The future (Industry 4.0) is closer than we think. Will it also be ethical?

Abstract

We live in an era when we are significantly confronted with new social trends which affect the living environment, sustainable life, migration processes, global social changes, and economic innovations, as well as new technologies and more efficient use of artificial intelligence. We perceive the future not only as a scientific and technological challenge, but also as an issue of ethical importance and potential ethical risks. Therefore the civilisation changes, such as the adaptation to the parameters of a new society under Industry 4.0, call for ethical caution and moral sensibility in order to reduce, or even eliminate, potential negative impacts on humans and their existential conditions. The use of robotics and artificial intelligence in various areas, such as in the field of law, education, construction of smart cities or public administration, gene technologies, housing, productivity, social services, industry, and the like also poses a new requirement. For example, the demand will grow for creative people, professionals having understanding for a human in a new environment, in everyday contact with artificial intelligence, new functioning of institutions, business transformation, and the entire social systems. They should be individuals able to response, in a creative manner, to specific situations and needs, new forms of self-realization. There will be a radical change in the area of personalisation, this including both the education and the personalised and individualised service, responses to individual requirements of a citizen, client, or consumer. Modern era was based on mass production and social revolutions. The social changes and shifts in values are mirrored by intellectual authorities, such as G. Lipovetsky who emphasises the necessity to adopt new ethical approach in relation to the new social paradigm. "Postmodern age is obsessed with information and self-expression" (Lipovetsky, 1998, p. 19). Individual ethics will gain its momentum, the ethics of other (third) type will be necessary, e.g. the ethics as presented by G. Lipovetsky: "Our era does not restore the rule of the "good old morality", it abandons it. In this sense, it is not possible to expect any changes of laws, any exploration of new moral values. Its ambition is to participate in solutions and changes, implement mechanisms of ethical prevalence, or the instruments of ethical supervision within social plans being prepared or already implemented. Its mission is to enrich the dialogue in the area of new trends with ethical questions, to extend the interdisciplinary discourse, to enter the dialogue within innovative projects and be an active player in such dialogues. Each change affects human and human's integrity. Underestimation of professional opinions of ethical nature may generate an irreversible or dangerous situation which could put humans under threat. Solution of consequences without setting responsibilities, assessment of ethical risks may lead to serious social issues and delayed responses which would rather stem from searching of conscience. What is more, it needs to be emphasised that new technologies are the outcome of scientific production, implementation of science, and are associated with the activities of research teams. And this is the aspect that is pointed out by the representatives of the Technology Assessment concept1, the importance of applying ethical criteria to technology assessment. The significance and risks of contemporary science are also addressed by Ulrich Beck in his Risk Society. It is evident that the issue deserves wide interdisciplinary discourse across all areas aiming to overcome particularised approaches to understanding and solutions of dilemmas. In this interdisciplinary discourse, it is necessary to emphasise the ethical context and value and contextual parameters. Initiatives associated with the transformation to the new paradigm Industry 4.0 start emerging also in Slovakia. The initiative originated at the Ministry of Economy and was approved by the Slovak Government in October 2018. Action Plan was prepared in cooperation with the representatives of individual departments, industry, associations, and the academic circles. This national concept perceives the process in conjunction with other social components and stakeholders. National strategies and conceptions tend to underestimate the ethical aspect, not taking it as an important part of innovative approaches, mitigation of risks, or prevention. We hold the opinion that Industry 4.0 constitutes a fundamental turning point that deserves ethical appreciation and solutions. The peculiarities of this paradigm should also be explored within ethics and enter, in a constructive manner, the discourse in the area of science and research, both within professional socialisation and within the area of institutionalisation of ethical instruments in order to minimise, to a maximum possible extent, the ethical risks and potential negative consequences of new technologies and use of digital data in relation to customers and partners.