Emerging Ethical and

Policy Issues of STS

By: John Martin Apa-ap
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

01 02
Your Digital Twin The Data Void Left
by Search Engines

03
Facebook
 Top 10 Scientific
Technology Challenges
in 2021
 In a modern and
innovative society, where
advancements are
plentiful and
communication is
instantaneous, science
and technology are a
part of everyday life.
—Julie Payette
 01
Your Digital Twin
A digital twin is a virtual
representation of an object or
system that spans its lifecycle, is
updated from real-time data, and
uses simulation, machine learning
and reasoning to help decision-
making.
The concept and model of the digital twin
was publicly introduced in 2002 by Grieves,
then of the University of Michigan, at a
Society of Manufacturing Engineers
conference in Troy, Michigan. Grieves
proposed the digital twin as the conceptual
model underlying product lifecycle
management (PLM).
 What is the emerging ethical dilemma all
about?

According to Gartner’s estimation, 75% of the digital

twins for IoT-connected OEM products will utilize at
least five different kinds of integration endpoints by
2023. The amount of data collected from these
numerous endpoints is huge, and each of the
endpoints represents a potential area of security
vulnerability.
 What factors or events led to this dilemma?

The developers who create digital twins ensure that

the virtual computer model can receive feedback from
sensors that gather data from the real-world version.
This lets the digital version mimic and simulate what
is happening with the original version in real time,
creating opportunities to gather insights into
performance and any potential problems.
 What are the societal implications of this
dilemma?

If there are inconsistencies between the real and

virtual, for example, activities in the virtual that are not
recognized in the real or activities in the virtual that
become uncontrollable and destroy real activities,
such inconsistencies could become sources of stress
and anxiety for individuals and society.
 Why is it important to question the moral and
ethical issues surrounding innovations in
science and technology?
Technology is inevitable in our everyday lives. This is because
life without technology is pointless in today’s dynamic world.
Technology, which brings together tools to promote
development, use and information exchange, has as its main
objective of making tasks easier and the solving of many
problems of mankind. However, amidst of those positive
purposes, it is a must for us to have a knowledge that
innovations and technology has its disadvantages that need to
be addressed.
 Why is it important to question the moral and
ethical issues surrounding innovations in
science and technology?
By questioning moral and ethical issues surrounding innovations
in science and technology, we can be able to initiate solutions
and to have a proper boundary as to when, how, what and even
where we are going to properly use the innovations of today. In
connection with the digital twin, it is very important for us to
know its disadvantages because Digital Twins are very powerful
tool modeling scenarios, identifying issues before they happen
and making better decisions that improve the overall customer
experience.
 In the face of this dilemma, why is it important
to study STS?
Again, a digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical
object or process capable of collecting information from the real
environment to represent, validate and simulate the physical
twin’s present and future behavior. Digital Twin is a very big deal
tool, and really threatens your security, so as individuals, it is very
important for us to study STS because Knowing about
technology and science provides us with insight into how
different processes of knowledge are implemented and how
innovative technological processes are developed.
 02
The Data Void Left by
Search Engines
 More and more people turn to search engines like
Google, Bing, and YouTube as a primary source for
information. Golebiewski and boyd (2019) explain in
their report Data Voids: Where Missing Data Can
Easily Be Exploited that “There are many search
terms for which the available relevant data is limited,
nonexistent, or deeply problematic. Recommender
systems also struggle when there’s little available data
to recommend. We call these low-quality data
situations “data voids”. Data voids, consequently, can
lead searchers to “low quality or low authority content
because that’s the only content available”.
The term data void was coined in May 2018
—just six months before the midterms—by
Microsoft's Michael Golebiewski in a report
published with Danah Boyd, president of
Data & Society.
 What is the emerging ethical dilemma all
about?
Users of these platforms can stumble upon misinformation
while searching or could be led to it through the interference of
‘media manipulators’. Search engines work with massive
amounts of data that are meant to provide searchers with the
information they are looking for. However, the amount of
results you encounter depends on the specific term, or
combination of terms, that you search for. Furthermore, quality
of the information as provided can vary from high-quality,
legitimate news, to low-quality, problematic content.
 What is the emerging ethical dilemma all
about?

However, the amount of results you encounter

depends on the specific term, or combination of
terms, that you search for. Furthermore, quality of
the information as provided can vary from high-
quality, legitimate news, to low-quality, problematic
content.
 What factors or events led to this dilemma?

Data voids are often difficult to detect. Most can be harmless until
something happens that causes lots of people to search for the
same term, such as a breaking news event, or a reporter using an
unfamiliar phrase. In some cases, manipulators work quickly to
produce conspiratorial content to fill a void, whereas other data
voids, such as those from outdated terms, are filled slowly over time.
Data voids are compounded by the fraught pathways of search-
adjacent recommendation systems such as auto-play, auto-fill, and
trending topics; each of which are vulnerable to manipulation.
 What are the societal implications of this
dilemma?
Social media are not the only drivers of this change in handling
information online. The influence of search engines and the massive
amounts of information in reach for everyone with internet access has
had an impact on society. Data voids are not only unique to search
engines; they occur on social media platforms, too, where search is
typically limited to information hosted on that particular platform.
Search engines and content creators must work together to identify
these vulnerabilities, iteratively respond to attacks, and produce the
high-quality content that is needed to fill these data voids.
 Why is it important to question the moral and
ethical issues surrounding innovations in
science and technology?
From the beginning of human culture, technology and society have
been closely intertwined. From stone tools to computers and the
Internet, technologies have allowed people to shape the physical
world and the world of knowledge to meet their needs and wants, to
extend the reach of their bodies, hands, and minds, to span rivers,
and to traverse continents.
 Why is it important to question the moral and
ethical issues surrounding innovations in
science and technology?
As someone who benefits the gift of technology, it is our right to
know and to have insights about the issues surrounding it, because
it will enable us to solve social problems, become innovative and
productive enough to look for the bigger picture of each innovation
both advantages and disadvantages while using or being
introduced to them. Same goes with Data void. It is very significant
for us to know its issues because Data voids are difficult to detect.
Data voids are one such way that search users can be led into
disinformation or manipulated content.
 In the face of this dilemma, why is it important
to study STS?
Science and technology developments are widely used for the
benefit of society and bring impact to every aspect of life, both
positive and negative impacts on the environment and society. It
helps students to think, assess, solve problems, and make
decisions. On the issue of Data Void, when students don’t have
enough knowledge about STS, then they will become gullible in
terms of weighing the information on the internet or even on the
media if it is reliable or not, because again, Data Voids are very hard
to notice and it can lead anyone into believing fake and manipulated
information.
 03
Facebook
The idea behind Facebook was to provide an
online book of faces for university students to
connect and share information. It was initially a
social network for Harvard and expanded in the
following years to any university. It eventually
became a social network for anyone, anywhere
in the world.
Facebook is a social networking website
that was founded in February 2004 by
Harvard University students Chris Hughes,
Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz,
Eduardo Saverin and Mark Zuckerberg.
 What is the emerging ethical dilemma all
about?

In the past year Facebook has garnered negative media for

having media scrutiny of hate speech, fake news and imposing
political agenda on user’s timelines.
 What factors or events led to this dilemma?

Working with emerging technologies such as AI is always a

challenge. Issues rolled out when Facebook was slowly
consuming the audience. Facebook's creed at the time, while it
was moving fast, it was almost certainly already breaking
things in the process. Facebook's original motto of 'move fast
and break things' could, indeed, break society as we know it.
That may seem alarmist, but the evidence is becoming
increasingly clear.
 What are the societal implications of this
dilemma?

Facebook is a very popular social networking site with over 2.9

billion users. With so much issues that Facebook has,
Facebook spreads fake news faster than any other social
website. Facebook is by far the worst perpetrator when it
comes to spreading fake news. Many of us believed some
information that was being shared on Facebook without even
verifying it, and it really can cause conflict.
 What are the societal implications of this
dilemma?
In addition, the internet and social media platforms like
Facebook have given bullies a new forum in which to taunt
their victims. And while the landscape is different, the effects
can be similar and often worse than those resulting from face-
to-face interactions. Much like bullying that occurs face-to-
face, Facebook bullying can take many different forms. Even a
seemingly mild bullying offence can have a lasting
psychological impact, depending on the person being bullied.
 What are the societal implications of this
dilemma?
And lastly, the study suggests that the growing importance of social
media, especially of Facebook, in political information consumption
results in the revitalization of the two-step flow model of
communication (Katz & Lazarsfeld, 1955; Lazarsfeld, Berelson, &
Gaudet, 1948), proposing that political behavior is strongly affected
by social influences. Therefore, as Facebook is becoming crucial in
many people’s political orientation, this may have consequences in
terms of their political behavior. It seems that the stronger role of
Facebook is associated with increasing social influences on political
behavior. This implies that citizens’ political communication is
becoming more important because the political behavior of the
majority that gets informed through social media is shaped by the
minority that communicates about politics there.
 Why is it important to question the moral and
ethical issues surrounding innovations in
science and technology?
Behind the advantages and benefits that the innovations in technology
and science had given to us, there are also many problems that we need
to look up to. Questioning the issues, it really implies that you are a
concerned, active and critical thinker individual. And of course, by
understanding the issues, it will enable us to give suggestions, proposed
solutions and applying creative thought to solve a problem, or reach a
conclusion. In connection with Facebook, by being curious of its issues,
we will be aware on how to solve it, how to address and how to become
a role model in our society in terms of using not just Facebook but in all
social media platforms responsibly.
 In the face of this dilemma, why is it important
to study STS?

The history of science and technology made us realize that there is

always a reason for the existence of one thing. As people get conscious
and curious new discoveries was born. The history of technology
teaches us how creative people acquire knowledge about the world and
use it to fulfill human needs. By having enough knowledge, it will help us
to become a responsible technologically- inclined citizens and promote
a healthy usage of social media platforms.
THANK YOU!
 RESOURCES
SITES
● https://slate.com/technology/2020/11/data-voids-election-misinformation.html#:~:
text=The%20term%20data%20void%20was,%2C%20president%20of%20Data%20%2
6%20Society
.
● https://www.forbes.com/sites/traversmark/2020/03/21/facebook-spreads-fake-
news-faster-than-any-other-social-website-according-to-new-research/
Flat design minimal technology instagram posts
● https://datasociety.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Data-Voids-2.0-Final.pdf
● https://reillytop10.com/data-voids/
● https://www.telusinternational.com/articles/digital-twin-technology
● https://www.analyticsinsight.net/understanding-the-importance-of-digital-twin-and-i
ts-applications/
● https://www.twi-global.com/technical-knowledge/faqs/what-is-digital-twin