Respect for persons,identity, and information technology

There is surprisingly little attention in Information Technology ethics to respect for persons, either as an ethical issue or as a core value of IT ethics or as a conceptual tool for discussing ethical issues of IT. In this, IT ethics is very different from another field of applied ethics, bioethics, where respect is a core value and conceptual tool. This paper argues that there is value in thinking about ethical issues related to information technologies, especially, though not exclusively, issues concerning identity and identity management, explicitly in terms of respect for persons understood as a core value of IT ethics. After explicating respect for persons, the paper identifies a number of ways in which putting the concept of respect for persons explicitly at the center of both IT practice and IT ethics could be valuable, then examines some of the implicit and problematic assumptions about persons, their identities, and respect that are built into the design, implementation, and use of information technologies and are taken for granted in discussions in IT ethics. The discussion concludes by asking how better conceptions of respect for persons might be better employed in IT contexts or brought better to bear on specific issues concerning identity in IT contexts.     

KDD: The challenge to individualism

KDD (Knowledge Discovery in Databases) confronts us withphenomena that can intuitively be grasped as highly problematic, but arenevertheless difficult to understand and articulate. Many of theseproblems have to do with what I call the ``deindividualization of theperson': a tendency of judging and treating persons on the basis ofgroup characteristics instead of on their own individual characteristicsand merits. This tendency will be one of the consequences of theproduction and use of group profiles with the help of KDD. Currentprivacy law and regulations, as well as current ethical theoryconcerning privacy, start from too narrow a definition of ``personaldata' to capture these problems. In this paper, I introduce the notionof ``categorical privacy' as a starting point for a possible remedy forthe failures of the current conceptions of privacy. I discuss some waysin which the problems relating to group profiles definitely cannot besolved and I suggest a possible way out of these problems. Finally, Isuggest that it may take us a step forward if we would begin to questionthe predominance of privacy norms in the social debate on informationtechnologies and if we would be prepared to introduce normativeprinciples other than privacy rules for the assessment of newinformation technologies. If we do not succeed in articulating theproblems relating to KDD clearly, one day we may find ourselves in asituation where KDD appears to have undermined the methodic andnormative individualism which pervades the mainstream of morality andmoral theory.     

Our moral condition in cyberspace

Some kinds of technological change not only trigger new ethical problems, but also give rise to questions about those very approaches to addressing ethical problems that have been relied upon in the past. Writing in the aftermath of World War II, Hans Jonas called for a new ``ethics of responsibility,'' based on the reasoning that modern technology dramatically divorces our moral condition from the assumptions under which standard ethical theories were first conceived. Can a similar claim be made about the technologies of cyberspace? Do online information technologies so alter our moral condition that standard ethical theories become ineffective in helping us address the moral problems they create? I approach this question from two angles. First, I look at the impact of online information technologies on our powers of causal efficacy. I then go on to consider their impact on self-identity. We have good reasons, I suggest, to be skeptical of any claim that there is a need for a new, cyberspace ethics to address the moral dilemmas arising from these technologies. I conclude by giving a brief sketch of why this suggestion does not imply there is nothing philosophically interesting about the ethical challenges associated with cyberspace.     

Just consequentialism and computing

Computer and information ethics, as well as other fields of applied ethics, need ethical theories which coherently unify deontological and consequentialist aspects of ethical analysis. The proposed theory of just consequentialism emphasizes consequences of policies within the constraints of justice. This makes just consequentialism a practical and theoretically sound approach to ethical problems of computer and information ethics.     

Ethical frontiers of ICT and older users: cultural, pragmatic and ethical issues

The reality of an ageing Europe has called attention to the importance of e-inclusion for a growing population of senior citizens. For some, this may mean closing the digital divide by providing access and support to technologies that increase citizen participation; for others, e-inclusion means access to assistive technologies to facilitate and extend their living independently. These initiatives address a social need and provide economic opportunities for European industry. While undoubtedly desirable, and supported by European Union initiatives, several cultural assumptions or issues related to the initiatives could benefit from fuller examination, as could their practical and ethical implications. This paper begins to consider these theoretical and practical concerns. The first part of the paper examines cultural issues and assumptions relevant to adopting e-technologies, and the ethical principles applied to them. These include (1) the persistence of ageism, even in e-inclusion; (2) different approaches to, and implications of independent living; and (3) the values associated with different ethical principles, given their implications for accountability to older users. The paper then discusses practical issues and ethical concerns that have been raised by the use of smart home and monitoring technologies with older persons. Understanding these assumptions and their implications will allow for more informed choices in promoting ethical application of e-solutions for older persons.     

“基于科学的企业”主导逻辑研究——以同方威视为例

本文采用探索性单案例研究的方法,从认知视角对中国情境下高校/研究机构衍生出来的“基于科学的企业”的创新发展主导逻辑进行了深入的研究和分析,研究发现,这类企业存在双主导逻辑并存的现象,分别为“需求归因”和“技术机会归因”逻辑,并且虽然在不同的阶段两种主导逻辑一以贯之,但企业对于两种主导逻辑的侧重即两种主导逻辑对企业的影响程度及方式是不断动态演化的。本研究还进一步探讨了双主导逻辑对“基于科学的企业”自有的不确定性风险的影响、双主导逻辑的演化路径以及对“基于科学的企业”参与和利用基础科学研究的影响以及其对中国情境下“基于科学的企业”相关研究具有的管理启示。     

Information ethics: On the philosophical foundation of computer ethics

The essential difficulty about Computer Ethics' (CE) philosophical status is a methodological problem: standard ethical theories cannot easily be adapted to deal with CE-problems, which appear to strain their conceptual resources, and CE requires a conceptual foundation as an ethical theory. Information Ethics (IE), the philosophical foundational counterpart of CE, can be seen as a particular case of “environmental” ethics or ethics of the infosphere. What is good for an information entity and the infosphere in general? This is the ethical question asked by IE. The answer is provided by a minimalist theory of deseerts: IE argues that there is something more elementary and fundamental than life and pain, namely being, understood as information, and entropy, and that any information entity is to be recognised as the centre of a minimal moral claim, which deserves recognition and should help to regulate the implementation of any information process involving it. IE can provide a valuable perspective from which to approach, with insight and adequate discernment, not only moral problems in CE, but also the whole range of conceptual and moral phenomena that form the ethical discourse.     

对工程风险认知的主观贝叶斯分析

风险是不确定的危险,可以表示为事件发生概率及其后果的函数。工程风险具有复杂性,因此,工程风险是多个不确定性因素发生的概率及其后果的函数。对工程风险存在认知偏差,我们通过对工程风险的认知偏差中的主观概率进行分析,从而解释在对工程风险的认知中公众对风险的认知与实际的客观风险之间存在差距;专家和公众对风险的认知存在差异;不同个体对风险的认知差异;个体对风险认知会改变;个体对风险认知最终趋同等现象。     

The reductionism of genopolitics in the context of the relationships between biology and political science

The past two decades have seen an increase in the use of theories, data, assumptions and methods of the biological sciences in studying political phenomena. One of the approaches that combine biology with political science is genopolitics. The goal of the study was to analyse the basic ontological, methodological and epistemological assumptions for the reductionism of genopolitics. The results show that genopolitics assumes methodological reductionism but rejects ontological and epistemological reductionism. The key consequences of the findings are the irreducibility of political science to biology and the complementarity of genopolitical explanations and political science explanations based on culturalism. If my findings prove to be correct, they give rise to the formation of a hypothesis regarding the anti-reductionist orientation of the contemporary links between political science and biology. An important step towards confirming or falsifying such a hypothesis will be exploring the reductionism of contemporary biopolitical approaches such as neuropolitics or evolutionary political psychology.     

Negotiating autonomy and responsibility in military robots

Central to the ethical concerns raised by the prospect of increasingly autonomous military robots are issues of responsibility. In this paper we examine different conceptions of autonomy within the discourse on these robots to bring into focus what is at stake when it comes to the autonomous nature of military robots. We argue that due to the metaphorical use of the concept of autonomy, the autonomy of robots is often treated as a black box in discussions about autonomous military robots. When the black box is opened up and we see how autonomy is understood and ‘made’ by those involved in the design and development of robots, the responsibility questions change significantly.     

Introduction: A Debate about the Ethics of Fair Practices for Collecting Social Science Data in Cyberspace

Most of us prefer "doing right" to the opposite. But sometimes it is not easy to determine either what constitutes right conduct or how to do it. In this special ethics issue of TIS, scholars involved in cyberspace research explore the problem of "doing right" in terms of research subjects. The participants here draw from their own research and the ethical dilemmas they confronted. The offerings illustrate how diverse ethical theories can lead to different views over which, or even whether, new formal guidelines are needed for on-line research.     

知识转化灰箱模型与企业知识管理策略的研究

本文基于知识管理理论和认知学理论,对隐性和显性知识转化过程进行了深度剖析,提出了“假隐性知识”、“假显性知识”的概念和知识转化过程的灰箱模型,并阐述了该模型在制定企业知识管理策略中的应用。     

Big data: Finders keepers,losers weepers?

This article argues that big data’s entrepreneurial potential is based not only on new technological developments that allow for the extraction of non-trivial, new insights out of existing data, but also on an ethical judgment that often remains implicit: namely the ethical judgment that those companies that generate these new insights can legitimately appropriate (the fruits of) these insights. As a result, the business model of big data companies is essentially founded on a libertarian-inspired ‘finders, keepers’ ethic. The article argues, next, that this presupposed ‘finder, keepers’ ethic is far from unproblematic and relies itself on multiple unconvincing assumptions. This leads to the conclusion that the conduct of companies working with big data might lack ethical justification.     

通用模型的伦理与治理：挑战及对策

通用模型是近年来人工智能发展的重要方向之一。随着模型研发应用的增多，模型的社会和伦理影响受到广泛关注。文章从通用模型的特性出发、分析了模型在算法、数据和算力3个层面潜在的伦理挑战，包括不确定性、真实性、可靠性，偏见、毒性、公平、隐私及环境问题。进一步从技术哲学的视角分析了数据驱动的模型在人与世界关系中的中介性作用及所产生的“镜像”效应问题和透明性问题，提出了人与世界关系的新形态是以模型（数据）为中介的，即“人-模型（数据）-世界”关系。最后，从治理技术和治理机制两方面反思了当前的应对措施及局限性。建议建立开放式、全流程、价值嵌入的伦理规约机制，保障通用模型在合规、合伦理的框架下发展。     

Violent computer games,empathy, and cosmopolitanism

Many philosophical and public discussions of the ethical aspects of violent computer games typically centre on the relation between playing violent videogames and its supposed direct consequences on violent behaviour. But such an approach rests on a controversial empirical claim, is often one-sided in the range of moral theories used, and remains on a general level with its focus on content alone. In response to these problems, I pick up Matt McCormick’s thesis that potential harm from playing computer games is best construed as harm to one’s character, and propose to redirect our attention to the question how violent computer games influence the moral character of players. Inspired by the work of Martha Nussbaum, I sketch a positive account of how computer games can stimulate an empathetic and cosmopolitan moral development. Moreover, rather than making a general argument applicable to a wide spectrum of media, my concern is with specific features of violent computer games that make them especially morally problematic in terms of empathy and cosmopolitanism, features that have to do with the connections between content and medium, and between virtuality and reality. I also discuss some remaining problems. In this way I hope contribute to a less polarised discussion about computer games that does justice to the complexity of their moral dimension, and to offer an account that is helpful to designers, parents, and other stakeholders. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the ACLA 2006 conference in Princeton, 25 March 2006.     

元胞自动机在景观格局优化中的应用

在景观格局优化方法的发展过程中,以景观模拟演化为核心的景观格局优化模式已显示出优越性,这种模式在大量景观变化模拟预测结果形成的状态空间中搜索景观格局的优化方案,优化的客观性和自动化程度较高。但由于目前在景观尺度上的格局和过程相互作用规律尚缺乏定量的描述,限制了这种优化模式的发展。而基于元胞自动机的空间直观模型,由于元胞自动机固有的特点,在解决一系列技术难点的前提下,有望解决这一模式在目前发展中受到的限制。本文介绍了元胞自动机的原理和在景观生态学中的已有应用,认为元胞自动机获得广泛应用的原因在于,它有且仅有以下3个最本质的特征：状态的表达在空间上的离散性;状态变化的表达在时间上的离散性;状态转变的空间相关性。在此基础上,阐释了元胞自动机应用于景观格局演化的一般优势和相对优势,以及它在景观格局优化应用中存在的困难。针对这些困难,提出了部分的解决方案。最后对于以基于广义元胞自动机的空间直观模型为核心的景观格局优化模式,提出了一个可能的体系结构和流程图。     

Getting ‘virtual’ wrongs right

Whilst some philosophical progress has been made on the ethical evaluation of playing video games, the exact subject matter of this enquiry remains surprisingly opaque. ‘Virtual murder’, simulation, representation and more are found in a literature yet to settle into a tested and cohesive terminology. Querying the language of the virtual in particular, I suggest that it is at once inexplicit and laden with presuppositions potentially liable to hinder anyone aiming to construct general philosophical claims about an ethics of gameplay, for whom assumptions about the existence of ‘virtual’ counterparts to morally salient phenomena may prove untrustworthy. Ambiguously straddling the pictorial and the performative aspects of video gaming, the virtual leaves obscure the ways in which we become involved in gameplay, and particularly the natures of our intentions and attitudes whilst grappling with a game; furthermore, it remains unclear how we are to generalise across encounters with the virtual. I conclude by briefly noting one potential avenue of further enquiry into our modes of participation in games: into the differences which a moral examination of playfulness might make to ethical evaluation.     

Anticipating ethical issues in emerging IT

In this essay, a new approach to the ethics of emerging information technology will be presented, called anticipatory technology ethics (ATE). The ethics of emerging technology is the study of ethical issues at the R&D and introduction stage of technology development through anticipation of possible future devices, applications, and social consequences. In the essay, I will first locate emerging technology in the technology development cycle, after which I will consider ethical approaches to emerging technologies, as well as obstacles in developing such approaches. I will argue that any sound approach must centrally include futures studies of technology. I then present ATE and some applications of it to emerging information technologies. In ATE, ethical analysis is performed at three levels, the technology, artifact and application levels, and at each levels distinct types of ethical questions are asked. ATE analyses result in the identification and evaluation of a broad range of ethical issues that can be anticipated in relation to an emerging information technology. This ethical analysis can then be used for ethical recommendations for design or governance.     

新兴技术实践伦理的困境与应对

为应对来自技术的伦理问题,国内外学者提出了多种实践伦理方法。新兴技术作为尚未投产及仍处研发阶段的一系列尖端技术的总和,其自身具有不确定性和巨大影响力这两大特点。因此由新兴技术所带来的伦理问题相较一般技术而言也有其独特特征,并由此在实践伦理过程中产生了相应的困境,其特点主要为后果更难以预测、范围和程度更大、更为复杂多元,并且较难得到公众理解。为应对新兴技术实践伦理的困境应将研究对象从新兴技术转向新兴技术实践过程,把问题还原到实践本身,通过对实践场域及实践主体行动逻辑的认识弥补实证性经验材料的不足。新兴技术实践伦理从研发、投产、使用、治理四个实践场域分别入手,在每个实践场域中靶向性地匹配伦理原则、理论方法。对研发设计进行调解,优化投产及使用过程,并在技术治理中寻求解决路径。     

Some aspects of ethics and research into the silicon brain

The aim of this paper is to discuss some of the issues related to ethics in the context of establishing objectives for information systems research in general and artificial intelligence or silicon brain research in particular. Examples are taken from physics and genetic engineering to illustrate the kind of ethical problems that arise when the ethical implications of research are not understood or acknowledged. The aspect of ethics considered here relates to the care with which a research topic should be chosen if one wishes to avoid dilemmas concerning the use to which the knowledge so created will eventually be put. In addition a possible framework for thinking about ethics and research objectives is suggested.