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Tomorrow’s ethics and today’s response: An investigation into the ways information systems professionals perceive and address emerging ethical issues

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  • Kutoma J. Wakunuma

    (The Gateway)

  • Bernd Carsten Stahl

    (The Gateway)

Abstract

This paper explores the question of how foresight and futures research can identify and address ethical issues in the field of Information Systems (IS). Starting from the premise that such IS are part of socio-technical systems, the interaction between technology and human actors raise ethical concerns. Early recognition of these concerns can address ethical issues and improve the use of the technology for a range of social and organisational goals. This paper discusses research conducted in two futures research projects. Both projects investigated emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs) and ethics. The first project established approaches for identifying future technologies and their related ethical concerns. This led to the identification of 11 emerging ICTs and their associated ethical concerns. The second project took these general ethical concerns and focused on their role in IS. Specifically, how IS professionals view future emerging technologies, their associated ethical concerns, and how they think these concerns could be addressed. The key findings are that IS professionals are primarily interested in the job at hand and less so in the ethical concerns that the job might bring; ethics is a concern that is best left for others to deal with. This paper considers the implications of research on ethics in emerging ICTs and draws general conclusions about the relevance of future technologies research in IS.

Suggested Citation

  • Kutoma J. Wakunuma & Bernd Carsten Stahl, 2014. "Tomorrow’s ethics and today’s response: An investigation into the ways information systems professionals perceive and address emerging ethical issues," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 383-397, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:infosf:v:16:y:2014:i:3:d:10.1007_s10796-014-9490-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10796-014-9490-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Gray & Anat Hovav, 1999. "Using Scenarios to Understand the Frontiers of IS," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 15-24, July.
    2. 觉 梁, 2011. "Editors' Forum: Research and Publishing Ethics," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 7(3), pages 85-94, November.
    3. 晓萍 陈, 2011. "Editors' Forum: Research and Publishing Ethics," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 7(3), pages 35-44, November.
    4. Kerstin Cuhls, 2003. "From forecasting to foresight processes-new participative foresight activities in Germany," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2-3), pages 93-111.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Paul M. Gangi & Allen C. Johnston & James L. Worrell & Samuel C. Thompson, 2018. "What could possibly go wrong? A multi-panel Delphi study of organizational social media risk," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 20(5), pages 1097-1116, October.
    3. Benjamin Mueller, 2022. "Corporate Digital Responsibility," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 64(5), pages 689-700, October.
    4. Jaana Porra & Mary Lacity & Michael S. Parks, 2020. "“Can Computer Based Human-Likeness Endanger Humanness?” – A Philosophical and Ethical Perspective on Digital Assistants Expressing Feelings They Can’t Have”," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 533-547, June.
    5. Anat Hovav, 2014. "Using scenarios to understand the frontiers of IS: Fifteen years later (a postscript)," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 347-352, July.
    6. Wakunuma, Kutoma & Masika, Rachel, 2017. "Cloud computing, capabilities and intercultural ethics: Implications for Africa," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(7), pages 695-707.
    7. Simon Kloker, 2020. "Non-addictive Information Systems," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 549-562, June.
    8. Darrell Carpenter & Alexander McLeod & Chelsea Hicks & Michele Maasberg, 2018. "Privacy and biometrics: An empirical examination of employee concerns," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 91-110, February.
    9. Simon Kloker, 0. "Non-addictive Information Systems," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-14.
    10. Raza, Syed Arshad, 2021. "Managing ethical requirements elicitation of complex socio-technical systems with critical systems thinking: A case of course-timetabling project," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    11. Romanus Izuchukwu Okeke & Max Hashem Eiza, 2023. "The Application of Role-Based Framework in Preventing Internal Identity Theft Related Crimes: A Qualitative Case Study of UK Retail Companies," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 451-472, April.
    12. Darrell Carpenter & Alexander McLeod & Chelsea Hicks & Michele Maasberg, 0. "Privacy and biometrics: An empirical examination of employee concerns," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    13. Paul M. Gangi & Allen C. Johnston & James L. Worrell & Samuel C. Thompson, 0. "What could possibly go wrong? A multi-panel Delphi study of organizational social media risk," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 0, pages 1-20.
    14. Andy Weeger & Xuequn Wang & Heiko Gewald & Mahesh Raisinghani & Otavio Sanchez & Gerald Grant & Siddhi Pittayachawan, 2020. "Determinants of Intention to Participate in Corporate BYOD-Programs: The Case of Digital Natives," Information Systems Frontiers, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 203-219, February.

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