Introduction
Data is linked to a map using GIS (Geographic Information Systems), which combines location data (the position of items) with various types of descriptive information (the description of what they are). Science and nearly every business rely on this for mapping and analysis. GIS aids users in gaining a better understanding of patterns, relationships, and the surrounding geography. A few advantages are increased communication and efficiency among employees, as well as enhanced leadership and decision-making capabilities (Shaw & McGuire, 2021). A GIS can be used to find spatial patterns in data, such as illness outbreaks caused by toxin exposure or areas with poor water quality. GIS has been integrated into many electronic gadgets used daily, such as mobile phones and vehicles.
Ethical Issues
Ethics is a major component of critical GIS concepts, which holds that social theory should affect how GIS is used, as the wrong use of technology may violate ethical principles. In consequence, having access to technology tempts people to exploit it in ways that may jeopardize individual freedoms, especially since GIS is often detached from human connection. For significant international organizations, ethics can be a critical factor, especially as geospatial data is increasingly used to make choices and form policies (Giuffrida et al., 2019). A good example is when geographic data is used for catastrophe preparedness or post-disaster aid.
Impact on the Common Good
Establishing and maintaining the common good requires the cooperation and integration of several technological solutions and human effort. The elements of the common good described above are highly dependent on the appropriate use of GIS in the relevant industries. For instance, GIS has been extensively applied in the healthcare sector to facilitate diagnosis and treatment, leading to the common good (Shaw & McGuire, 2021). Since nations are interdependent, harmony is maintained through the ethical application of GIS technologies both locally and regionally. Without these elements, society would suffer from internal and inter-state conflicts.
Impact on Individuals
Ethics revolves around the concept of rights. By focusing on rights, we can ensure that people’s freedom and well-being are preserved in the event that those things are threatened by others. If a person has a moral right, interfering with that right is immoral, even if it benefits a huge number of individuals. Observing a right may have social costs or injustices that are prohibitive. Therefore that right may need to be curtailed (Ricker et al., 2020). Individuals’ access to certain GIS details may be restricted for their own good when it comes to GIS.
Privacy Issues
Personal privacy is a social issue that the geographic information system (GIS) community is becoming increasingly concerned about. GIS processing power and cross-matching of geographic records with other datasets raise serious privacy problems. A reduction in personal privacy is one of the possibly detrimental societal outcomes that GIS technology is helping to bring about. Geographic information, it could be argued, has nothing to do with personal privacy because it is factual information about land and resources (Reid & Sieber,2020). GIS technology, on the other hand, has the potential to be significantly more intrusive of personal privacy than many other types of information technology.
Information Abuse
Although GIS is intended for the individual and communal good, the information gathered by being wrongly manipulated, leading to abuse of knowledge, the main challenge comes when data analyzers fail to inform individuals of the data to be collected, its implication on their personal activities, and the use of that information (Giuffrida et al., 2019). In some cases, business persons fail to disclose the kind of data they gather from their customers and end up using the information generated for business improvement. This element denoted abuse since users are oblivious to the collection, analysis, and application of their personal data.
Solutions to Ethical Challenges
GIS professionals are required to uphold ethical data gathering, analysis, and application. To achieve the solutions specified above, the GIS code of ethics is essential. It outlines the responsibilities of GIS professionals to individuals, corporate bodies, society, and data analysts. One key step is to ensure that data is integrated and coordinated amongst all relevant sectors and professionals (Ricker et al., 2020). This serves to eliminate abuse and limit information bias. Again, censorship and information function creep should be limited since it dilutes the authority carried by the information generated.
Information That Should Be Kept from the Public
Geographic variables, such as a person’s address, are increasingly being used in public health databases. Geocoding these addresses typically yields fresh insights since spatial patterns and correlations may be examined. In most cases, address information is considered confidential and is not disseminated or shared with others. However, because addresses and linked identities can be determined through reverse geocoding, publishing maps with particular locations may compromise privacy (Reid & Sieber, 2020). Geographic masking is a frequent approach for protecting confidentiality when distributing individual-level geocoded data. To limit the possibility of re-identification, this usually entails applying a certain degree of random disruption in a systematic manner.
Tech Trends Driving GIS Applications
The GIS market is expected to increase at a steady rate. The rise in the use of location-based solutions across the business landscape is largely to blame for this expansion. Organizations in a variety of industries are increasingly relying on geographic data to make informed decisions about resource allocations, marketing campaigns, distribution network design, and emergency response, among other things. Over the projected timeframe, rapid growth in geospatial technologies, especially location-based data services, is expected to offer momentum to GIS sector dynamics (Shaw & McGuire, 2021). Furthermore, the growing adoption of cloud-based GIS platforms is expected to promote market growth in the coming years.
Conclusion
Ethical conduct and adhering to set policies is a crucial parts of enforcing communal well-being. The aim of GIS is to facilitate sustainability in society. However, some issues, such as function creep and censorship, can limit the achievement of the population’s common good. Information creep is when information is gathered for a particular purpose and then diverted to a different role (Reid & Sieber, 2020). In this case, the original purpose may not be met. Again, ethical GIS should prevent suppression of truth in the interest of healthy business relationships. Withholding information has remained a significant impediment to the common good. It is important to understand what type and levels of information should be kept from the public at any given time.
References
Giuffrida, N., Le Pira, M., Inturri, G., & Ignaccolo, M. (2019). Mapping with Stakeholders: An Overview of Public Participatory GIS and VGI in Transport Decision-Making. ISPRS International Journal Of Geo-Information, 8(4), 198. Web.
Reid, G., & Sieber, R. (2020). Learning from critiques of GIS for assessing the geoweb and indigenous knowledges. Geojournal. Web.
Ricker, B., Rickles, P., Fagg, G., & Haklay, M. (2020). Tool, toolmaker, and scientist: case study experiences using GIS in interdisciplinary research. Cartography And Geographic Information Science, 47(4), 350-366. Web.
Shaw, N., & McGuire, S. (2021). Understanding the use of geographical information systems (GIS) in health informatics research: A review. Web.