Ethical dilemmas of future technologies

Abstract

The rapid advancement of technology raises ethical issues that need to be addressed in the near future. According to Kurzweil law, technology progresses at an exponential rate. Ethics, on the other hand, advances much slower and doesn’t keep pace with the number and complexity of issues brought by technology. Considering that technology’s speed of evolution won’t slow down because ethics can’t keep pace with it, we argue that all those ethical issues that are already present in the public space should be discussed and sorted out as soon. Otherwise, they will become deeper and generate even more problems. The chapter discusses at length about the cognitive and body enhancements, achieved through either medical or bionic implants, and the changes that these enhancements induce in our behavior. Computers and the internet are some of the greatest enhancers ever and they managed to change the attitude of the millennials and Generation Z towards ownership and work. Our goal was to raise questions regarding the challenge of ethical and moral principles and values by the rapid development of technology. We then argued that the future of research lies in the realm of technology and that neuromarketing, unlike traditional research, has predictive power thanks to the brain scans. It was not our intention to solve or find answers to any of those issues that we raised. For some of them, it might be too soon to draw a conclusion. And for the others, there are competent bodies that can enforce suitable measures.