The Ethics of Technology Development and Technology Use

Abstract

Technology is defined functionally as the way we get things done, thus including the people, protocol, and occasions, as well as the "things" intended to change communities when implemented. A relatively small group of individuals is engaged in technology development. They are paid a salary or otherwise given rewards for following standards approved by their peers. There is also a technology of use, where individuals derive value from changing their life patterns to take advantage of new ways of using technology. The ethics of the technology of use is different from and more complicated than the ethics of technology development because of multiple, interacting perspectives that may evolve over times. Examples are given from the general literature and from dentistry. A simple rule, act so as to bring about the community one wishes to live in, is suggested as an approximation for the ethics of technology use.

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