Five Moral Dimensions of the Information Age

The major ethical, social, and political issues that information systems raise include the following moral dimensions.

  • Information rights and obligations What information rights do individuals and organizations possess with respect to themselves? What can they protect?
  • Property rights and obligations How will traditional intellectual property rights be protected in a digital society in which tracing and accounting for owner­ship are difficult, and ignoring such property rights is so easy?
  • Accountability and control Who can and will be held accountable and liable for the harm done to individual and collective information and property rights?
  • System quality What standards of data and system quality should we demand to protect individual rights and the safety of society?
  • Quality of life What values should be preserved in an information- and knowledge-based society? Which institutions should we protect from violation? Which cultural values and practices does the new information technology support?

We explore these moral dimensions in detail in Section 4-3.

Source: Laudon Kenneth C., Laudon Jane Price (2020), Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm, Pearson; 16th edition.

One thought on “Five Moral Dimensions of the Information Age

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *