Rathenau Instituut Urgent Upgrade Protect public values in our digitized society Report Urgent Upgrade Protect public values in our digitized society Linda Kool, Jelte Timmer, Lambèr Royakkers and Rinie van Est Board of the Rathenau Instituut G.A. Verbeet (chairman) Prof. dr. E.H.L. Aarts Prof. dr. ir. W.E. Bijker Prof. dr. R. Cools Dr. J.H.M. Dröge Drs. E.J.F.B. van Huis Prof. dr. R.M. Letschert Prof. dr. ir. P.P.C.C. Verbeek Prof. dr. M.C. van der Wende Dr. ir. M.M.C.G. Peters (secretary) Urgent Upgrade Protect public values in our digitized society Linda Kool, Jelte Timmer, Lambèr Royakkers and Rinie van Est Rathenau Instituut Rathenau Instituut Anna van Saksenlaan 51 PO Box 95366 2509 CJ The Hague Telephone: 070-342 15 42 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.rathenau.nl Publisher: Rathenau Instituut Editor: Science stories Translation: Val Kidd Illustrations: Rikkers Infographics Cover photo: iStock Design: Rathenau Instituut Printing: Rathenau Instituut Preferred citation: Kool, L., J. Timmer, L. Royakkers en R. van Est, Urgent Upgrade - Protect public values in our digitized society. The Hague, Rathenau Instituut 2017 Rathenau Instituut has an Open Access policy. Published reports, background studies, scientific articles and software are freely available. Research data will be available, subject to the legal provisions and ethical standards for research on third party rights, privacy and copyright. © Rathenau Instituut 2017 Permission to make digital or hard copies of (parts of) this work for creative, personal or educational purposes is granted, provided that copies are not made or used for commercial purposes and with the condition that the copies contain the full reference stated above. In all other situations, no part of this publication may be reproduced and/or published by means of print, photocopy, or any other medium without prior written consent. 6 Urgent Upgrade Foreword My diary had a lock on it. I could write down whatever I liked because no-one else ever read it. Digitization has put an end to that. Your e-reader is looking over your shoulder, monitoring which passages interest you most. And your childrens’ toys are nowadays so smart that the manufacturer is listening in via the Internet. Is that bad? Yes. The current study 'Opwaarderen – safeguarding public values in the digital society' describes how the far-reaching digitization of society is raising fundamental ethical and societal issues. It reveals that governments, regulators, industry and society are not yet fully equipped to deal with this new set of challenges. At stake are important public values and human rights such as privacy, equal treatment, autonomy and human dignity. Rathenau Instituut carried out this study as a result of a motion tabled in the Dutch Senate on 23 September 2014, asking the government to investigate the desirability of a committee that can advise on the ethical aspects of the digitization of society. The motion surmised that digitization is compromising some important values. Our investigation confirmed this is the case. Rathenau Instituut was established three decades ago to investigate new science and technology and their impact on society. The key issue at that time was automation. Currently we are looking at digitization. Having analysed the effects of this development on the labour market, last year we presented our findings on big data, data in the field of medicine and digital coaches. Now we are comprehensively investigating which technologies are expected to shape the digital society in the coming years, which societal and ethical challenges the process will evoke, and to what extent these challenges are already part of the societal and political agenda and also institutionally embedded. We identify blind spots, draw up a list of necessary actions and look at what role a committee could play. I am grateful to the Senate for their knowledge question. I would also like to thank staff at the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom relations and the supervisory committee: Corien Prins, Jeroen van den Hoven, Inez de Beaufort, Victor Bekkers, Heleen Janssen and Meine Henk Klijnsma. We hope that our study will help to both enlighten and energize future discussions. Our diaries are now digital. The locks are gone. But we are not powerless. If government, industry and society take the right actions, we can further shape digitization in a responsible way. Melanie Peters Director Rathenau Instituut Rathenau Instituut 7 Summary The far-reaching digitization of society raises fundamental ethical and societal issues. The government, industry and society are not yet adequately equipped to deal with these new issues. This challenges important public values and human rights such as privacy, equity and equality, autonomy and human dignity. Great efforts need to be made at all levels of government and society to steer the digitization of society in the right direction. We are by no means powerless, however. Provided that the government, industry and society take appropriate action, we can provide the digital society with a sensible upgrade. Motion by the Dutch Senate: explore the desirability of appointing a committee In September 2014, the Senate tabled a motion requesting the government to ‘ask Rathenau Instituut to explore the desirability of appointing a committee that could advise on the ethical aspects of the digitization of society’ (see Box 1). The motion was signed by a large number of political parties. In accordance with the Senate’s request, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations has asked Rathenau Instituut to formally investigate this matter. The present report is the result of that investigation. The motion refers to the emergence of the Internet of Things, which presents both opportunities and threats. The motion reflects the Senate’s concern that important values are being impacted by digitization. This is indicated by the fact that the motion refers not only to the technological effects of digitization, but also to the ‘social, socio-legal and socio-psychological impacts’. The motion also expresses a deeper, underlying concern, that existing political and administrative institutions may not be sufficiently equipped to address new challenges arising from the digitization of society. The Rathenau Instituut’s investigation supports the concerns expressed by the Senate. Box 1 Motion by Senator Gerkens presented on 23 September 2014 The Senate, having heard the deliberations, concludes that the digital technology involved in the Internet of Things will connect everything and everyone with each other; it further concludes that this unstoppable development will present opportunities for society, but also poses threats; it considers that the impact of this digital development on society is not just technological, but also societal, socio-legal and socio-psychological; it asks for the government to request that Rathenau Instituut investigates the desirability of a committee which can advise on the ethical aspects of the digitizing society, and proceeds with the day’s agenda. Signed by Senators Gerkens, Franken, K.G. de Vries, Strik, Duthler, Van Boxtel. 8 Urgent Upgrade The questions addressed The central question of this study concerns the desirability of appointing a committee to advise on the ethical aspects associated with the digitization of society. To answer that question, three sub- questions are examined in this report: 1. On which specific technologies is the digitization of society based (both in the past and in the coming 5 to 10 years)? 2. What kind of societal and ethical issues does the digitization of society raise? 3. To what extent do these issues challenge the current governance system? That is, which issues are – or are not – being placed on the political agenda? Which issues are – or are not – being addressed by existing Dutch institutions? Are there any blind spots, in terms of how emerging ethical and societal issues are being handled? What role could a committee play in this context? The new wave of digitization The concept of digitization refers to a large cluster of digital technologies such as robotics, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and algorithms, big data, digital platforms, biometrics, persuasive technology, augmented reality and virtual reality. Together they are generating a new wave of digitization. Through these technologies, ever more aspects of our physical world are being digitized: 1. the material world (our streets, buildings, homes, production processes), 2. the biological world (our bodies and minds) and 3. the socio-cultural world (our social environments including our work). For instance, virtual representations are entering the physical world: the digital world is growing, and technologies such as artificial intelligence and automated algorithms are increasingly being used to process the data in that world. This study finds that the physical world and the digital world are becoming ever more closely intertwined. There are continuous feedback-loops between them. People, objects or processes in the physical world are first measured in bits and bytes and then analysed (or profiled) in the digital world. These analyses in turn are then immediately used to modify products and services in the physical world. For example, smart homes measure the temperature in the dwelling, analyse the preferences of their occupants, and automatically adjust the thermostat to the desired temperature, at the desired time. Then there are smart cars, which measure the