2019 Is the Year to Stop Talking About Ethics and Start Taking Action
Here’s how
By Katharine Schwab
2018 was a year of reckoning for tech companies, their employees, and consumers. Both Facebook and Google were caught misusing people’s personal information—landing their leaders in front of the Senate. There was public outcry over Amazon licensing biased facial recognition software to ICE and police departments. Tech employees got fed up with their companies, sparking protests across Silicon Valley. With so little oversight from regulators and continued poor judgment on the part of big companies, both consumers and makers of tech were asking: What does it mean to develop technology in an ethical way?
So far, that question has instigated a lot of talk, but 2019 is the year to take action. How? Here are seven do’s and don’ts for any company or individual dedicated to developing ethical technology in 2019.
1. Don’t Bother With a Code of Ethics
In March, Google’s employees protested against the company’s contract with the Department of Defense to build accurate drones using AI, with thousands signing a petition and some even resigning from their jobs. The company responded a few months later by releasing a code of ethics meant to govern how it develops AI. One part…
