Ethical systems in an age of accelerating technological evolution

The Industrial Revolution and associated economic, demographic, technological and cultural changes have resulted in what many scientists are beginning to refer to as "the Anthropocene" - roughly translated, the Age of Humans. Part of the social response to this development is increasing concern about fundamental technological systems, including information and communication technologies ("ICT") and ICT infrastructure. While individual engineering decisions are governed by a clear set of professional ethics, many of the questions raised about ICT systems, such as the effect of the Internet on adolescents or the existence and meaning of the "digital divide" between rich and poor, arise at levels of the systems which are not addressed by codes of ethics that govern individual behavior. Accordingly, there is a need to develop the capability for "macroethics," or ethical systems that address issues arising from the high level emergent behaviors exhibited by these complex ICT systems.