Information Age Threats to Privacy, Accuracy, and Safety

Introduction

The information age is the third great era that the human race has entered. It is referred to as an "age" because it has affected every society on the globe and has become a global phenomenon. The information age follows the preceding agricultural and industrial ages. By the term information age, we generally refer to the easy means of sharing information through the internet and other modern communication technologies.

One often confuses information with information society. An information society is limited to certain societies in the world, while the information age is a global phenomenon (Kizza). It is also a fact that information is power. It may initially be difficult to understand how information can constitute power, but if we consider how everyday life is influenced by information — especially that derived from the internet — it becomes easier to understand the power that information possesses.

It is therefore critical that information be utilized in a proper manner. As with any other form of power, whether financial or political, power derived from internet-based information can be misused for unethical purposes that are potentially harmful. This is where the modern information age presents certain disadvantages and potentially dangerous consequences for individuals in particular and for the human race in general.

This paper addresses three aspects of the potentially harmful effects of the information age, argues against their proliferation, and considers possible measures and safeguards to prevent such harms. The three thesis statements guiding this discussion are as follows:

1) There is no guarantee of privacy for personal information stored on the internet or on devices connected to it, and therefore the information age can be considered to put human dignity at risk.

2) Information present on the internet cannot always be vouched for as accurate, and decisions made on the basis of such information can be disastrous.

3) The use of technology has created an opportunity for societal threats — such as terrorist organizations — to communicate clandestinely and hatch plots to cause harm and damage to individuals, groups, or entire communities.

Information Age and Privacy and Human Dignity

Although there is no single established definition of human dignity, human-rights theorists describe it as the inherent worth of every person, which forms the basis for all human rights. Such descriptions are found in foundational documents like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In their article "Human Dignity: A Guide to Policy Making in the Biotechnology Era?", Timothy Caulfield and Roger Brownsword stress the argument that since all humans have dignity, they have the right to self-determination. The authors cite debates on human dignity with respect to controversial biotechnologies, including bio-banks, human gene patents, stem cell research, and human cloning — all of which are products of technological and informational advancement in the information age. For example, Article 53(a) of the European Patent Convention addresses how a patent on a human gene sequence raises concerns about the violation of human dignity when a copy of such a sequence is produced, and stresses that this should not be permitted as it degrades human dignity (Caulfield and Brownsword).

The threat to privacy — of personal information becoming public or being accessed by unintended parties — is also considered a violation of human dignity. Such information is often highly sensitive, and individuals do not wish others to access it. Yet the information age contains loopholes that are exploited by unscrupulous individuals who gather personal information for various purposes. It can therefore be said that the information age has placed basic human dignity under threat.

This corruption is driven by the increased value of information in decision-making. Information is power, and any form of information can be converted into political or financial power. The situation is made more threatening by the fact that most invasions of privacy do not occur dramatically but creep up on individuals slowly. When an individual's intimate details are revealed without consent, that person's ability to form certain professional and personal relationships is compromised. It can therefore be argued that the information age has come to threaten the privacy — and thereby the dignity — of human beings (Caulfield and Brownsword).

Conclusion

From the above discussions, it is clear that while the information age has given the human race a wealth of opportunities, certain aspects of it are potentially dangerous and can lead to harm — both physical and mental — for individuals. The lack of guarantees around the security of personal information can lead to the degradation of human dignity. Critical decisions made on the basis of inaccurate information can result in serious losses for individuals. Finally, the greatest threat emanating from the information age may be the ease and clandestine nature of information sharing among terrorist organizations and members of organized crime, enabling them to share information that has the potential to harm large numbers of people. Awareness of these risks, combined with effective policy responses and technological safeguards, is essential to ensuring that the information age serves humanity rather than endangering it.

References

Binkley, P. "Wikipedia Grows Up." Feliciter, 2006, pp. 59–61. Print.

Caulfield, T., and R. Brownsword. "Human Dignity: A Guide to Policy Making in the Biotechnology Era?" Nature Reviews Genetics, vol. 7, 2006, pp. 72–76. Web.

Gabriel, W. "Terror on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube." The Brown Journal of World Affairs, Spring 2010, 2010. Print.

Kizza, Joseph Migga. Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age. Springer-Verlag, 2003. Print.