As technology advances to new levels, we naturally use it to free up our time and create new exciting things. With greater technological capabilities comes gray areas that we need to be aware of. These are the most recent ethical dilemmas that we see and why they are worth addressing.
Auto-Driving Cars
Self-driving cars are one of the most futuristic-looking tech innovations. Autonomous vehicles can use a combination radar, lidar (similar to radar but using radio waves to “see”) and cameras, GPS, GPS, machine learning, and GPS to follow a pre-programmed route, avoid obstacles, and keep safe distance from other cars.
This tech is amazing, but it raises serious ethical and legal questions. Machines are still unable to view the world and respond to it through their multitude of sensors as well as humans. Arizona’s recent tragic accident brought this issue to the forefront. The question was “Would an attentive human driver be able to react better?” While we aren’t trying to judge the driver who was not paying attention in the accident, or Uber for the quality of their car, it will be a difficult battle for self-driving cars and the public to gain enough trust.
Another problem is the “trolley problem”, a common-thought idea. A runaway trolley is heading straight for five people pinned to the track, and is speeding down a hill. You are the only person standing between the trolley and people. A lever will allow the trolley to be diverted to another track. There is also an option for a single person to be incapacitated. Do you pull the lever and save five lives by killing one?
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Start training Imagine a situation in which the car must avoid pedestrians and instead turn into oncoming traffic. The real problems arise when the car is designed to think and respond to organic and uncertain situations. Programmers must assign values to rank decisions and outcomes and then let the car weigh them, deciding in real-time how to act. The result won’t always be perfect or without controversy.
Privacy of cell phone data
The Fourth Amendment in the United States guarantees privacy from unreasonable searches. But how far does it reach into our digital lives?
Apple, along with others, has been subject to a lot of criticism for how they handle requests from law enforcement agencies for access to their devices. iPhones are protected by encryption to prevent data being accessed or removed without a pin or fingerprint. In 2016, a tKillist’s iPhone was taken into evidence and the FBI demanded Apple’s cooperation to unlock the phone. A judge in a similar case ruled in Apple’s favor. He was concerned about the “virtually unlimited expansion of the government’s legal authority to surreptitiously invade personal privacy.”
Apple has remained steadfast in a heated debate about what is the greater good. They published their stance on privacy and refused to use legal grounds to compromise the security of their devices.
3D printing
While 3D printing is a cool technology, it also has its dark side. The cost of 3D printers is dropping and the quality of what one can create out of their garage is increasing. Manufacturers are worried about this because freely available models of their products can be compared to downloading pirated music or movies.
This intellectual property dilemma can be difficult to enforce. Are models on Thingiverse a real threat to product sales? Will 3D printer manufacturers be retaliated against by companies, much as movie companies have in the past against CD-R drive manufacturers?
3D printing is also gaining popularity and raising concerns in t
