Big Data, Ethics and Religion

New Questions from a New Science

Bibliographic Data

ID3371905
AuthorsMichael Fuller (0000-0003-2060-4437, University of Edinburgh, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume8
Issue5
Pages88
Publication date2017-05-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel8050088
OpenAlexW2613386751
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited8

Hopes, fears, and ethical concerns relating to technology are as old as technology itself. When considering the increase in the power of computers, and their ever-more widespread use over recent decades, concerns have been raised about the social impact of computers and about practical issues arising from their use: the manner in which data is harvested, the preservation of confidentiality where people's personal information is concerned, the security of systems in which such data is stored, and so on. With the arrival of "big data" new ethical concerns surrounding computer-based technology arise-concerns connected not only with social issues, and with the generation of data and its security, but also with its interpretation by data scientists, and with the burgeoning trade in personal data. The first aim of this paper is to introduce some of these ethical issues, and the second is to suggest some possible ways in which they might be addressed. The latter includes some explorations of the ways in which insights from religious and theological perspectives might be valuable. It is urged that theology and data science might engage in mutually-beneficial dialogue

Big data · Computer security · Confidentiality · Data security · Engineering ethics · Ethical issues · Internet privacy · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · Data-Driven Disease Surveillance · Engineering · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Law · Misinformation and Its Impacts

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access