Developing cyber-policy and infrastructure is something that is necessary, especially as society continues to make even greater technological advances. With the technological advances we have accomplished, a great deal of caution and responsibility comes into play when we think about the implications of the things that we create. When deciding to create new technologies, we must consider ethics. Hans Jonas has a pretty interesting perspective about the ethics surrounding technology. In his paper he outlines some of the more traditional ethics that have been passed down the generations since the earliest civilizations. One example is the saying “Do unto others as you would wish them to do unto you”. He doesn’t attempt to render these traditional ethics invalid, as they are still useful in regular everyday life. Though, he does acknowledge that the decisions centered around the creation, implementation, and use of technology, those traditional ethics don’t properly work for the hard decisions that need to be made.

 Post-modern technology, humans could never hope to effect nature in any long-lasting, negative capacity. Well, with the creation of modern technology, the notion that humans are incapable of effecting nature is gone. Now we have the capacity and knowledge to create things that could bring about the end of humans or permanently change the way that we live as humans today. An example of this kind of change is the discovery that we were capable of splitting atoms. To put this into a different context; in recent years there has been so much uncertainty and fear surrounding the creation of artificial intelligence. While we may have the capability to create it, we also have the responsibility to know what the implications of such a creation would bring. This is why Hans Jonas thinks that our old ethics aren’t necessarily relevant when it comes to technology. He proposes that we may need a new code of ethics, specifically to govern it, and I agree.

 This is how I believe society should approach the development of cyber-policy and infrastructure. We need to realize that it is impossible to know the outcome of our actions with 100% accuracy and that any knowledge that we gain will come after we are forced to face the effects of our actions, as according to this week’s reading. Therefore, we must develop cyber-policy and infrastructure, governed by a new, specific set of ethics that requires we exercise “responsible restraint” when it comes to the unknowns of making technological advances.