Ethics and morals are attributes that we are born with and are molded by the morals of our close ones as we grow up. In a way ethics and morals are effectively passed down through our ancestors, relatives, and friends. But we live in a day and age where new technologies, platforms, and communication channels are present. How do our passed down ethical and moral virtues deal with these previously nonexistant issues? How do we make sure we form good virtues to pass down to the next generation and on to steer the future down the right path?
Privacy is one of the top concerns of the human population today. There are so many lawsuits deciding if a company overstepped into the victim’s life. Many companies are data mining and selling off the information to advertisment agencies to help them target potential buyers. Some of the meta data that is being collected and passed around include name, address, birthday, ethnicity, and the list goes on and on. At what point do we draw the line and say that is enough information. I personally believe that collecting information is not bad and is beneficial to both the sellers and consumers. Maybe you really do need or want a new bicycle but didn’t know where to go. The targeted advertisements can help you make a decision or at least present an alternate option to you. This is a very thin line and controversial topic and nobody really knows the answer yet. It is up to us, the next generation, to decide the boundaries, what is fair, and pass it on to the future.
Harrassment used to be only physical and we would be worried about our kids being physically buillied. But it was kind of a norm in some sorts and almost everybody went through it in some way. Today is a whole nother animal in that online harrassment or cyber bullying is possible. People can stand behind this cyber wall and almost seem invincible and rain down insults. Social media has only exponentially accelerated the growth of cyber bullying. There was a time when the view was that words don’t hurt and that people did not have it as bad as the old timers did back in those days. This is an example of how our morals and ethics have not prepared us for the new platforms for abuse. A development in the positive direction is that we now accept cyber bullying as a form of abuse and have rules against it. This is an example of how we can change the norm and work toward a better future.
In terms of privacy what if you are working for a comany and are asked to collect meta data that you deem is very invasive? In my opinion I would probably take it up to my supervisor and see what they think. If they are with me then great and we can take it up even higher and inform the big bosses. If they are not then I think that is when you need to ask the question “Do I want to work for a company that does not value the privacy of its clients?”. If the answer is no then I do not reccommend quitting right away and throwing away the job that provides the financial support in life. One option might be to ask to be put on a different project. Think of your favorite website to use and visit the most often. What if all the software engineers that run the website can’t think for themselves and blindly implement everything given to them. All your valuable personal information is probably theirs. By no means are they themselves malicious actors but if their system gets hacked then there is no stopping something as serious as identity theft.