Why Is Gartner Picking Digital Ethics And Privacy As A Strategic Trend? – Part 2

The Ever-Growing Concern For Privacy In The Tech World

Dubbing digital ethics and privacy in the case of blockchain as a growing concern for individuals, organization and governments, the analyst Gartner writes that people are increasingly concerned about how their personal information is being used by organisations thereby in both public and private sector with the backlash only increasing for organisations which are not proactively addressing the concerns. 

The fact is true that people are being increasingly concerned about privacy even though ethics and privacy are hardly new concepts whereas the key point is the strategic obfuscation of issues while people do care a lot about the selective and non-transparent applications of various behind-the-scenes technologies up to now with engineers having gone about collecting and using people’s data without telling them how, why and what they are doing with it. 

The key issue is therefore about the abuse of trust which has been an inherent as well as a seemingly foundational principle of the application of far too much cutting-edge technology up to now whereas it is especially in the adtech sphere. Now Gartner notes it is coming home to roost for the industry via people’s growing concern about what is being done to them via their data. The catalyst for the accelerated concern about digital ethics and privacy is the technology development done in a vacuum with little or no consideration for the societal impacts where Gartner is identifying rising into the strategic view. 

Blockchain Or Not, The Need Of The Hour Is Ethics

Whereas it didn’t have to be done that way as unlike blockchain or digital twins ethics and privacy which are not all new concepts as they have been discussion topics for the philosophers and moralists for scores of generations which thousands of years making engineering without consideration of human and societal impacts of a very spectacular and stupid failure indeed. Thereafter Gartner is having to lecture organisations on the importance of building trust were the kind of incredible to see set alongside as the bleeding edge sciences like quantum computing where we seemingly are in kindergarten. 

Thereby it is written that:

Privacy is set to be grounded in the broader topic of digital ethics, where any discussion is on the trust of the customers, constituents, and employees. Trust is actually about more than just these components while privacy and security are foundational components in building trust.

Here the acceptance of the truth of a statement without evidence or investigation is termed truth. Here the organisation’s position on privacy should be ultimately driven by the broader position on ethics and trust. The conversation moves beyond shifting from privacy to ethics and beyond are we compliant toward are we doing the right thing. 

What Is Unique About Technology Offering Privacy?

Here one unique thing about digital ethics and privacy is that it cuts right across all the other technology areas to be listed in the trend list. In this context, you can and surely should ask what blockchain is meant for privacy? Whereas quantum computing for ethics? The empowered edge to be used to enhance privacy? How are the smart spaces eroding it? Can we ensure that ethics get baked into the AI-driven development from the get-go? Where is the augmented analytics helping society as a whole as which are the individuals it might harm? The questions go on and on. 

While they have to go on, never stop asking questions where ethics ad privacy is concerned. The main strategy that condensed into Facebook’s ‘move fast and break things’ anti-humanitarian manifesto of the yore was mainly not asking questions. The motto they had to ditch after it realized that breaking all the things didn’t scale. No one at the company had thought to ask how breaking everyone’s stuff would help it engender trust so claiming the compliance without trust, as Facebook now finds itself trying to be the archetypal Sisyphean struggle. 

Finally Closing Down The Discussion On Digital Privacy And Ethics 

Where the digital world is reeling in the privacy and ethics front, it is sure that there is more to be noted when people are concerned about the privacy of their personal information. While we find blockchain to be the best suited for personal information privacy, it is still needed to be wide-flung thanks to the regulatory issues it is facing across the globe. Rest assured we can hope for more in the privacy and ethics of the personal information strategies of the tech world.