Morality, Technology, and Values

 

Abdul Mateen Khan Mohammed

The advent of computer technology has opened a new chapter in technological advances, all to make our lives easier so that we all can live good lives. Technology is not value. Its value depends on how we use it. Technological processes have three components: inputs, an engine, and outputs. What we call good and bad technologies are scaled on our value system (moral values).If the outputs of the processes have relevancy and contribute to the knowledge base that we routinely use to create other utilities that ease our lives, the new technology has value. Otherwise, it is not a good technology. However we have also seen a myriad of technologies that come nowhere near our value systems. These we call bad technologies. So all judgments of technology are based on a set of value standards, our moral values.

The process of decision making is complex: It resembles a mathematical mapping of input parameters into output decisions. The mapping uses these values along with the input parameters to create an output a “logical” decision. Dilemmas in decision making are caused by one questioning the values attached to one’s premises (input parameters) as inputs to the decision being made. One’s scaling of values to the inputs may be influenced by a number of factors such as advances in technology and incomplete or misleading information. Dilemmas are usually caused by advances in technology. Computer technology in particular has created more muddles in the decision-making process than in any other technology because of Incomplete or Misleading Information

There are situations in professional life when a decision has to be made quickly and not enough information is available. In such a situation, the professional must take extra care to weigh all possibilities in the input set of premises with their corresponding values.

Technology has placed at our disposal a multitude of possibilities, many of which we never had before, that are shrouding our daily value-based decision making in confusion and doubts. An appropriate response to this confusion of reasoning is multifaceted and may include the following solutions. Formulate new laws to strengthen our basic set of values, which are being rendered irrelevant by technology.

Construct a new moral and ethical conceptual framework in which the new laws can be applied successfully. Launch a massive education campaign to make society aware of the changing environment and the impact such an environment is having on our basic values. Nations and communities must have a regulated technology policy. Technology without a policy is dangerous technology.

Making good use of technology depends on the following parameters.

(a)Strengthening the Legal System

(b)A New Conceptual Moral Framework

(c) Moral and Ethics Education

Strengthening the Legal System

Many laws on the books are in serious need of review and revision. Lawyers and judges seriously need retraining to cope with the new realities of information technology and its rapidly changing landscape. A thorough review of current law is needed to update the relevant laws and to draw up new ones to meet current needs.

A New Conceptual Moral Framework

New technologies in communication have resulted in demographical tidal waves for the global societies. The movement of people and goods between nations and societies and the internet are slowly creating a new global society with serious social and moral characteristics. With this new society, however, no corresponding moral and ethical framework has been created. This has resulted in a rise of crime in the new non monolithic societies. However, they also realize that morality is note easily definable. As societies become diverse, the need for a common moral framework as a standard for preserving decency and effectively reversing the trend of skyrocketing moral decadence and combating crimes becomes most urgent.

Moral and Ethics Education

It is not easy to teach morality. Character education in public schools has raised many controversies between Civil libertarians and the religious right.

The Formal Education of ethics should start in elementary schools. As students are introduced to information technology in elementary schools, they should be told not to use machine to destroy other people’s property or to hurt others. There are already reported cases of children as young as 14 years old breaking into computers systems and destroying records. As students go through high school, content should become progressively more sophisticated. The message on the responsible use of computers should be stressed more. The teaching should focus on ethics; students should be given reasons why they should not create and distribute viruses, download copyrighted materials off the Internet, or use the Internet to send bad messages to others. In college, of course, the message should be more direct. Students take formal courses in professional ethics in a number of professional programs. Once students join the workplace environment, they should be required to attend informal refresher courses, upgrading sessions, seminars, in-service courses or short workshops periodically.

Advocacy is intended to make people part of message. The purpose of advocacy is to organize, build, and train so there is a permanent and vibrant structure people can be a part of. The expansion and growth of cyberspace has made fertile ground for advocacy groups, because now they can reach virtually every society around the globe. Advocacy groups rally their troops around issues of concern like individual privacy and security, better encryption standards, and the blocking of pornographic materials.

Renowned advocacy groups for moral issues include:

The Family Research Council (FRC) works to promote and defend common morality through traditional family values in all media outlets.

Enough Is Enough (EE) is dedicated to preserving common morality in cyberspace through fighting pornography on the Internet.

The Christian Coalition (CC) represents some Christian churches in the United States. It works on legislative issues and on strengthening families and family values.

My Questions:

Q1. Making good use of technology depends:

(a)Strengthening the Legal System

(b)A New Conceptual Moral Framework

(c) Moral and Ethics Education

(d) All the above

Ans. d

Q2. Discuss briefly about Technological process mentioned by author.

Ans. Technological processes have three components:

• Inputs
• Engine
• Outputs