In this activity, you will post to your portfolio your approach to ethical dilemmas and quandaries in the digital public sphere. How should we handle crowdsourced knowledge that may be inaccurate or misrepresentative? What do we do when technology can fabricate sources that don’t actually exist? (Question directly from my class, Intro to Digital Humanities. George Mason University. Author unknown of this question.)
Like Wikipedia, any crowdsourced knowledge should be kept open for continual editing and correction. My approach to ethical quandaries in the digital public sphere will be similar to medical ethics. Always remember, first do no harm. Digital knowledge can be open source and freely available to others to refute or follow the historical trail to validate findings revealed in that knowledge. if it is inaccurate, it should be removed and discussed how it was inaccurate. Ethical dilemmas of digital technology could include misrepresentation that would harm people intentionally or unintentionally. The example I am referring to here, would be changing someone’s appearance in pictures without full disclosure and permission or using other people’s digital work without permission or citation. Obviously, copyright laws apply and followed in these instances of reproductions of work. Sources that are fabricated should be treated as lying and be quickly removed or cited as fiction. Crowdsourced digital websites or analysis of social media should follow copyright and ethical treatment of people as if they were in your presence.
