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The Computer Revolution and the Problem of Global Ethics(1)
Krystyna Górniak-Kocikowska
Southern Connecticut State University, USA
- Introduction
- The Computer Revolution
- The Printing Press and Ethics
- The Global Character of Ethics in the Computer Era
- End Notes
- References
Since many authors who write on the subject of computer
ethics, including such prominent scholars as James Moor, Terrell Bynum
and, above all the author of the first major textbook in the field, Deborah
Johnson, use the ethics of Bentham and Kant as the point of reference
for their investigations, it is important to make clear that both these
ethical systems arrived at the end of
a certain phase of profound and diverse changes initiated by the invention
of movable printing type.(4) The question is: were these ethical systems
merely solving the problems of the past or were they vehicles driving
humankind into the future?
The ethical systems of Kant and Bentham were created during the time of
the Industrial Revolution, but they were not a reaction to, nor a result
of, the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th Centuries. There was
no immediate reaction in the form of a
new ethical theory to the invention of the printing press. Rather, problems
resulting from the economic, social and political changes that were caused
by the circulation of printed texts were at first approached with the
ethical apparatus elaborated during the high Middle Ages and at the time
of the Reformation. Then, there was a period of growing awareness that
a new set of ethical rules was necessary. The entire concept of human
nature and society had to be revised. Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and others
did that work. Finally, new ethical systems like those of Kant and Bentham
were established. These ethics were based on the concept of a human being
as an independent individual, capable of making rational judgments and
decisions, freely entering “the social contract.” Such a concept
of the human being was able to emerge in great part because of the wide
accessibility of the printed text.
The ethics of Bentham and Kant, then, were both manifestations of and
summaries of the European Enlightenment. They were created at a time when
Europeans were experimenting with the idea of society’s being a result
of an agreement (a “social contract”) between free and rational
human individuals, rather than submission to divine power or to the power
of Nature. Moreover, such a new, contractual society could have been created
in separation from traditional social
groups. The conquest of the world by Europeans – called by them geographic
“discoveries” and colonization of “new” territories
– made it possible. Locke’s definition of property as appropriation
of nature by one’s own labor, plus lack of a concept of private property
in most of the invaded societies, helped that task.
Thus, despite their claims to universalism, Kant’s as well as Bentham’s
concept of human being refers to European man as defined by the Enlightenment
– free and educated enough to make rational decisions. “Rational”
means here the type of rationality that grew out of Aristotelian and scholastic
logic and those mathematical theories of the time of the Printing Press
Revolution. This tradition was strengthened by ideas from Pascal, Leibniz
and others; and it permitted one to dismiss from the ranks of partners
in discourse all individuals who did not follow the iron rules
of that kind of rationality. The term “mankind” did not really
apply to such individuals. Finally, this tradition turned into Bentham’s
computational ethics and Kant’s imperialism of duty as seen by calculating
reason.
The nature of both these ethical systems must be very attractive and tempting
for computer wizards, especially for those who grew up within the influence
of the “Western” set of values. It is quite easy to imagine
that there could be a “yes” answer to a question asked by James
Moor – “Is Ethics Computable?” (Moor, 1996) – if one
has Bentham’s or even Kant’s ethical systems in mind.
It now seems to me very likely that a similar process of ethical theory
development will occur, although probably less time will be needed for
all phases to be completed. The Computer Revolution is revolutionary;
already computers have changed the world in profound ways. Presently,
though, we are able see only the tip of the iceberg. Computer technology
generates many new situations and many new problems, and some of these
are ethical in nature. There are attempts to solve these problems by applying
existing ethical rules and solutions. This procedure is not always successful,
and my claim is that the number and difficulty of the problems will grow.
Already, there is a high tide of discussions about an ethical crisis in
the United States. It is starting to be noticeable that traditional solutions
do not work anymore. The first reaction is, as is usual in such situations,
“let’s go back to the old, good values.” However, the more
computers change the world as we know it, the more irrelevant the existing
ethical rules will be and the more evident will be the need for a new
ethic. This new ethic will be the computer ethic.
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