GOTOPS Code of Technoethics Governance

Abstract

Information Systems Technology (IST) has an increasingly central role in today's globalised information society. In this regard, it is imperative to recognise the impossibility of a technological life without ethics. As typical components for an ethics program, the authors use Codes of Ethics/Conduct/Practices (CE/CC/CP) as some professions (physicians, lawyers, etc.) have adopted them. The codes are instrumental in developing sound relations with various stakeholders to reduce the number of legal proceedings and contingencies, negotiate conflicts of interest, and ensure the fulfillment of the law. In view of this, the codes should be dynamic and not static documents, used for the advancement in easy reading, understanding, and structure. This will be instrumental for their followers to more easily consult and understand them, and find guidelines for their key ethical problems and concerns. This paper proposes the voluntary GOTOPS code of the techno ethics governance, that is, ethical problems raised by IST.