An early warning system for new technologies that could have a significant impact on society should be provided by an IT ethics observatory, say experts.

An observatory should be created – an invaluable tool for governments and the industry – says researchers on a major, EU-funded project, led by De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).

The recommendation follows the completion of a project, Ethical Issues of Emerging ICT Applications (ETICA). The project ran for two years, and has seen researchers predict which technologies will change our lives in the near future, such as sympathetic computers and intelligent shops, and the problems that could arise from them.

Loss of privacy, increased energy consumption and additional opportunities for criminals to exploit technology for illegal means are some of the ethical concerns.

A regulatory framework to raise awareness of ethical issues in information and communications technologies, establishing a forum for stakeholder involvement, and incorporating ethics into research and development are other recommendations made by the researchers.

“ICT has an immediate and brad impact on the lives of most individuals,” commented Professor Stahl. “Ethical scrutiny is not well established and existing ethics review mechanisms are not suited for many of the ethical issues that ICT is likely to cause in the future.

“Europe has the unique opportunity to show international leadership by pointing the way to how human rights, ethical values and moral norms can be explicitly considered in technology development.”

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