Chapter Six

ETHICS AND PROFESSIONALISM

OF
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

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Learning outcomes
After completing this lesson you should be able to

● Distinguish the link between ethics and technology.

● Understand general, professional and leadership ethical questions.
● Explain what digital privacy is, its components and why it is important.
● know the importance of accountability and trust in emerging
technologies.
● Identify the threats and challenges we face in developing and utilizing
emerging technologies.

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Technology and Ethics
● The Internet boom has provided many benefits for society, allowing the
creation of new tools and new ways for people to interact. As with many
technological advances, however, the Internet has not been without
negative aspects. For example,
○ it has created new concerns about privacy.

○ it has been hampered by spam and viruses.

○ it serves as a medium for communication across the globe, it threatens to cut

off people who lack access to it.

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From your civic and ethical education course, what do you understand about the
word ethics?
Ethics is particularly important for the accountancy profession, with a code for
professional ethics based on five basic principles

● Integrity
● Objectivity – not allow bias
● Competence and due care
● Confidentiality
● Professional behavior

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General ethical principles

1.Contribute to society and to human well-being,

acknowledging that all people are stakeholders in computing.
2. Avoid harm.
3. Be honest and trustworthy.
4. Be fair and take action not to discriminate
5. Respect the work required to produce new ideas, inventions, creative
works, and computing artifacts.
6. Respect privacy.
7. Honor confidentiality . 5
Professional responsibilities
1. Strive to achieve high quality in both the processes and products
of professional work.
2. Maintain high standards of professional competence, conduct, and
ethical practice.
3. Know and respect existing rules pertaining to professional work.
4. Accept and provide appropriate professional review.
5. Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer systems
and their impacts, including analysis of possible risks.

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Professional responsibilities

6. Perform work only in areas of competence.

7. Foster public awareness and understanding of computing, related
technologies, and their consequences.
8. Access computing and communication resources only when authorized
or when compelled by the public good.
9. Design and implement systems that are robustly and usably secure.

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Professional leadership
principles
1. Ensure that the public good is the central concern during all professional
computing work.
2. Articulate, encourage acceptance of and evaluate fulfillment of social
responsibilities by members of the organization or group.
3. Manage personnel and resources to enhance the quality of working life.
4. Articulate, apply, and support policies and processes that reflect the
principles of the Code.
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Professional leadership
principles
5. Create opportunities for members of the organization or group to grow as
professionals.
6. Use care when modifying or retiring systems, Interface changes, the
removal of features, and even software updates have an impact on the
productivity of users and the quality of their work.
7. Recognize and take special care of systems that become integrated into
the infrastructure of society.
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Digital privacy
Digital Privacy is the protection of personally
identifiable or business identifiable information
that is collected from respondents through information collection activities or
from other sources.
Three sub-related categories

○Information privacy

○Communication privacy

○Individual privacy
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 Contd..
● Information privacy : The notion that individuals should have the freedom,
or right, to determine how their digital information, mainly that pertaining to
personally identifiable information, is collected and used.
● Communication privacy :The notion that individuals should have the
freedom, or right, to communicate information digitally with the expectation
that their communications are secure.
● Individual privacy: The notion that individuals have a right to
exist freely on the internet, in that they can choose what types of
information they are exposed to, and more importantly that
unwanted information should not interrupt them. 11
Some digital privacy
principles
● Data Minimization: collect the minimal amount of
information from individuals and businesses consistent with legal
requirements.
● Transparency: Collection and use of identifiable information will be
provided in a clear manner and mandated by law.
● Accuracy: Information collected will be maintained in a sufficiently accurate,
timely, and complete manner.
● Security: Adequate physical and IT security measures will be implemented to
ensure that the collection, use, and maintenance of identifiable information.
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Accountability and Trust
● The challenge is worsened by the speed at which technological change is
occurring and the breadth of its adoption – which is introducing new risks
that demand new responses.
● Emerging technologies can provide improved accuracy, better quality and
cost efficiencies for businesses in every sector. They can enhance trust in
the organization’s operations and financial processes, which is crucial for
sustainable success.
● But this can produce a paradox: the very solutions that can be used to
better manage risk, increase transparency and build confidence are often
themselves the source of new risks, which may go unnoticed.
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Threats and Challenges
Emerging technologies are making an impact include:
1. Counter-terrorism and law enforcement informatics via predictive
analytics and artificial intelligence.
2. Real-time horizon scanning and data mining for threats and information
sharing.
3. Automated Cyber security and information assurance.
4. Enhanced Surveillance (chemical and bio-detection sensors, cameras,
drones, facial recognition, license plate readers).
5. Simulation and augmented reality technologies for training and modeling.
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Contd….
6. Safety and security equipment (including bullet and bomb proof) made
with lighter and stronger materials
7. Advanced forensics enabled by enhanced computing capabilities (including
future quantum computing)
8. Situational awareness capabilities via GPS for disaster response and crisis
response scenarios
9. Biometrics: assured identity security screening solutions by bio-signature:
(every aspect of your physiology can be used as a bio-signature. Measure
unique heart/pulse rates, electrocardiogram sensor, blood oximetry, skin
temperature)
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10. Robotic Policing (already happening in Dubai!)
Challenges in using Artificial Intelligence

● AI is only as good as the data it is exposed to,

● which is where certain challenges may present themselves.
● AI is its potential to replace human workers. As machines become more
“intelligent” they could begin to replace experts in higher-level jobs.
● AI also has the potential to take the burden of laborious and time-
consuming tasks from these people, freeing up their time and brainpower
for other things.

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Challenges in using Robotics in
manufacturing
● With automation and robotics moving from
production lines out into other areas of work and business,
the potential for humans losing jobs is great here too.
● As automation technologies become more advanced, there will be a
greater capability for automation to take over more and more complex jobs.
● As robots learn to teach each other and themselves, there is the potential
for much greater productivity but this also raises ethical and cyber security
concerns.
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Challenges in using the Internet of Things
● As more and more connected devices
(such as smart watches and fitness trackers) join the Internet of Things
(IoT) the amount of data being generated is increasing.
● Companies will have to plan carefully how this will affect the customer-
facing application and how to best utilize the masses of data being produced.
● There are also severe security implications of mass connectivity that need to
be addressed.

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Challenges in Big Data

● Almost all the technologies mentioned,

have some relation to Big Data. The huge amount of data being
generated on a daily basis has the potential to provide businesses with
better insight into their customers as well as their own business
operations.
● Although data can be incredibly useful for spotting trends and analyzing
impacts, surfacing all this data to humans in a way that they can
understand can be challenging. AI will play a role here.
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Some risks of emerging
technology:
● Driverless car: while a compelling option for future fleer cars, companies
could crash and burn from claims related to bodily injury and property
damage.

● Wearables: Google glass, Fitbit and other wearables can expose companies
to the invasion of privacy claims that may not be covered by general
liability or personal injury claims that weren’t foreseen.

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Some risks of emerging
technology:
● Drones: Turbulence is in the offing for
manufacturers and organizations that
fail to protect themselves for property damage and bodily injury, as well as
errors and omissions.

● Internet of things: The increase of sensors and cross-platform integration

creates potential exposure from privacy invasion, bodily injury and property
damage that may connect an organization to huge liabilities.
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