Ethics and Technology Audio: Recent Episodes
Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
With the proliferation of the Internet, mobile phones, and other innovations, technology is affecting people's lives all over the world like never before. But ethical questions about privacy, military technology, and the role of the government remain.
Soon, humankind may be able to replace natural selection with intelligent design and to create the first inorganic lifeforms, says Yuval Noah Harari. If so, this will be the greatest revolution since life began. But what are the dangers, and are they avoidable?
Professor Sparrow works on ethical issues raised by new technologies. Here he discusses Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS), often referred to as "killer robots." Unlike drones, which are remotely operated by humans, with AWS the robot itself determines who should live or die. What are the ethical arguments for and against these killing machines?
Today we create information in everything that we do, and there is no going back. But instead of seeing this as as a threat, we should seize the opportunity to use it to our advantage, says Patrick Tucker. Big data can improve our lives, offering everything from more informed consumer choices to more accurate and detailed medical data.
With the advent of new means of interaction from the TV remote to Twitter, the media became a two-way conversation, says Douglas Rushkoff. But who controls, shapes, and benefits most from these interactions--we the users, or big business?
Who controls the Internet? Internet governance is so technically and institutionally complex that it takes place mostly out of public view. But Internet control points do exist, and they affect civil liberties, national security, and global innovation policy. Laura DeNardis explains the inner workings of online governance and discusses its future.
The Internet is "a global free fire zone," yet it is illegal for companies to hack back against cyber attacks--although rumor has it that many are doing so. How much of the responsibility to protect their assets should rest with the private sector and how much with the government? This expert panel explores these difficult legal and ethical questions.
Very soon, "smart" technologies and "big data" will allow us to make sophisticated interventions in everyday life. Technology will create incentives to get more people to do the right thing. But how will this affect society, once political and moral dilemmas are recast as uncontroversial and easily manageable matters of technological efficiency?
In this eye-opening conversation, renowned bioethicist Dr. Wolpe grapples with the ethical issues raised by advances in biotechnology and neuroscience, including "brain fingerprinting" and eventual mind-reading.
If you use a computer or a credit card, watch out! Governments, companies, and individuals are losing billions of dollars a year fighting an ever-morphing, often invisible, and often supersmart new breed of criminal: the hacker.
Well-known blogger Jeff Jarvis celebrates what he calls the "emerging age of publicness," arguing that anything we have to fear in this new networked world is overwhelmingly outweighed by all the good that will come from it.
In this fascinating talk, theoretical physicist Michael Nielsen describes today's groundbreaking new era, where scientists, mathematicians, and ordinary people worldwide are working together online to solve problems and expand scientific knowledge.
How do companies such as Yahoo! and YouTube decide on whether disturbing material should be banned from their sites? What are the free speech and human rights issues involved? What guidelines do they use? This fascinating workshop discusses specific cases.
David Aylward specializes in a new sector called mobile health, which uses cell phone and other communications technology to connect poor patients in developing nations to high-level health care. He is working to educate corporations about the opportunities in these markets.
For two years, Levy was given an opportunity to observe Google's operations, development, culture, and advertising model from within the infrastructure, with full managerial cooperation. What did he find?
Author Alexis Madrigal examines the history of green technologies in America and shows how they have been entangled with culture, ethics, and government policies.
Amid the euphoria about the power of the Internet and social media, Morozov sounds a note of caution. He reminds us that these tools can also entrench dictators, threaten dissidents, and make it harder--not easier--to promote democracy.
In a brand-new view of technology, co-founder of "Wired" magazine Kevin Kelly suggests that it is not just a jumble of wires and metal. He argues that technology is actually a living, evolving organism that has its own unconscious needs and tendencies.
Joyce, who worked on Obama's campaign, defines digital activism as the use of digital technology in campaigns for social and political change. But technology is just another tool. Strategy must come first.