Schwab (2016) states that we are on the brink of the fourth industrial revolution known as the digital revolution. The author goes on to describe this revolution as building on the technological revolution yet states this digital revolution will be like nothing we have experienced before. The speed of digital development and the expansion of the cyber world are growing faster than we have ever seen development grow in the past. Verbeek (2014) delves into this new world describing this new technological age as “onlife” and the intelligification of our material world. Verbeek sees this exponential growth in technology as inevitable and states we are better to embrace this change rather than try to avoid or eliminate it for no other reason that we simply cannot stop the inevitable. Technology is here to stay and will continue to expand and develop into more complex platforms and applications that intermingle into our everyday lives. We are already there. The true question is not how to dampen these developments but rather how to accept them and integrate them into our everyday lives, our governance, and our ethics.

Schwab (2016) acknowledges, as does Verbeek (2014), that we already live in an integrated world of artificial intelligence, smart equipment, and “onlife” reality. Verbeek (2014) states that we no longer live in two separate realms but rather one, combining the reality of our material world and our cyber world. Now we must look to the future and decide how we manage this new technological world we have created. With applications such as Google Glass emerging, individual privacy becomes paramount. How do we regulate this application so as to protect the users? As stated in this article, there are approaches we can take to regulate the use and disclosure of information and alert the users when this data is being shared. Opt- out options must be available to users who wish to keep their data private. Organizations such as Google who are developing these types of technology, must be regulated in how they bring their products to the market. Users must have options available to limit access to other users, protect their privacy, and secure their personal data. These regulations must be inclusive and incorporate government, private sector businesses, and individual use. No one can have the “right” to pirate another individual’s private data for their own use or profit whether legally or illegally procured.

Once we have begun to implement regulations surrounding technology and the disclosure of private information, we must consider the ethical aspects of this issue. As we read in the article by Jonas (2014), we are encountering a new level of ethics in light of our cyber development. While we cannot predict what the future holds for development of technology, as a society, we must continue to think critically about how we use information that we garner from online sources. With the exponential evolution of technology, we must consider the ramifications of data that is stored and shared in the cyber world. From DNA testing that reveals every aspect of our biological makeup to smart toilets that can determine what an individual has ingested, we must determine where the boundaries lie for protecting this information. Laws such as HIPPA are designed to protect the privacy of an individual’s medical information however, who is regulating organizations such as 23 and Me or Ancestry.com?  Hundreds of thousands of individuals readily share their DNA without much regard to its new ownership or knowing where this data is shared. It is imperative that we develop regulations that address these types of issues as they continue to grow and develop. The safety and security of personal data gathered from our own smart technology is at risk and few people realize exactly what they are sharing and with whom.

Jonas, H. (2014). Technology and responsibility: Reflections on the new tasks of ethics. Ethics and Emerging Technologies, 37–47. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137349088_3

Schwab, K. (2016, January 14). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What It Means and how to respond. World Economic Forum. Retrieved April 14, 2022, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/

Verbeek, P.-P. (2014). Designing the public sphere: Information technologies and the politics of Mediation. The Onlife Manifesto, 217–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-04093-6_21