One continuing theme in our class discussions is how the digital age is changing the world now and how it will affect future generations. The article below is the tragic report of how a university student in New Jersey committed suicide after his roommate broadcasted a video clip of his sexual encounter with a man. The Newshour interview shows two perspectives about what happened and some suggestions on what future changes should be made about privacy in the digital age.
When discussing Clementi’s roommates roll in the suicide, William Saletan, a national correspondent, claims “it is the temptation that the technology poses that draws him in. And I think he didn't understand how serious what he was doing was.” Saletan later confesses, “And we have not educated these kids to handle the responsibility of the additional power they have, in this case, power to do damage.” He also mentions a similar situation that happened nine years ago. Nine years later, could steps have been taken to prevent situations like Clementi’s? Does the technology change too fast to prevent such situations? Are people unable to adjust so quickly, or is there an underlying responsibility that applies no matter the technology and advancements?
One solution to help educate the students is Saletans suggestion to create rules that include an “expectation of privacy” and “the cardinal rule of consent.” Do you think creating rules like these on a college campus could prevent something like this in the future? What will the privacy rules and laws be in the future? Will users of new technology have more or less privacy than now?
PBS Newshour - Student's Death Sparks Questions on Privacy in the Digital Age 8 min
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/social_issues/july-dec10/rutgers2_10-01.html
New York Times Article about Tyler Clementi and cyberbullying
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/nyregion/30suicide.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1
Issues like this one highlight the extent to which legislation and institutional rules lag behind technological innovation. It is the nature of invention and society that legislation only comes once mistakes have been made, once society has discovered what can go wrong with its miraculous new inventions. Take for example the stock market, automobiles, and PCBs: It took a great depression, countless traffic accidents, extreme pollution and disease to elicit the necessary controls to keep people safe from all of these once new technologies. It is too easy for me to make the connection here to GMO foods as well. When will we know the consequences and how will we handle them? This is the ever-evolving story of progress.
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