Five Controversial Technologies You Need to Be Careful With

November 22, 2023

With many compliance and regulation laws existing in today’s business world, it’s no small wonder that ethical dilemmas surrounding business technology are more common than you might expect. Let’s go over five of the more controversial uses of technology so you can avoid facing them during the course of your operations.

Improper Use of Personal Information

Since data and information are now so digitized, the question of how it’s handled is a near-constant ethical dilemma. People, including yourself, readily hand over all sorts of personal details thanks to online shopping, social media, and really any online interactions. Companies can use this information to help the user have a better experience, but this brings up questions about how much data collection is too intrusive or a breach of privacy.

Personal data is incredibly valuable, and it can give your business a lot of insights to make better decisions, but it must also be used ethically. The lines for how to use this information can get blurry, so do your part to ensure that you aren’t contributing to the problem.

Poor Oversight and Accountability

Businesses often use a mix of third-party and proprietary technology, the combination of which can lead to inconsistencies and ambiguities for how data is governed, protected, and secured. There is a clear need for responsibility here, and it must extend beyond any single entity. There are advocates out there arguing for global governance, just like there are with other global issues like global warming.

The Misinformation Epidemic is Real

It’s easier than ever to spread information that is flat-out untrue, especially in the days of online information dissemination. Anyone can share anything on the Internet, and unless it is verified by a third party, it’s hard to know what to believe. Deepfake technology certainly does not help, either, as it fabricates very believable video and audio content that can have serious consequences and implications.

Artificial Intelligence

AI tools can be remarkable for business purposes, but there are some ethical challenges that have arisen from them. Here are a couple:

Facial recognition technologies raise privacy, bias, and misuse issues.
Job displacement builds concern about the impact on employment security and job creation.
Health and action tracking raises ethical questions about monitoring and personal freedom.
Bias in AI highlights the inherent human bias in technology development and its potential to perpetuate societal inequities.

Autonomous (Not Automated) Technology

Note that we are discussing autonomous technology like self-driving cars, weapons, and service drones rather than automated technology processes. Autonomous technology has the potential to change operations for a lot of businesses, but it also has some folks concerned about overreliance on programmed systems that are not properly managed or overseen. For example, an army of robotic soldiers or a fleet of self-driving vehicles with no one at the helm is quite concerning.

Technology is great, but only when it’s used ethically and effectively. Learn more about how you can do so by working with First Column IT. Call us at (571) 470-5594 to learn more.

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