Threats to Autonomy from Emerging ICTs

Authors

  • Brandt Dainow Maynooth University, Ireland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v21i0.1438

Keywords:

ICT, ethics, autonomy, foresight studies, futures research, ETICA, value-sensitive design

Abstract

This paper examines threats to autonomy created by significant emerging ICTs. Emerging ICTs cover a wide range of technologies, from intelligent environments to neuroelectronics, and human autonomy is potentially threatened by all of them in some way. However, there is no single agreed definition of autonomy. This paper therefore considers the ways in which different accounts of autonomy are impacted by the different IC technologies. From this range of threats we will derive some properties which any ICT must exhibit in order to threaten human autonomy. Finally, we will show how the range of definitions of autonomy creates problems for customary approaches to vale-sensitive design, and how this indicates a need for greater flexibility when attempting to improve the ethical status of emerging ICTs.

Author Biography

Brandt Dainow, Maynooth University, Ireland

Department of Computer Science, PhD student and occasional lecturer

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Published

2017-11-26

How to Cite

Dainow, B. (2017). Threats to Autonomy from Emerging ICTs. Australasian Journal of Information Systems, 21. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v21i0.1438

Issue

Vol. 21 (2017)

Section

Research on Applied Ethics

License

AJIS publishes open-access articles distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Non-Commercial and Attribution License which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and AJIS are credited. All other rights including granting permissions beyond those in the above license remain the property of the author(s).