Ethics-as-a-Service
How the Leaders of Tomorrow's Technology are Embracing Ethics Today
This post is a part of the EQUATION publication.
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Dear Reader,
Starting with the basics, ‘ as a service’ is essentially the provision of something to a customer in the form of, literally, a service. In the context of the tech industry, this refers to the products, tools or technologies vendors provide over a network. Typically, we are accustomed to seeing software, platform, and infrastructure provided as a service However, anything accessible at scale over network connection can qualify, music and mobility as a service being two great examples.
Now let’s bring ethics back into the equation ‘Ethics as a Service’ does exactly what it says on the tin - provides ethical assistance, decision-making, and advice as a service at scale. This is accomplished through contextually adaptable tools that aid in the ethical critical thinking necessary to successful design, development, and deployment of technology.
When you use Ethics as a Service (EaaS) you can expect to see two main outcomes: risk mitigation and innovation stimulation. On the one hand, ethics implementation reduces the harms that result from unexamined technological development. On the other, ethics unlocks new avenues of growth through value alignment. It’s a win-win kind of tool.
With the power of Ethics as a Service in mind, it is important to recognize the importance of the human in utilizing it - specifically, the trained professional human. Just as we look to data scientists for expertise in data management, lawyers for expertise in compliance, and accountants for expertise in taxes, so we should look to ethicists for expertise in ethics. An ethicist comes with a certain skill set, making them particularly adept at bringing EaaS to life within an organization in order to detect and resolve the ethical bugs in our systems.
Ethics as a Service isn’t just a one-and-done box to tick It’s an ongoing commitment to analyzing and improving the impact of our technology, a commitment to continuously refining our decision-making mechanisms, and a commitment to bravely designing in accordance with our values.
Technology changed the way we live our lives forever, now it’s our turn to take back agency over our technology and change it for the betterment of our lives.
Happy Reading,
Olivia & The EI Team
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