Getting the Question of Technology Right: An Ethical Challenge in the Midst of Global Critical Juncture

By Margareth Sembiring

We are in an age of change, and there is a need to think differently, particularly when it comes to new technology. In this context, the RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS Centre) was pleased to host Prof Jean Bogais to conduct a seminar titled “Getting the Question of Technology Right: An Ethical Challenge in the Midst of Global Critical Juncture” in the RSIS Keypoint on 19 November 2018. Prof Bogais is an Assoc Prof (Adjunct), School of Social and Political Sciences & Business School, and Associate at the Centre for International Security Studies and the Nanotechnology Research Institute, University of Sydney in Australia.

Prof Bogais took a psycho-social approach to explain the future challenges of technological development and use. With the arrival of new technologies—such as Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Quantum Artificial Intelligence (QAI)—our code of ethics needs to be revised. He highlighted the need to shift from a linear way of thinking, into one of complexity to better understand the mindset and relationships of the new AI/QAI system.

He shared his concerns about the current trajectory of technological development that will potentially remove human involvement completely. He noted that the AI/QAI system was developed with perfection in mind; and the problem with perfection is it eliminates room for errors and any chances to learn and improve from errors.

He further pointed out that this quest for perfection runs the risk of creating technology entropy, which then has a spillover effect on social entropy and social anomie, and eventually reaches nihilism. The essence of nihilism is disorder and the rejection of systems. Prof Bogais concluded that we need to be able to measure the degree of this entropy as that may allow us to redefine new norms for the future and save society from nihilism.