Intelligence, Integrity and New Technologies

Summary

Human societies have thrived or suffered in relation to the degree of integrity with which our intelligence has been used. Intelligence in itself has often been viewed as threatening, because of its potential for harm, and in consequence a vital role of religions and philosophies has been to emphasise the value of the partnership between intelligence and another human ability, to understand and act according to moral codes. For many centuries human judgement ruled social systems, but the rise of science has undermined human capacities to make right decisions, and put in their place scientific experiment and the accumulation of factual knowledge.

Our argument is that the rise of information technologies in the latter part of this century has not only taken to new levels the empowerment of science and disparagement of human judgement, but also posed a significant new challenge. The combination of computing, media and telecommunication is promoting the development of an artificial intelligence, already near to rivalling human intelligence in some of its activities, and far exceeding any human individual in its global power. Yet it is substantially an unfettered intelligence, lacking the intrinsic morality (whether inherited or learned) which underwrites human judgements.

Information technology offers intelligence without integrity. As such it can take on whatever rules or moral standards its designers and controllers choose. This technology can and in many ways is being used for great world benefit, though many signs suggest that it will also be used to enhance discrimination, the gulf between rich and poor, and new forms of colonialism. If we are to have a technology with integrity, then a moral framework must be worked out, and established quickly, before the charge of scientific progress leaves the world’s communities too far behind. We argue the need for a Bill of Rights for the information age, which will provide both a moral framework and the rules of design and application for new technologies.