We have reached a crucial point where these considerations must be anticipated and addressed as an integral part of developing new technologies, rather than just treated as a secondary issue that can be tackled reactively and retrospectively.
We know that technologies disrupt society, and too often they do that in ways that we're not fully aware of when it is actually happening.
Researchers and technologists can apply ethical analysis approaches, like the one proposed by The Ethics Centre at Sydney University, to see how their innovations might disrupt society, both the positive and negative, and then develop ethical, practical processes to deal with those impacts on society before they occur.
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In respect to privacy, I think the crucial first step is for the industry to develop a clear definition of what 'privacy' actually is – what we are trying to protect and why – and then agree standards to ensure those requirements are met across the board.
It shouldn't be an afterthought anymore.
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About the Author
Dr Kirsten Wahlstrom is a research and teaching academicat the
University of South Australia and a Certified Professional registered
with the Australian Computer Society.
In addition
to her work at UniSA, Kirsten occupies various offices. At present, she
is the Vice-Chair of the Australian Computer Society's Ethics Committee and a member of its Profession Advisory Board, and she is Deptuy Editor of the Australasian Journal of Information Systems.
She chairs the organising committee of the 2020 conference of the
Australasian Institute of Computer Ethics, to be hosted by UniSA.
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