Qué es la ética de la tecnología y por qué debería importarte | Gemma Galdón-Clavell | TEDxZaragoza

Key Concepts

• Ethics of Technology: Examining the moral implications and societal impact of technological advancements beyond just privacy concerns.
• Desirability: Questioning whether technological developments are truly beneficial and aligned with societal values.
• Data Despotism: Exploitation of citizen-generated data for scientific research without adequate consideration for privacy and rights.
• Irresponsible Technology: Development and deployment of technology without proper testing or consideration of social impact.
• Innovation Responsibility: Creating technological advancements that prioritize ethical considerations, social impact, and user well-being.
• Algorithmic Bias: The tendency of algorithms to reflect the biases of their creators, leading to unfair or discriminatory outcomes.
• Presumption of Innocence: The principle that individuals are innocent until proven guilty, which technology can sometimes undermine.
• Acceptability: The degree to which a technology is accepted and trusted by the public.

Ethics of Technology: Beyond Privacy

The speaker, Julieta Albarracín, argues that the ethics of technology extends far beyond data privacy. While acknowledging the importance of privacy concerns highlighted by events like Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before the US Congress, she emphasizes the need to question the desirability of technological advancements and their broader societal impact. She points out that we are often the product, with our data fueling advertising and surveillance.

The "Aha Moment": Questioning Desirability

Albarracín's journey into the ethics of technology began with her doctoral thesis on video surveillance. While studying the impact of cameras on urban spaces, she realized she was overlooking a crucial question: Is this what we want? Referencing Richard Sennett's "The Decline of Public Man," she asks, "Where would Romeo and Juliet fall in love" in cities saturated with surveillance? This highlights the potential for technology to erode fundamental human experiences and spaces, particularly for young people whose privacy is often relegated to public spaces.

Case Studies and Real-World Applications

1. Automated Border Control

• The Problem: The automation of border crossings was initially framed as a "technical amendment," bypassing public and political scrutiny.
• Consequences:
  • Redefined Borders: Borders are no longer physical locations but continuous control spaces initiated at the time of ticket purchase or visa application.
  • Biometric Vulnerabilities: Migrants are resorting to self-mutilation (burning fingerprints) to avoid identification and deportation.
  • False Positives: Lack of mechanisms to address errors made by automated systems, leaving individuals stranded.
• User Perception: While travelers from non-Schengen countries often prefer automated controls for perceived efficiency and fairness, they fear the consequences of system errors.

2. Citizen Science

• The Problem: Researchers collected extensive personal data (geolocated photos) from citizen scientists without adequate privacy safeguards.
• "Data Despotism": "Everything for the people, with the people's data, but without the people."
• Solution: Implementing mechanisms to ensure citizen science truly serves the people and respects their data rights.

3. The Future of Work

• The Problem: Companies often make poor technology-related decisions, driven by fascination and a tendency to overspend on technology without considering its necessity or impact on workers.
• Consequences: Introduction of unnecessary exoskeletons and 24/7 monitoring systems, creating oppressive work environments.
• Solution: Empowering individuals to discern when technology truly helps versus hinders their work.

4. Security Technologies

• The Problem: Algorithmic bias in intelligent video surveillance systems.
• Example: Engineers coding their own behavior as "normal," leading to the misidentification of elderly individuals or families in airports as suspicious.
• Predictive Algorithms: The speaker strongly criticizes the use of predictive algorithms in security, stating that predicting the future is "magic" and that such systems undermine the presumption of innocence.

5. Autonomous Vehicles

• The Problem: Engineering arrogance and failure to address public concerns.
• Paradox: Autonomous cars are statistically safer than human-driven cars, but public perception is the opposite due to heightened media attention to accidents involving autonomous vehicles.
• Solution: Engineers need to focus on public acceptance and address societal fears to ensure the successful implementation of this potentially life-saving technology.

The Need for Responsible Innovation

Albarracín argues that current technological development is often "deeply irresponsible," akin to releasing untested pharmaceuticals. She advocates for "responsible innovation," emphasizing the need for:

• Interdisciplinary Collaboration: Bringing together sociologists, philosophers, lawyers, physicists, mathematicians, and engineers to assess the ethical, legal, and social impacts of technology.
• Transparency and Control of Algorithms: Increasing efforts to improve the transparency and accountability of algorithms.
• Impact Assessments: Requiring technology developers to justify the social impact of their products before release, similar to environmental impact assessments for infrastructure projects.

Domesticating Technology: Setting Boundaries

Albarracín refutes the argument that ethics and regulation stifle innovation. She argues that throughout history, humanity has "domesticated" technology by setting boundaries to ensure its benefits outweigh its risks. Examples include seatbelts, speed limits, and emission controls for cars.

The Role of Ethics in Technology

The ethics of technology involves:

1. Fostering Debates: Encouraging public discourse to determine the appropriate "seatbelts, speed limits, and traffic lights" for new technologies.
2. Taking Responsibility: Promoting shared responsibility for technology-related decisions.
3. Building Values into Technical Specifications: Embedding fundamental values like social cohesion, trust, non-discrimination, and human rights into the technical design of technologies.

Conclusion

The core message is that technology should serve people, not the other way around. By prioritizing ethical considerations, fostering public dialogue, and embedding values into technical specifications, we can create a future where technology truly benefits society. The speaker advocates for putting people at the center of technological development, ensuring that technology is a tool for progress and well-being.