Well, Tech Ethics is a compound phrase, referring to the ethics concerning technological developments such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality (VR), and Genetic Engineering & Modification (and many more).

When the tech industry and its various subindustries such as BioTech, FinTech, EdTech, and LegalTech engage in their various pursuits, are they taking into account the ethical ramifications that may result from the products and/or services that they are putting out for mass consumption? Relevant questions may include but are not limited to:

• How much of my decisions are my own when I am purchasing this item from Amazon?
• Is my child safe as she uses the e-learning platform and her personal information is now vulnerable to not only the EdTech company, but also hackers and other malicious parties?
• How much of my personal data is feeding the surveillance apparatus, and am I okay with that?
• Is the widespread use of a decentralized digital currency (e.g., Bitcoin) actually sustainable for the environment?
• How should we understand technology’s contribution to shortening the public’s attention span, which based on the trajectory so far, could one day render the ability to focus almost nonexistent? How would society be able to engage with itself in the next 5–10 years?

First, let us take a step back and parse what “ethics” means. Originally a philosophical term (and as such, can seem rather abstract), ethics — as defined by Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute — is:

derived from the Greek word ethos (character), and from the Latin word mores (customs). Together, they combine to define how individuals choose to interact with one another. In philosophy, ethics defines what is good for the individual and for society and establishes the nature of duties that people owe themselves and one another.

Ethics as a concept can feel unapproachable to the layperson as it may look and sound like it requires a certain expertise, and by extension, tech ethics may feel even more difficult to grapple with. However, at the core of the term (and now rapidly growing field) is a fundamental concern for the well-being of humanity in an increasingly technological world that is faced with multiplying societal challenges stemming from such a paradigm shift. This concern may be something we can relate to more easily.

After all, not only is tech ethics an investigation of how humans and technology interact with one another (e.g., what is the relationship between my decision-making capacity and Amazon’s recommender systems?), but it is also a look into how humans interact with one another via technological means (e.g., how are interpersonal dynamics changing as a result of social media?).

What can the public do in this arena, one might ask?

We are now embedded in a digital world, a world that is becoming more digitalized and virtual by the day (the COVID-19 pandemic only expedited this transition from the physical to the virtual). We now hear of remote work becoming the new norm as well as new developments such as the metaverse (Sims 2.0, anyone?) coming to fruition, blurring the lines between our physical and virtual worlds. Further, there are initiatives in place to connect developing countries to the Internet so that humanity as a whole can become a part of this new virtual world order. One could say it is only a matter of time before our very modes of existence become virtual (hello, the Fourth Industrial Revolution). Appropriately, “public interest tech” is gaining traction as well as yet another emerging field.

As this paradigm shift becomes ever more apparent, what should we do to preserve the human aspect of it all (e.g., human rights, dignity, well-being)? Should we be preserving our humanness to begin with? Like all trade-offs, something will inevitably give as we race towards achieving technological ‘progress’ — will that something be our humanity? As long as we are enmeshed in this world, tech ethics does not discriminate — it involves every human being on this planet, and we humans have the ability to shape what technology means in our everyday lives.

While the outlook for tech companies will foreseeably continue to be bright from an economic perspective, they must also work to understand their impact on the world beyond profit-and-loss. Meanwhile, the public is a critical stakeholder in contextualizing and reevaluating these companies’ impact. We need more voices and more inclusive conversations as Tech Ethics as a whole is a collective endeavor.

NOTE: Links related to post have been updated in this version. The original Medium post can be found HERE.