Ethical leaders are fixed and flexible at the same time. They stay anchored to ethical values AND adapt as the world changes. Both are critically important aspects of ethical leadership success.
Ethical leaders stay fixed on values.
They keep values at the center of their daily choices and they don’t put money where morality should be.They realize that ethical values are an important part of their responsibility to others and society.
Ethical leaders never stray from ethics.
When things get tough, they hold fast to their ethical principles even when others “go along” with unethical choices. They realize that values are precious, life changing and worth protecting.
Ethical leaders are flexible in applying ethical values in a changing global society.
They adapt to increasing expectations and current issues and do the work to raise their game. They see other ways of life as interesting and non-threatening.
Ethical leaders embrace change.
They see changing to keep up with the times as a challenge and a responsibility, not an inconvenience. They are willing to do the work to change their mindset and assumptions when they have become outdated.
Ethical leaders use a growth mindset.
Ethical thinkers realize that authentic learning is more important than looking smart. They see negative feedback as an opportunity to get better, not a personal affront.
Is a leader who stays anchored to ethical values an ethical leader? Not necessarily. Just holding on to ethical values will not get you all the way there if you’re not stayingcompetentas times change. To qualify as “ethical leadership,” values need to be APPLIED in ways that honor society’s rapidly changing expectations for honoring a myriad of ethical dimensions including human rights and sustainability.
Pluralism is required in our leadership thinking as a positive force that informs how we treat people and make decisions. It’s the expansive mindset that is the key to important ethical leadership responsibilities such as respect, inclusion, and cultural awareness.
“If you know whether a man is a decided monist or a decided pluralist, you perhaps know more about the rest of his opinions than if you give him any other name ending in IST. To believe in the one or in the many, that is the classification with the maximum number of consequences.” ― Will James
Merriam-Webster defines pluralism as “a state of society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain and develop their traditional culture or special interest within the confines of a common civilization.”
Pluralism, by its nature, is many things:
Inclusive
Including everyone without losing the uniqueness of traditions or people
Listening
Listening with care and attention and honoring a diverse group of voices
Accepting
Being comfortable with different backgrounds, styles, traditions, approaches and ways of thinking
Collaborative
Seeing the importance of diversity of thought in creating powerful solutions together
Unafraid
Talking about our shared challenges, and seeing those conversations as a step toward solutions
United
Working with individuals to build trust and educate each other on cultural traditions
Evolving
Changing our minds and behavior willingly because we will never know everything about everything and expectations change over time
Whole
Including everyone of every background, regardless of their life story
Learning
Staying open to learning because we will make mistakes as we work together and learn about each other at the same time
A leader who embraces pluralism will not be afraid to go into the spaces where diverse groups of people meet, get to know each other, and work together.
“I thought about the meaning of pluralism in a world where the forces that seek to divide us are strong. I came to one conclusion: We have to save each other. It’s the only way to save ourselves.” — Eboo Patel
Ethical leaders know that we are stronger and better together, and they do everything possible to leverage that strength to solve our shared problems.
To wrap up a recent series of posts about truth, misinformation and how to spot false narratives, here is a summary of key points and questions for discussion.
To find a more objective truth requires uncertainty and doubt. Without uncertainty, we only see an issue with “sureness” and “resolve” based on our own experience.
Data, taken in pieces or without context, can be presented as “truth” but the fragmented picture you will see is only informative in the context of the greater whole.
Part3What Role Does Media Literacy Play in Discovering The Truth?
Sources of misinformation and false narratives have a self-interested motive (and do not care about us or our well being). Our job is to stay literate as misinformation becomes more sophisticated and harder to spot.
Sources of misinformation and false narrative will tell you that you have all the information needed and will discourage you from looking further into the issue.
Part 2Watch For an Opportunistic Spin Usedto Evoke Emotion
Sources of misinformation and false narrative will often give you an emotionally-charged and opportunistic spin on a situation and call it the truth. People who question it may be attacked to deflect attention from a hidden motive.
Part3Look For Credible Sources Before Buying Inor Sharing
Sources of misinformation and false narrative may not share sources backing up the story OR the sources they share are not reliable. Media literacy is how we avoid being tricked.
Questions for Discussion:
What false narrative might we be accepting as “truth?”
How does that false narrative push our buttons, stoke our anger or tap into something we want to be true?
What is the motive for sharing this false narrative? Is it monetary? Political? Initiating conflict? Diversion from a reputation issue?
What steps will we take to be sure we’re not being misled before sharing information in the future?
It’s important to weigh both the business and human impacts of the Coronavirus when making critical business decisions. A sound understanding of the situation combined with ethical values will help us make leadership decisions that will be good for our customers and the long-term viability of our businesses.
These 9 resources are filled with insights that will help businesses of all sizes make good decisions in challenging times.
9 Resources For Helping Businesses Deal With the Coronavirus:
And3 More Resources For Applying 7 Lenses ofEthical Leadership
Making decisions based on values requires long term thinking and carefully balancing the best interests of our constituents with concerns for our own future. Looking through any one lens won’t help us achieve that balance. We need a kaleidoscopic perspective to get a clear view of the ethical implications.
Here are 3 more resources based on my book 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership that will help as you make difficult decisions in challenging times.
Learn how to use the 7 Lenses Model to evaluate your choices.
Connect Magazine invited me to weigh in on why ethical brand reputation is so important and how brands can build and foster stronger images.
In this article I share practical advice on protecting ethical brands and five top leadership trends I see unfolding in 2020.
It’s worth a read for those who want to use the time during the pandemic to figure out how they can build a stronger company and a stronger brand that is ready for an uncertain future.
“While we would like to think that we are in control of our brand image, it is really shaped by our ethical choices… To build and foster strong images, brands can activate and amplify their values.”
— Linda Fisher Thornton in Connect Magazine
Important questions answered in this Q&A Feature:
Why is it important for every brand to have a strong, consistent image today?
What are some of the ways brands can build and foster stronger images?
What leadership trends do you see unfolding?
What’s the theory behind your “7 Lenses” philosophy?
After reviewing the insights in the feature article, share your own ideas in the comments. You’ll find additional curated resources on ethical brands below.
“While we would like to think that we are in control of our brand image, it is really shaped by our ethical choices… To build and foster strong images, brands can activate and amplify their values.”
Some people may think that the change we are experiencing as a result of COVID-19 is a temporary inconvenience, but it’s much more than that. It’s a wake-up call that we have been living too close to the edge, rushing through precious moments. We have been postponing sustainable practices that can contribute to our wellness and the well-being of the planet. Now that the pandemic has slowed the clock on the daily rush hour and frequent flyer miles, we can see what clean air looks like. Our leadership responsibility, like the air above our cities, is clear.
During a pandemic,successful leaders spend time noticing, appreciating, encouraging, focusing and getting comfortable with leaning and leading into the unknown.
Noticing:
We need to hear the sound of chirping birds,
and notice the gradual opening of summer flowers.
We need to notice neighbors caring about each other,
finding ways to reach out,
and helping each other through challenging times.
Appreciating:
We can appreciate simple things,
like time with each other,
or another day of being well(or getting well).
We can be grateful for those who sacrifice and risk so we can stay well,
and for businesses of all sizes finding new ways of delivering goods and
services to help us through difficult times.
Encouraging:
We can support and encourage each other
because work and life have become more challenging,
and online classes bring additional hurdles to overcome.
Helping each other helps us get through it,
as we change the ways we work and live.
Focusing:
We can stay focused on positive outcomes,
in spite of the continual barrage of bad news that each day brings.
When there is less structure in a work-from-home scenario,
and being an essential worker brings so many risks,
it’s easy to become distracted and fearful.
With so many challenges we must overcome,
we must intentionally focus our time and efforts
on the positive outcomes we’re working toward.
LeaningInto the Unknown:
It takes courage to keep getting up and facing the unknown,
when we don’t know how long this will last.
We don’t know whether or not we will get sick,
and if we do, whether or not we will get well.
Each day is precious.
Leading Into the Unknown:
Leading during a pandemic is moving beyond self-preservation
to guide others to safety.
It’s putting our own mask on first and then assisting others.
While we find our way through this unknown space,
our leadership will determine the outcome for others.
We need to overcome our own fearand shift into sense-making
so that we can guide others.
As messages and data sources conflict, we need to dig deeper
to understand what’s really happening,
and determine the best way forward.
That will be the only way to make sure
that the outcome for us and for others is positive.
What I hope is that we take this new fully-present comfort-with-the-unknown that we are learning with us for the rest of our lives, and when the threat of the pandemic has waned, that we continue to apply it in our leadership as if every day mattered.
I was asked to weigh in on several important questions about the economy and job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic for an article about unemployment that appeared at WalletHub.com.
Leaders may feel that they are somewhat powerless to help when people are laid off. There is a sense that their options are limited by the constraints of the situation and the business’s current economic challenges. I believe, though, that even when job loss or reduction in work hours is inevitable, there are still things leaders can do to help meet people’s deepest human needs.
“Those who find themselves unemployed during the COVID-19 pandemic need to be treated with respect and allowed to maintain a sense of personal dignity...Leaders can acknowledge that what people are experiencing is devastating for them and their families.”
— Linda Fisher Thornton
Even if jobs are no longer available, leaders can offer respect, care and support.Those important leadership roles can be extended at no financial cost and they make a significant difference for the people impacted by COVID-19 related job loss.
Leaders can handle any job loss or reduction in hours in ways that help people retain their dignity and regain their footing during difficult times.
A pandemic is an event that happens to all of us. All our plans are scrapped and we have to reinvent ourselves in real time, with others still depending on us for services. Protests, as they should, have a profound impact on all of us. Dealing with these situations is the ultimate leadership challenge.
I am grateful to see so many businesses sharing resources and ideas freely and finding a way to do some good for others during this challenging time. Our shared crises can only be managed effectively with everyone pulling together to make good choices.
Some people approach the challenge of leading in bad times from the point of self-interest, trying to benefit from the misfortune of others. They may focus on hoarding critical supplies and price gouging as they take advantage of the situation.
Ethical leaders, in contrast, think about their responsibility to others at a higher level and for the longer term. Companies that put the greater good ahead of profits and “business as usual” are inspiring all of us.
George Floyd’s tragic murder during the pandemic is sparking companies to take a stand in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, including some companies who have already taken steps to help others get through the pandemic.
Shana Lebowitz noted in Business Insiderthat the most effective responses to George Floyd’s death “confronted discomfort head on, and invited difficult conversations. And they outlined concrete plans for cultivating diversity and inclusion, both in the workplace and in the US more generally.”
We are leading in a time when how we use our voice matters a great deal. I hope that these examples of companies taking a stand for good will prompt you to consider how you can amplify your leadership by doing good in bad times.
I have a special message for our 2020 graduates. This year has not turned out as we had hoped or planned that it would. You are probably feeling a great sense of loss from missing out on milestone events and celebrations related to graduation. You are also entering the next chapter of your lives at a time of great divisiveness, instability and unrest.
You are likely wondering what will happen now that the entire landscape has changed, and so little is certain about your future. Take heart and learn from the stories of those who have dealt with great hardship and overcome it.
“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.” — Arnold Schwarzenegger
As you try to rebuild your image of your future plans in these difficult times, I have 5 pieces of advice to share that may be useful. I wish someone had shared these life insights with me when I was a new graduate beginning the next chapter of my life.
5 Insights For the Class of 2020
Find Ethical Role Models – While many others around you will stray from the path and make bad choices, your ethical role models will keep you looking forward toward becoming your best.
Manage Your Information Consumption – It is easy to become overwhelmed or fearful when we are constantly exposed to the worst of what’s out there or comparing ourselves to others. Intentionally follow good news and manage your media time so it doesn’t take time away from relationships or building your own good life.
Become a Truth Beacon– Become the one others can count on to evaluate information and determine whether it is “fake news” or an important truth. You will ground yourself, and become a person that others can count on to cut through the chatter to find what matters.
Take One Step At a Time, One Day at a Time – A wise person once said to me at a difficult time in my life “All you have to do is get through this for one day.” I realized I had been taking on the stress of challenges I would face in the future that were not directly before me. Using a “one day at a time” focus, we can overcome our challenges without becoming disheartened.
Find Meaning Through Service – There are many different approaches to life. Some of them are self-serving and others are deeply focused on serving others. I believe that it is through service to others that we find our true happiness. As we shift our focus away from our own troubles and toward serving others, we find a sense of meaning in our lives.
While the world will pull you in many different compelling directions, it is your values that will keep you anchored. Become aware of them. Nurture them. Know what you believe in. Live it. Set an example for others by building a good, ethical life in a chaotic world.
Have you had an insight while attending a conference? While listening to a speaker, you hear a new idea that strikes you as important, and you jot it down to follow up. But do you ever follow up?
As a follow up to speaking at the recent CUPA-HR Virtual Conference, I wrote a post for the CUPA-HR Blog about ethical leadership and moving from insight to action.
Author Richard Bach says that “any powerful idea is absolutely fascinating and absolutely useless until we choose to use it.” In other words, ethical leaders don’t just talk about insights, they act on them.
When we get a spark of inspiration and suddenly see something more clearly, the most important thing we can do is put that insight into action in our organizations.
The insights that take our thinking to a higher level will fall flat if we don’t use them to change people’s experience of our leadership.
While dealing with the catastrophic COVID-19 pandemic, we need to remember that good decisions are always made based on values. To confirm what those values are that should guide our choices, this week I’m sharing my Manifesto What Ethical Leaders Believe.
This Manifesto frames ethical leadership in clear language, and is shareable under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. It includes 10 Things Ethical Leaders Believe that transform their leadership and their organizations.
Click the cover image above to download What Ethical Leaders Believe and share it with your colleagues and friends (the download link is at the top right of the page). It includes an introduction to the philosophy behind my work and it previews the ethical leadership book 7 Lenses.
There is no check-box for ethical leadership. It is an ongoing individual and organizational journey.
Linda Fisher Thornton, What Ethical Leaders Believe: The Leading in Context Manifesto, ChangeThis.com
Take a moment to focus and ground your leadership in the 10 Things Ethical Leaders Believe in this timely Manifesto. I hope it will help you make the difficult choices you face in the coming days and weeks.
Part 1 in this series on 5 Ethical Dimensions of IoT Leadership focused on the importance of Ethical Foresight. Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 explored the dimensions of Ethical Design, Legal Compliance. Human Impact. and Evolving Ecosystem. Part 6 will conclude the series with the final dimension – Public Good.
5: PUBLIC GOOD
Assistive technology will make people lives easier, and it is profitable, but The IoT was meant to do much more than just make money. The problem is that our contributions to the IoT have no inherent morality and no contribution to the public good until we build them in. In addition to having no inherent morality, Gérald Santucci argues that the IoT creates the risk for “objects” to become “subjects” (they get the agency to take decisions) and for (human) subjects to become “objects” (we just behave by adopting and implementing the performance criteria of our objects: efficiency, productivity etc.). A simple example of this is wearing a fitness band that directs our behavior to increase movement and to direct when we should move. In this example, the fitness device is directing human behavior, not the other way around.
The scope of the shift in our role to that of subject is invisible unless we step back and look at it with an ecosystem view. “Things will be able to autonomously manage their transportation, implement fully automated processes and thus optimize logistics; they have to be able to harvest the energy they need, they will configure themselves when exposed to a new environment and show “intelligent/cognitive behavior” when faced with other things and deal seamlessly with unforeseen circumstances; and finally, they might manage their own disassembly and recycling, helping to preserve the environment, at the end of their lifecycle” (Dr. Ovideu Vermesan and Dr. Peter Friess, et. al., Internet of Things, Global Technologies and Societal Trends, Chapter 2) Will we simply become caretakers of the processes they create? Who’s really in charge in this scenario?
If we are able to manage the evolution of the IoT at a high enough level, it has the potential to accelerate our progress toward improving the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In “using IoT to create a future we want” in the report” IoT Policies Toward 2025: Benefitting From the Opportunities” Maarten Botterman points out that “The Sustainable Development Goals that have been agreed by the UN General Assembly in September 2015 represent global norms, and include a clear call for connected technologies to contribute to achieving them. Please note that the SDGs also insist on “inclusive” use of connected resources.”
The IoT Is A Platform For Advancing The Public Good In the end, pride of engineering must include a deep regard for ethical practices that should guide our actions and our obligations to the society we serve. Vint Cerf, The Ethics of the Internet of Things Ecosystem, The Marconi Society
“IoT devices placed strategically throughout even the most complex global supply chain can give managers deep, real-time insight into any problems, even before they arise.” The Internet of Things: Benefits and Risks, AIG
In “Harnessing the IoT For Global Development,” the International Telecommunications Union and Cisco partner to make a powerful case for how advances in the IoT can move us forward on a global scale. Three of the areas where they predict IoT will have the highest potential impact include disease containment, agricultural yield and economic prediction.
Connecting the dots using disparate pieces of data collected by IoT devices can help us resolve some of society’s biggest problems. Arafat Kazi, UMass Amherst, describes the higher purpose of the IoT in “Life, The Universe and The Internet of Things: “Ultimately, IoT’s biggest transformative power lies in what it can do for the greater good… Creating new pathways for us to help each other and contribute to the good of humanity—that is IoT’s ultimate goal.”
It is our job to carefully manage our participation in the IoT as it grows so that our contributions can serve the greater good of society, individually and collectively. This means designing for SAFETY, WELL-BEING, and creating a BETTER LIFE for future generations.
Seeing The Whole Ethical Picture
“As cars begin to drive themselves, who should be responsible for accidents? As systems take on more decisions previously made by humans, it will be increasingly challenging to create a framework for responsibility and accountability” (Francine Berman and Vinton G. Cerf, Social and Ethical Behavior in the Internet of Things, Communications of the ACM). We can carefully design our contributions to the IoT so that they actively benefit society and improve the public good. The catch is that to do this well, we will need to understand and carefully manage the ethics of all of the dimensions discussed here – Ethical Design, Legal Compliance, Human Impact, the Evolving Ecosystem and the Greater Good. The table below includes key ethical questions and global protocols for each dimension.
1ETHICAL DESIGN
Global Protocols
Think Through Ethical Issues Up Front Aim For Everyone in the Ecosystem to Win Design in Safety and Privacy Protection Protect Devices and Data From Interference/Tampering
Guiding Documents
“All actors should engage in a strong, active and constructive debate on the implications of the internet of things and its derived big data to raise awareness of the choices to be made.” Mauritius Declaration on the Internet of Things
“A complex web of stakeholders is forming around IoT products: from users, to businesses, and everyone in between. We design so that there is a win for everybody in this elaborate exchange.” IoT Design Manifesto 1.0, creative industries fund NL
“Privacy by design and default should no longer be regarded as something peculiar. They should become a key selling point of innovative technologies.” Mauritius Declaration on the Internet of Things
A simple firewall is no longer sufficient. One way to minimize the risk to individuals is to ensure that data can be processed on the device itself (local processing). Where this is not an option, companies should ensure end-to-end encryption is in place to protect the data from unwarranted interference and/or tampering. Mauritius Declaration on the Internet of Things
2: LEGAL COMPLIANCE
Global Protocols
Ensure Compliance With Laws Honor the Values Behind the Laws
Guiding Documents
“Ensure compliance with the data protection and privacy laws in their respective countries, as well as with the internationally agreed privacy principles. Where breaches of the law are discovered, they will seek appropriate enforcement action, either unilaterally or through means of international cooperation.” Mauritius Declaration on the Internet of Things
Protect Human Life, Safety and Well-Being Protect Human Identity, Privacy and Data Disclose Data Gathering Practices Be Transparent/Clear About How Data is Used
Guiding Documents
“It is not possible to focus solely on the technologies, at the risk of ignoring the human context in which these technologies must work. There are many difficult trade-offs involved — only some of which are technological… The purpose for which technology and applications are developed does not always end up as the sole — or even major — purpose for which they are actually used.” “Strategies to protect privacy must take a range of risks into account from a variety of different sources as well as adapt to local regulations;” Mr. Houlin Zhao, ITU Secretary-General, in Foreword of Harnessing the Internet of Things for Global Development by ITU and Cisco as A CONTRIBUTION TO THE UN BROADBAND COMMISSION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
“Considering that the identifiability and protection of big data already is a major challenge, it is clear that big data derived from internet of things devices makes this challenge many times larger. Therefore, such data should be regarded and treated as personal data.” Mauritius Declaration on the Internet of Things
“Transparency is key: those who offer internet of things devices should be clear about what data they collect, for what purposes and how long this data is retained. When purchasing an internet of things device or application, proper, sufficient and understandable information should be provided.” Mauritius Declaration on the Internet of Things
4: EVOLVING ECOSYSTEM
Global Protocols
Be Trustworthy and Reliable Actors in the Bigger Ecosystem
Guiding Documents
“More than ten speakers commented on the need for applications of IoT+Big Data+AI to be trusted and “trustworthy” (and how many different steps are needed to foster trust). These include protecting privacy and personal data, enhancing cybersecurity, being transparent about problems, respecting human rights, giving users alternatives if they find one service or application unsatisfactory, “design for safety,” and “design for diversity.” Internet Governance Forum, IGF Best Practice Forum on Internet of Things, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence
“It is a joint responsibility of all actors in society so that the trust in connected systems can be maintained. They should eliminate the out-of-context surprises for customers. “ Mauritius Declaration on the Internet of Things
“IoT devices will have the biggest societal impact where they are used together in larger, inter‐connected, systems. At the macro‐level, two of the areas of greatest IoT development and investment are smart cities – where infrastructure and building systems will improve the efficiency and sustainability of a whole range of urban activities – and smart power and water grids.” Regulation And The Internet of Things, GSR Discussion Paper, ITU
5: PUBLIC GOOD
Global Protocols Use The IoT to Improve Society For All
“Connecting up devices or robots (whether they are bridges, fridges or widgets) is only a means to an end — the really interesting part arises in terms of what can be done with the data obtained, and the learning outcomes for improving our future.” Harnessing the Internet of Things for Global Development by ITU and Cisco as a A CONTRIBUTION TO THE UN BROADBAND COMMISSION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
“IoT technologies could make an important contribution to global challenges such as improving public health and quality of life, moderating carbon emissions, and increasing the efficiency of a range of industries across developed and developing economies.” Regulation And The Internet of Things, GSR Discussion Paper, ITU
The IoT is increasingly thinking and evolving in organic ways. To harness its potential for enhancing human life and furthering the public good, and to diminish its potential for systematizing harm, we need to accept the challenge to do the ethical thinking now.
Looking at the Ethics of IoT through different perspectives one at a time, we will never be able to respond quickly enough to the ethical issues generated by its rapid evolution. We can choose, instead, to see the dimensions of the ethical picture as a whole. That broad picture will help us more easily predict where problems will happen in the future and create ethical solutions. It will assist us in global discussions about protocols, processes and laws.
Many organizations are working together to define AI ethics to ensure that it contributes to overall human well-being. The IoT can transform HUMANITY, evolving into a powerful ECOSYSTEM that advances the global ECONOMY and enables and supports the PUBLIC GOOD. These desired results will need to be achieved with a keen awareness of the ethical issues and a relentless commitment to ethical thinking and choices. For advances in technology to improve our lives they must be matched with corresponding rapid advances in ethical design. Only then will the results be positive and lasting.
Contributors:
Gerald Santucci and Rob van Kranenburg served as reviewers and contributed substantial feedback that helped shape this paper’s coherence and usefulness.
About the Author:
Linda Fisher Thornton is an author and leader in the field of ethical thinking and leadership. She helps executives, leaders and groups learn how to lead using the 7-dimensional model described in her book 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership. Linda is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Applied Ethics and Global Leadership for the University of Richmond SPCS. Her website is www.LeadinginContext.com.
Part 1 in this series introduced 5 Ethical Dimensions of IoT Leadership andthe importance of ethical foresight. Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 explored the dimensions of Ethical Design, Legal Compliance. and Human Impact. Today’s post explores a new dimension – Evolving Ecosystem.
4: EVOLVING ECOSYSTEM
The IoT is evolving organically, like our planet. Like our planet, we must think about it as a complex ecosystem, not a random collection of parts. The ecosystem we call “the Iot” is a rapidly growing collective that includes computers, devices, networks, the internet, data and communications as well as software and product designers, companies, regulators and consumers. All of these players in the IoT ecosystem have the power to change it through their decisions and actions.
The evolving IoT ecosystem is not just a complex tactical and technological system of systems. As Gérald Santucci explains, it is “a new social contract between humans, machines, and the immediate surroundings and everyday objects.” What can happen if we literally “put our daily lives into the hands” of this evolving ecosystem? In a complex ecosystem, the concept of “direct control” is absent. In other words, one action does not directly cause the intended reaction because there are so many actors and variables changing the dynamics at any one time.
The IoT is an evolving GLOBAL NETWORK, not a collection of INTERFACES, NETWORKS AND ENGINEERS. It is a globally connected community, with human and non-human actors and interfaces directing each other’s behavior. That makes it a new type of challenge that needs a high level, values-based response.
“Recent advances in disciplines such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, and neuropharmacology entail a ‘dual-use dilemma’ because they promise benefits for human health and welfare yet pose the risk of misuse for hostile purposes” (MIT, Innovation, Dual Use and Security, Book Overview). Unless ethics is a key factor driving device design and programming, we may not even have the option to keep IoT devices under control. Machine learning adds an “actively thinking and learning” element to the ecosystem, generating additional risks that require ethical design. Even if ethics is a key factor in design, some impacts from the connectedness and interdependence of IoT devices will be outside of our control.
“The danger of the increased vulnerabilities is not being addressed by security workers at the same rate that vendors are devoting time to innovation. Consider how one might perform security monitoring of thousands of medical nanobots in a human body.” Misty Blowers, USAF Research Laboratory, Jose Iribarne, Westrock, Edward Colbert, ICF International, Inc. , and Alexander Kott, US Army Research Laboratory in The Future Internet of Things and Security of Its Control Systems
The IoT is A Complex, Organic, Evolving Ecosystem With No “Owner” and No Limits “From self-driving cars on public roads to self-piloting reusable rockets landing on self-sailing ships, machine intelligence is supporting or entirely taking over ever more complex human activities at an ever increasing pace.” Moral Machine, MIT
“Any thing – even a human body, if equipped with the right electronic parts – can become part of IoT, so long as it can collect and transmit data through the Internet.” Marc Jadoul, The IoT, The Next Step in Internet Evolution, Nokia
“In the IoT, everything becomes an access point on the network, which creates new security and privacy challenges. To protect your network, you must understand how that data will move – from device to device, across data centers, and even across borders – and develop security and privacy protocols that will reliably collect the data in compliance with regulatory obligations.” The Internet of Things in the Cognitive Era, IBM
“We can’t treat IoT devices like cattle any more, we have to treat them like pets that live in people’s homes and get very, very angry when they don’t get fed. One day, if we’re not careful, we are going to put JavaScript into, I don’t know, an IoT kettle and light somebody’s house on fire because “undefined” is not a function.” Emily Gorcenski, The Ethics of the Internet of Things, JSConf EU
How will we keep our smart devices “under control” in this seemingly uncontrollable evolving ecosystem? Here are some key success factors.
We will need to imagine an ethical IoT and govern and guide its evolution accordingly.
“What kind of digital planet do we want? Because we are at a point where there is no turning back, and getting to ethical decisions, values decisions, decisions about democracy, is not something we have talked about enough nor in a way that has had impact… And sticking with the environmental metaphor, we really are at a choice point where we could build a forest, a rich ecosystem, something that supports life. Or we could end up very quickly with a clearcut, where there’s not much of anywhere to live and not much around at all.” Mark Surman, Are We Living Inside an Ethical (and Kind) Machine?, re:publica
IoT organizations will have to work together. (Note that even if they do, the challenges will be great).
“The ‘mission’ of the entire IoT ‘system’ was not pre-defined; it is dynamically defined by the demand of the consumer and the response of vendors. Little or no governance exists and current standards are weak. Cooperation and collaboration between vendors is essential for a secure future IoT, and there is no guarantee of success.” Misty Blowers, USAF Research Laboratory, Jose Iribarne, Westrock, Edward Colbert, ICF International, Inc. , and Alexander Kott, US Army Research Laboratory in The Future Internet of Things and Security of Its Control Systems
Monitoring and safety innovations will have to keep up with product innovation and the evolution of the IoT ecosystem. (Note that we are using the systems we want to control to manage the security of the IoT, reducing the human ability to impact the ecosystem even further).
“As automation increases in IoT control systems, software and hardware vulnerabilities will also increase.” “Automated security monitoring will be essential as control systems grow to exceed the capacity of humans to identify and process security logs and other security information.”
Physical security will have to increase its scope and vigilance in response to new risks. (Note that in addition to the risks in the virtual realm, the IoT also creates tangible objects that can be used to harm).
“As self-healing materials and 3D printers gain use in industry, supplychain attacks could introduce malicious effects, especially if new materials and parts are not inspected or tested before use.” Misty Blowers, USAF Research Laboratory, Jose Iribarne, Westrock, Edward Colbert, ICF International, Inc. , and Alexander Kott, US Army Research Laboratory in The Future Internet of Things and Security of Its Control Systems
We will need to upgrade our understanding of human rights to govern in this realm. (Note that whatever is decided about robot rights will add to the complexities of the ethics of the IoT).
“Many people assume the rights and protections we enjoy in democratic society are applicable to the IoT realm. Is this not the case? Whether we’re dealing with rights and protections in existing scenarios or new ones, the IoT will be a brave new world. We will need to conceptualize, extend, or re-establish a working notion of individual rights and the public good.” Francine Berman, Toward an Ethics of the Internet of Things
We will need to build trust, transparency and accountability into the system
“An important element of loT Good Practice is its supporting mutual trust amongst all the components of loT ecosystems: human, devices, applications, existing institutions and business entities. Trust is boosted by a recognition of personal needs; by transparency in how things are organized-namely in a way that clearly shows that relevant measures have been taken to meet those needs-; and by accountability in ensuring that responsibilities are clear, and if someone responsible (person or organization) fails to live up to what is promise or required, they will be made accountable, thus assuming a principles based front end (“ethical”) and harms based backend (accountable).”
Working Paper: IoT Good Practice Paper, Dynamic Coalition on the Internet of Things (DC-IoT)
We need to program smart devices to think ethically about the ethical implications of their choices, but when we do, will that be enough? It is clear that our currently used protocols are insufficient and that we will have to imagine solutions at a much higher level of complexity. If we don’t, the very ecosystem we want to “control,” will continue to evolve, and by evolving, will determine its own direction. That direction can quickly lead us toward outcomes that are not conducive to healthy lives and communities. Dealing with ecosystem-level questions now, we may have some ability to guide the outcome, but that window is closing fast.
This is Part 5 in the Series “5 Ethical Dimensions of IoT Leadership.”Watch for Part 6, scheduled for next week.
Contributors:
GeraldSantucci and Rob van Kranenburg served as reviewers and contributed substantial feedback that helped shape this paper’s coherence and usefulness.
About the Author:
Linda Fisher Thornton is an author and leader in the field of ethical thinking and leadership. She helps executives, leaders and groups learn how to lead using the 7-dimensional model described in her book 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership. Linda is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Applied Ethics and Global Leadership for the University of Richmond SPCS. Her website is www.LeadinginContext.com.
Part 1 in this series on 5 Ethical Dimensions of IoT Leadership focused on the importance of ethical foresight. Part 2 and Part 3 introduced two dimensions – Ethical Design and Legal Compliance. Today’s post explores a new dimension – Human Impact.
3: HUMAN IMPACT
According to futurist Gerd Leonhard, “The distinction between what is alive and what is not, between mind and ‘brute’ matter, between human and non-human has already started to blur. The IoT will not remain a separate thing but will go beyond the limits we still know” (Gerd Leonhard on the Societal Impact of IoT, http://brunomarion.com/gerd-leonhard/). This blurring that Leonhard describes will make it increasingly difficult to understand and manage the impact of the IoT on humans.
Creating Products That Help and Don’t Harm
“Programmers and systems engineers will need to feel empowered by ethical considerations to resist release of products that do not meet standards of safety, reliability, privacy and resilience.” “Voice recognition technology, for example, not only has to be able to tell what was said, but also who said it — no one wants to live in a house that obeys commands from strangers. Dr. Vinton G. Cerf, Google, Responsible Engineering and The Internet of Things, CIO Review
“A proliferation of devices without screens or user interfaces means that consumers may not be provided with adequate privacy notices, and that relatively intimate data may be gathered from them without their knowledge.” Terrell McSweeny, Consumer Protection in the Age of Connected Everything, New York Law School IoT Symposium
“This business evolution will require a new partnership between those who understand and advocate for the user and those who understand and integrate the technology.” Scott A. Nelson and Paul Metaxatos, The Internet of Things Needs Design Not Just Technology, Harvard Business Review
Adding to the challenges involved in mitigating any negative human impact of the IoT, there is considerable temptation to add IoT capability where it might not be appropriate because the technology is so affordable. “The price of turning a dumb device into a smart device will be 10 cents,” says Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer at F-Secure.” “The IoT devices of the future won’t go online to benefit you — you won’t even know that it’s an IoT device,” says Hyppönen. “And you won’t be able to avoid this, you won’t be able to buy devices which aren’t IoT devices, you won’t be able to restrict access to the internet because they won’t be going online through your Wi-Fi. We can’t avoid it, it’s going to happen” (Danny Palmer, Internet of Things security: What happens when every device is smart and you don’t even know it?).
It is not enough for software engineers to make devices that “work” without considering the broader impact of those devices on overall human well-being. IoT connected devices are also expected to “work” for humanity, protecting people from harm and preserving and enhancing quality of life. Increasingly, people expect brands to make ethical choices, SERVING THEM with positive intent and impact. FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez says that “the only way for the Internet of Things to reach its full potential for innovation is with the trust of American consumers” (FTC Report on Internet of Things Urges Companies to Adopt Best Practices to Address Consumer Privacy and Security Risks).
Technology that orchestrates people’s lives in ways that benefit them can also harm them. It is our job to reduce/avoid the potential for harm through our design. It is our job to make sure that we and any non-human IoT actors are using “technology power” in an ethical delivery system that protects humans in all respects. To accomplish that, we will need to monitor for ethical design with human protections built in.
This is Part 4 in a series on 5 Ethical Dimensions of IoT Leadership. Stay tuned for Part 5.
Contributors:
Gerald Santucci and Rob van Kranenburg served as reviewers and contributed substantial feedback that helped shape this paper’s coherence and usefulness.
About the Author:
Linda Fisher Thornton is an author and leader in the field of ethical thinking and leadership. She helps executives, leaders and groups learn how to lead using the 7-dimensional model described in her book 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership. Linda is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Applied Ethics and Global Leadership for the University of Richmond SPCS. Her website is www.LeadinginContext.com.
Part 1 in this Series introduced 5 Ethical Dimensions of IoT Leadership and the importance of Ethical Foresight. Part 2 explored the 1st dimension – Ethical Design. Part 3 discusses Legal Compliance, the 2nd dimension.
2: LEGAL COMPLIANCE
The IoT is taking us into new legal and ethical territory, and it is critical that we understand the potential consequences of our choices. Laws will change as we learn more about the potential of the IoT to cause harm. Along the way, there may be perfectly legal options that can cause dire consequences. For example, many devices, including appliances, that were not originally designed to be connected to the internet or to each other are now being connected. This raises many legal and ethical issues including privacy, security and safety, which are not yet resolved, and the choices we make will have a direct impact on people and society.
Imaginers, creators and implementers of new technologies and products will need to think about the legal and ethical issues that might arise from the use of devices they design during the R&D phase, not just during deployment, when it is too late to build in robust protections for users.Since laws and regulations cannot keep up with the pace of technological innovation and change and rapid increases in device connectivity, self-regulation will be required to fill the gap.
The IoT is Taking Us Into New Legaland Ethical Territory
“Governance theorists are beginning to recognize that ‘objects of governance are only known through attempts to govern them’ 55 and that ‘governance is not a choice between centralization and decentralization. It is about regulating relationships in complex systems.’ 56” OSCE (Organization For Security and Co-Operation in Europe), Self-regulation, Co-regulation, State Regulation
“IoT devices can quickly generate legal and ethical conundrums that no one currently has any idea how to resolve. Just one example: Should a driverless automobile take every action it can to protect its occupants from harm, even if that means “deliberately” harming other motorists or pedestrians?” AIG, The Internet of Things: Benefits and Risks
“Determining who controls all that data and what is done with it will lead us down some interesting paths.” Jim Hunter, What Will the Internet Be When it Grows Up?, Techcrunch
The ethical thinking that guides self-regulation must be high level and holistic to address new domains of connectedness between human, animal, planet and machine. “Recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning suggest the longstanding dream of being able to converse with animals — in a limited fashion — could become a reality” (Bahar Gholipour, Dogs Can’t Speak Human. Here’s The Tech That Could Change That, NBC News). Microsoft’s “Joppa envisions an ‘AI digital dashboard where we’re really able to put our finger on the pulse of Earth’s natural systems’” (Stephen Schmidt, Artificial intelligence could play a pivotal role in managing and protecting planet’s natural resources, Public Radio International). The ethical realm of the IoT includes new stakeholders (animals and the planet) and stakeholders in new combinations (human-animal-machine and machine-planet-community).
To guide self-regulation efforts by individual actors in the IoT space, clear directives are needed that provide ethical boundaries. Since the IoT knows no geographic boundaries, a global perspective and global guidance are required. There are many resources now available to guide successful self-regulation, developed by global groups and organizations who imagine a successful and ethical IoT. Here are some of the resources available that draw ethical IoT boundaries:
Declaration on IoT directs designers to apply “privacy by design and default” with all information derived from IoT devices treated as “personal data.”)
Laws will gradually evolve in response to technology entering new domains of our lives, but we cannot wait for that to happen. Responsible businesses in today’s marketplace are benefitting from ethical brand value and tapping into its power to attract and engage constituents including consumers, employees and partners. They are responding to increasing demands for transparency and accountability. Those IoT actors who apply the emerging and increasingly clear global ethical guidelines are likely to benefit from a powerful and growing trend toward supporting ethical business. In The rise of the conscious consumer: why businesses need to open up (The Guardian) Jessi Baker points out that “In an increasingly open, digital world where authenticity is the buzzword of choice, businesses must keep up with growing demands for ethical behaviour and transparency in everything from employee rights and gender discrimination to the supply chain.” Companies can be innovative and at the same time design and deploy devices that meet increasing legal and ethical expectations.
This is Part 3 in a weekly series on 5 Ethical Dimensions of IoT Leadership. Part 4 will explore the 3rd dimension.
Contributors:
Gerald Santucciand Rob van Kranenburg served as reviewers and contributed substantial feedback that helped shape this paper’s coherence and usefulness.
About the Author:
Linda Fisher Thornton is an author and leader in the field of ethical thinking and leadership. She helps executives, leaders and groups learn how to lead using the 7-dimensional model described in her book 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership. Linda is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Applied Ethics and Global Leadership for the University of Richmond SPCS. Her website is www.LeadinginContext.com.
Linda Fisher Thornton
