Digressions on Ethics in the Internet of Things

By Gérald Santucci
 
 
“L’homme robot, l’homme termite, l’homme oscillant du travail à la chaîne système Bedeau, à la belote. L’homme châtré de tout son pouvoir créateur, et qui ne sait même plus, du fond de son village, créer une danse ni une chanson. L’homme que l’on alimente en culture de confection, en culture standard comme on alimente les bœufs en foin.
C’est cela l’homme d’aujourd’hui.
Si je suis descendu, je ne regretterai absolument rien. La termitière future m’épouvante. Et je hais leur vertu de robots. Moi, j’étais fait pour être jardinier.”
(Antoine de SAINT-EXUPERY)

The ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT) is no longer a futuristic concept as it was when I was responsible for the IoT unit at European Commission DG CNECT between 2005 and 2012. It is an incredible economic force that is quickly developing even if today its thrust and impact are partly hidden by the boom and the hype of Artificial Intelligence.

Indeed, the IoT – the metaverse and Web3 likewise – has turned old-fashioned in the last few years in favor of generative artificial intelligence that has captured all the attention from media and professionals. Insofar as today generative IA seems to go around in circles with a stream of announcements of the launch of new models and technical benchmarks, time is ripe to remind the reality of industry by reintroducing IoT in the collective conversation.

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Therefore, what we should be aware of is that the ethics of IoT is not only a matter of compliance with and enforcement of existing regulations, or a problem of privacy and security, even if these elements are extremely important, it is primarily a collective reflection on the future of humanity and Sarah SPIEKERMANN’s Idea of Man in a context where hyperconnectivity among human beings and with their artefacts raises a new challenge to the concept of human identity. After the Saint, the Hero, the Wise Man, the Honnête Homme, and now the Hyperconnected Human, what role model of human is to emerge?

Is there anything between Clyne’s Cyborg and Nietzsche’s Superman?

This is probably the biggest challenge to which our generation shall have to respond.