Digital Ethics
DIGITAL ETHICS asks: what's right and wrong in the online world? The internet creates new versions of old ethical questions. Lying — but with deepfakes and fake news. Cruelty — but anonymous and at huge scale. Theft — but of digital files instead of objects. Privacy — but with companies tracking everything. The old principles still apply; their applications are new.
Big issues. (1) PRIVACY: who owns your data? Should companies be able to track and sell info about you? (2) AI-GENERATED CONTENT: deepfakes can fake anyone saying anything. Should they be legal? Required to be labeled? (3) ONLINE BEHAVIOR: should you say things online you wouldn't say in person? Anonymity isn't a license to be cruel. (4) INFORMATION: who's responsible for spreading misinformation? Platforms? Posters? Both?
You see a photo online — a celebrity caught in a scandal. The image looks suspicious; it might be a deepfake. What's the ETHICAL move?
Personal digital ethics. (1) THINK before posting — would you say this to their face? Would you want it screenshot 10 years later? (2) PROTECT privacy — yours and others'. Don't share photos without consent. (3) BE A GOOD SOURCE — only share what you can verify. (4) RECOGNIZE manipulation — emotional outrage online is often engineered. (5) DISCONNECT regularly — your worth isn't measured in likes.
Audit Your Feeds
Look at the last 10 things you posted, liked, or shared. For each, ask: was this true? Was it kind? Was it fair? Were you spreading good or noise? What patterns do you notice?
Digital ethics is just ethics applied online. The medium is new; the principles are ancient. Be the kind of person online you'd want to be in person.
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