, C. (2008), “Information technology as an ethical challenge”,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/234778213_Information_technology_as _an_ethical_challenge [accessed 1 Jan 2016].
Vivek, W. (2014), “Laws and Ethics Can’t Keep Pace with Technology”,
http://www.technologyreview.com/view/526401/laws-and-ethics-cant-keep-pace- with-technology/ [accessed 30 Dec 2015].
