Abstract:

The social ecology of ethical governance in digital technology is composed of social forces. These include digital technology social groups, the media, and the general public, which mainly serve as a collective for external ethical supervision. The social ecology of ethical governance in digital technology plays an ethical governance role through social supervision mechanisms, such as value guidance and behavioral norms, public opinion guidance and supervision, and ethical governance technology innovation and information feedback. However, shortcomings remain and the overall governance of the social ecology of ethical governance in digital technology requires improvement. Areas of concern are “soft constraints”, weak ethicalization of digital technology social groups, lagging media supervision, fragmentation of digital technology ethics education, and an imbalance in ethical literacy in public digital technology. To further optimize the social ecology of ethical governance in China’s digital technology, at the overall level, the formation of a participatory collaborative ethical governance model that combines broad participation and collaborative governance should be promoted. At the group level, digital technology social groups should be strengthened so as to optimize the content quality of media, and improve information communication and feedback mechanisms. At the individual level, the ethical literacy of the general public can be fortified through formal education and social messaging so that a national defense line can be built for ethical governance of digital technology.

Key words: digital technology, technology ethics, ethical governance, social ecology