I do not know you, but I know myself, and I have a distaste for ethics. Do not get me wrong, I know ethics has it’s place and it is good, however there is no one universal truth when it comes to ethics. Some things that have been around long enough are simple to understand the right and the wrong. Stealing, murder are clear wrong doings. Technology on the other hand is in fact so new that the ethics behind technology has yet to be in our subconscious (a natural response to what is right and wrong). Terrell Bynum discusses technology and the interaction to our lives in his article “Nobert Wiener and the Rise of information Ethics.” He discusses how we interact with technology and how the ethics come into play. Bynum terminology reminds me of reading a finance magazine, I can read it, and understand the large concept but not the finer details. There is another author who wrote about technology and the ethics around it I resonated more with his reading, Kenneth Laudon wrote “Ethical Concepts and Informational Technology.” He reminded me why I have a distaste for ethics and that there is not a “one-size fits all” scenario, each situation may require a different set of actions. Both authors Bynum and Laudon recognized that technology is still so new in our world that there isn’t rules set around it and it is growing faster than we can keep up with it.
I recently began writing a pop culture paper, about a movie and the technology. In the movie I chose (Iron Man) they were building weapons and machines so fast they didn’t stop to think of the outcomes or how to prevent other people (bad people) from using it. Laudon brings up a term called “disorganized topology” which means that literature discusses social problems and usually has a call to action in it. In Iron Man like so many other technology based movies it is about technology moving too fast for our own good, and not taking the time to understand the power it holds. As well as creating guidelines (ethics) for it.
At the University of Minnesota there is a Learning Technologies Minor. CI4311 is the third course I have taken in this minor. Every other class the main focus of technology has been on, how to teach it, the progression, and how it affects us as humans. This course touches on all those things but adds ethics to the mix. In theory this should be my least favorite class out all three as I mentioned I don’t like ethics. Still, I can’t say it’s my least favorite, because I love playing the devils advocate. I can argue, persuade, and see things from a different perspective, and I get to write why. If this class decided there was a right and wrong answer (like multiple choice test) then it would be my least favorite. As we have learned throughout the semester there are different fields of ethics, one that is rights-based, duty-based, and utilitarianism, and so finding the right answer depends on what ethical mindset we’re answering the question for. My mind ponders many things, coming up with the “right” answer for ethics is not one I enjoy.
