Ethics Assignment 1

Project Nightingale

What is Project Nightingale?

Project Nightingale is a collaboration project between Google Cloud and Ascension, a healthcare system with facilities in 21 states. Even though tech giants like Apple and Microsoft have been collaborating with other healthcare systems to advance into the healthcare field, none have been as large in scope as Project Nightingale. As per the agreement, Google accesses millions of patient health records, including both personal and medical data, to “improve” healthcare.

Why is Project Nightingale unethical?

The primary issue in Project Nightingale revolves around privacy violations. It was reported in 2019 that at least 150 Google employees had unrestricted access to the healthcare data of over 50 million Americans without notice. Patients were never informed that their medical records were being transferred to Google and analyzed by them. Ascension itself never announced this partnership publicly, which was instead reported by the Wall Street Journal. Project Nightingale did not even have an opt-out policy for patients who did not want their information shared with third parties. Neither Google nor Ascension have made it clear how the data was being used. For all we know, this data could potentially be used by insurance companies to deny coverage or increase premiums for certain patients based on predictions from the data, without a human ever being involved in the process.

The problem (engineer vs. product)

Engineers from Google Cloud had access to sensitive data without consent from the patients. Based on what we know, their focus would have been on building better Machine Learning models to create new healthcare tools and improve existing ones. However, the product they worked on is being criticized for completely sidelining ethical considerations.

Sidewalk Labs

What is Sidewalk Labs?

Sidewalk Labs, established as a subsidiary of Alphabet and now integrated into Google, was created to realize the dream of building a smart city in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It involved a significant amount of data collection from existing infrastructure, which tracked residents’ movements and used this data for future building and planning. The goal was for this project to become a role model for urban development plans globally. The project aimed to optimize city services, improve infrastructure, and overhaul public transportation systems.

Why is Sidewalk Labs unethical?

Immediately from the description of the project, concerns were raised regarding mass surveillance of citizens, akin to a totalitarian society. Sidewalk Labs planned to collect data on residents, which included movement patterns, daily routines, behaviors within public and private spaces, and modes of transportation. This level of surveillance created panic in the public, with concerns that the data could be used in politically motivated ways to control the population. There were also questions about the ownership of the data. Does Sidewalk Labs own the data, do the people themselves, or does the government? The company also proposed expanding its scope to levy taxes, control public services, collect data on the judiciary system, and redesign the judiciary.

The problem (engineer vs. product)

The engineers were tasked with building a cutting-edge smart city. The product itself is not ethically flawed. Data has been collected and used to build cities long before the digital age. But the way these engineers and the entity that owns the data could potentially use it raises serious concerns. The tension created by this concept eventually led to the project's complete cancellation, but it still serves as a lesson that future innovators and architects should consider.

TikTok

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a social media app owned by ByteDance, a Chinese technology company. It gained worldwide renown for its short-form content and cutting-edge recommendation algorithms. It is considered to be the most influential platform in the world among young audiences. With over 1 billion users, it manages to keep users engaged through its algorithms, which have been termed extremely addictive. Each user only sees videos tailored to their preferences.

Why is TikTok unethical?

While TikTok's algorithms are technologically advanced, there are concerns that they were designed to make the platform highly addictive. The system uses reinforcement learning to keep users scrolling by showing them content that taps into their emotional triggers. Biologically, the app capitalizes on dopamine feedback loops wired into the brain, producing feelings similar to gambling. TikTok’s design exploits the brain to create an unnatural digital addiction. Moreover, the platform has been accused of contributing to a decline in attention span, particularly among younger users. TikTok aggressively promotes quick, bite-sized content, making it difficult for younger audiences, whose brains may not be fully developed, to engage in long-term, focused tasks. Studies suggest that exposure to such content can reprogram how users process information.

The problem (engineer vs. product)

By prioritizing numerical metrics like user retention rate and advertising revenue, TikTok’s retention and engineering teams have placed their business goals above audience well-being. The challenge of balancing engagement with mental health considerations has been raised frequently, with TikTok pushing it to an ethical extreme. This is exacerbated by the platform's focus on a younger audience, whose brains are particularly susceptible to environmental and perceptual changes in the digital age.