Technology moves fast, much faster than the institutions humans have set up to govern it. Our deliberative systems are not designed to keep up with the turbo speed of Silicon Valley — especially now in the escalating race to compete with domestic and foreign competitors for dominance. This transnational struggle often obscures and downplays the consequences of the rush to compete at all costs.
Nearly every facet of human existence has been fundamentally disrupted by technology at one point or another, and historically, the most we have demanded from developers is that they strive to mitigate harm. That is no longer enough. Now more than ever, we need an overarching ethical framework to guide the responsible development and use of new technology in the international economic arms race. Moreover, we need a framework that can achieve widespread adoption and avert problems before they can take root and cause harm.
This ethos is often seen to be at odds with growth, especially when companies are competing with global peers who may not hemmed in by the same ethical constraints. However, as consumers are increasingly aware of the potential perils of unchecked technology, and grow more interested in how companies align with their own values, savvy companies will see the potential market for tech that puts people first. Crucially, government involvement in regulating how these frameworks are enforced can also help ensure the most ethical companies are given an advantage over those that seek to exploit us.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the most obvious example of a set of technologies that holds great promise while simultaneously threatening harm. From moral quandaries centered on how AI algorithms are trained on biased data, to concerns about job loss, to misleading synthetic media, there are many questions still to be answered.
Yet, AI is hardly our only concern. All one has to do is revisit the conversation on the role social media platforms play in enabling and promoting mis- and disinformation, sometimes with deadly consequences, to understand how imperative it is that we get out ahead of these questions now. And it’s the technologies we still cannot imagine that may benefit the most from a framework to guide their ethical development.
That’s why Aspen Digital teamed up with Project Liberty Institute and over 150 global experts to work through these problems. Our findings are outlined in our new report, Responsible Technology: A Path Towards an Ethical Innovation Ecosystem.
