Ethics in the Use of Digital Technologies: New Challenges and Principles Introduction: From Tool to Habitat Digital technologies have ceased to be neutral tools, transforming into an environment that shapes behavior, consciousness, and social relations. This requires a shift from a narrow "professional ethics" of IT professionals to a comprehensive digital ethics — a system of moral principles governing the development, implementation, and use of technologies. The key paradox of modernity lies in the fact that technological development outpaces ethical reflection, creating a "normative vacuum" around phenomena such as algorithmic decision-making, generative AI, and neurointerfaces. Key Ethical Issues of the Digital Age 1. Responsibility of Algorithms and Data Bias Artificial intelligence and algorithms are increasingly making decisions that affect people's lives: from approving loans and selecting job candidates to determining prison sentences. However, algorithms are not objective — they reflect biases embedded in training data. A vivid example is the COMPAS system used in the US to assess the risk of recidivism among criminals. A 2016 study by ProPublica showed that the algorithm systematically overestimated the risk for African Americans and underestimated for whites, perpetuating historical social inequalities. Interesting fact: In 2018, Amazon was forced to abandon an algorithm for personnel selection that discriminated against women. The system was trained on the resumes of company employees over 10 years, where the majority were men, and learned to "punish" words characteristic of female resumes (e.g., "captain of the women's chess team"). 2. Digital Inequality and Accessibility The ethics of digital technologies must consider the digital divide — inequality in access to technologies and digital skills. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed this problem: while some could work and study remotely, others were excluded from socio-economic life. In addition to technical ... Read more