[FRIAM] Kudos to the social scientists

[Glen E. P. Ropella]

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PPARYSKI at aol.com wrote:
> The ethical use of applied complexity and agent based modeling is an
> issue that deserves critical and thoughtful debate. Is it ethical to use
> these tools to further destruction in Iraq or Afghanistan or to use data
> mining to spy on private individuals?

Well, I think you've installed the conclusion into the question!
Phrasing it:  "Is it ethical to use these tools to further _destruction_
... to _spy_ on private individuals?"  You may as well ask "Is it
ethical to destroy and spy?"

The question would be more answerable if you asked something more like:
 "Is it ethical to use these tools to achieve military objectives or to
implement domestic policies?"

The problem is that the answer to such a question depends directly on
the particular objectives and policies as well as the ethics of the
individuals using the tools.

My answer, as usual, is that one cannot know the consequences of using a
tool until and unless the tool is used.  Hence, one cannot answer this
ethical question until the tool has been used in those contexts.

By extension, if these tools have the slightest chance of making the
world a better place, then we have an ethical obligation to use them for
military objectives and the implementation of domestic policies.... if
for no other reason than to determine their effect, which is required
for us to make an ethical evaluation of their use.

However, I would suggest a little restraint in their use.  I.e. they
should be used in some experimental cost/benefit evaluation phase to
determine their effect in those restrained applications.  It then
becomes easier to extrapolate to the ethical consequences of using them
in some large scale.

- --
glen e. p. ropella, 971-219-3846, http://tempusdictum.com
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the
support of Paul -- George Bernard Shaw

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