The Web as an Ethical Space. Kieron O’Hara 02 December 2010
Dec 28, 2015
Applications of Ethics• Different types of situation make different ethical
demands
– Warfare– Medicine
• As do different types of space
– City– Private property– Wilderness
• These hold whether or not there are universal ethical principles
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The Web is Such a Space• My claim: the Web
has specific properties
– Sufficiently unusual
– Sufficiently transformative
– Sufficiently central to human life
• Hence it needs special ethical thought
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What Do I Mean By … ?• I do not mean:
– Information and Communication Technology– Digital technology– The Internet
• I mean the Web:
– Interlinked resources– URIs– HTTP– An application that uses the Internet Protocol
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Why Special Treatment?• I claim the Web has a series of ethically-relevant
properties
• Some apply to other spaces
• Some apply to digital technology
• Some apply to the Internet
• The combination is specific to the Web
• If you’re not convinced, time to go home
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Desiderata• The Web needs to support trusting interaction
• BUT ALSO the Web’s ethic needs to be self-sustaining
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7. Based on Copying• Trivial to duplicate resources
• Trivial to duplicate resources
• Trivial to duplicate resources
• Trivial to duplicate resources
• Trivial to duplicate resources
• Trivial to duplicate resources
• Trivial to duplicate resources
• Trivial to duplicate resources13
Hence, For Example• Actions can affect very many people before the
consequences can be assessed
• Can the Web protect itself as a liberal society can?
• How do we manage identity online ethically?
• How can I deal fairly with people if I don’t know their expectations?
– If I don’t even know they are people?
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What Kind of Ethics?• The Web thrives on serendipity and innovation
• Operative ethical emotions are esteem, pride, contempt etc
– Guilt, rewards, moral indignation seem out of place– An Aristotelian world– Web designers and content providers try to achieve
excellence
• Wikipedia• Hacking• Startups without a business model• PageRank
– Hard to explain in terms of incentives or rules
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Example: Trust• The social dimension of Web-enabled intelligence
– Extended cognition (Harry Halpin, Andy Clark)– e-Science
• When do users trust information or processes online?
• There are no effective rules
– The rules in place are rarely followed (cf. Dhamjia)
– Being trustworthy goes beyond obeying the rules
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The Webby Virtues• The Web is not a rule-
governed space
– Creative space– Telos of survival and
growth– Resource providers
aim at excellence with those parameters
• Virtue looks more appropriate to describe the ethics of the Web 20
Take Home Messages• The properties of the Web mean that it sets distinct
ethical problems
• Ethical excellence on the Web is better understood as virtue-based rather than rule-following
• Questions
– What is the end of the Web?– How does that relate to human self-
understanding?– What virtues should be expected from resource
providers?21
Disclaimer• Texts, marks, logos, names, graphics, images,
photographs, illustrations, artwork, audio clips, video clips, and software copyrighted by their respective owners are used on these slides for non-commercial, educational and personal purposes only. Use of any copyrighted material is not authorized without the written consent of the copyright holder. Every effort has been made to respect the copyrights of other parties. If you believe that your copyright has been misused, please direct your correspondence to: [email protected] stating your position and I shall endeavour to correct any misuse as early as possible.
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