embedded in automation – are overlooked as they are invisible, too deeply embedded in the tech stack. New relationships and alliances can form new political imaginaries and possibilities and be more robust than monocultures of digital acceptance.
We can expect inequalities to be solidified, if not exacerbated. That will generate political tensions, leading government – often unaware of the implications of the use of technology – to succumb to the temptation of using technologies for control, and so the vicious cycle continues. Regulation can provide part of the answer: currently societies such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and others are scrambling to provide adequate governance, and regulation will almost certainly follow. But regulation can only go so far. Ultimately these are political, societal and economic decisions, reflecting civic values that lie at the heart of individual states and regions and their future.
Dr. Kobi Leins is Senior Research Fellow in Digital Ethics at the School of Engineering and IT and the Centre for AI and Digital Ethics (CAIDE), University of Melbourne, and Non-Resident Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research; Dr. Lesley Seebeck is Honorary Professor at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Australian National University.