The ethics of emerging technologies: Real time macroethical assessment

We now live in an era that many scientists are beginning to refer to as the ldquoAnthropocenerdquo - roughly translated as the Age of Humans. The anthropogenic Earth is characterized by integrated built/human/natural systems of extraordinary complexity. Technology and technology systems are important dimensions of virtually all of these systems, an important observation because foundational technologies, especially information and communication technologies, are exhibiting accelerating rates of change. This not only means that the future paths of these systems are highly uncertain and unpredictable, but that both cultural and institutional systems, including ethical systems, are increasingly contingent and uncertain. This creates a need for a new ethical capability: real time macroethical assessment.