Introduction
Over the past couple of decades, the public’s interest in the world of technology has constantly been growing. With each year, more people scan the headlines to discover what is happening in the industry and how it is evolving. This is due to technology playing an increasingly important role in how humans work, study, rest, make purchases, and even care about their health. However, as much as technological advances can simplify society’s life in certain aspects, they can make it more complicated in others and give rise to many ethical concerns.
How Technology Changes the World
One of the concepts that a growing number of big companies are currently getting behind is autonomous vehicles, also known as self-driving cars. According to Car Reviews (2015), it is becoming so popular because, in most instances, computers do a better job reacting to events and being more careful with the throttle than people. Still, there are limitations: in Car Reviews (2015) opinion, self-driving cars should not be relied upon in terms of morally ambiguous decisions on the road. For one, it is unclear what such a vehicle will do if a person suddenly runs out in front of it, and the only option not to hit them is to swerve away into oncoming traffic. The question of what kind of software controls this decision and who is responsible for the consequences is alarming. In that regard, people are similarly troubled by biometric recognition: according to Pato et al. (2010), it can potentially compromise one’s anonymity as biometric data can become a means through which systems’ records are linked. Until there is a solution to this problem, biometric recognition is better not to be extensively utilized.
Essentially, when it comes to self-driving cars, many challenges are connected to their implementation. First of all, as per Araujo et al. (2012), there is an issue with driverless cars’ maintenance and reparation. Their elaborate configuration and complex interaction between systems might lead to the emergence of problems that are difficult to diagnose and cure. Moreover, not much has yet been done to guarantee the security of all the systems that communicate with one another to ensure the functioning of self-driving cars, and it needs to be addressed. In addition to that, as has been mentioned before, there is a major problem connected to legal liability in case of accidents. Technology progresses and develops at an incredible rate, and, unfortunately, the law falls behind.
Another curious issue from an ethical point of view is the one related to facial recognition software. CBC News: The National (2016) reports on how facial recognition, which has been almost exclusively used for security reasons before, is now being employed for customer recognition. With the help of this data, stores hope to better understand the demographics of the shopper and how interested one is in the given display. Many are outraged by it, and rightfully so: since people’s faces are scanned without their knowledge, it is a violation of their privacy. However, it has not been officially proclaimed legal or illegal yet, and this is definitely the area in which policymakers will need to take a thorough look.
Granted, not all the new technologies are associated with ethical concerns, although it seems to be a majority of them. For example, Amazon (2016a) has not so long ago introduced its advanced Amazon Go technology, which allows customers to shop in stores without having to stand in check-out lines. In addition, Amazon (2016b) is working more extensively using drones to safely deliver packages to clients. Combined with the increasing use of robots in the service sector, it means that soon people will have to interact less with one another and more – with technology. Mischker (2016) believes that it has ramifications for how children of the future will learn to talk and communicate. There is a possibility that parents will have to put extra effort into explaining the difference between a person and a robot.
Partially or fully automated systems or systems operating with the help of robots mean fewer positions for people and, as a consequence, large changes in the labor market. In the FRONTLINE PBS | Official (2019) documentary, Kai-Fu Lee, a prominent computer scientist, talks about how he believes that artificial intelligence will threaten about half of the currently existing jobs in the next 15 years. For a world in which there is a desperate need for the redistribution of wealth to increase opportunities for people from poorer countries and give them an opportunity to work, this is a catastrophe. The pace at which technology advances deprives the poor of this opportunity; however, there is nothing anyone can do about it. Humanity simply has to be prepared for what is coming and the ways in which people’s lives will change.
Conclusion
In conclusion, technology changes the world not only in global terms but for ordinary people as well – a consumer, a citizen, and employees. It will not be long until artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, facial recognition software, and many other developments will become inevitable in people’s lives. In the meantime, however, governments and policymakers must identify safety, legal, and ethical concerns related to these developments and work toward finding relevant solutions.
References
Amazon. (2016a). Introducing Amazon Go and the world’s most advanced shopping technology [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Amazon. (2016b). Amazon Prime Air’s first customer delivery [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Araujo, L., Manson, K., & Spring, M. (2012). Self-driving cars: A case study in making new markets. Big Innovation Centre [PDF document]. Web.
Car Reviews. (2015). No hands, no feet_ the pros and cons of the driverless car [Video]. YouTube. Web.
CBC News: The National. (2016). Facial recognition technology moving into retail [Video]. YouTube. Web.
FRONTLINE PBS | Official. (2019). In the age of AI (full film) | FRONTLINE [Video]. YouTube. Web.
Mischker, M. (2016). What the rise of robots means for the next generation of consumers. The Future of Commerce. Web.
Pato, J. N., Millett, L. I., National Research Council, Whither Biometrics Committee, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences. (2010). Biometric recognition: Challenges and opportunities. National Academies Press.