The promise of ethical secrecy: can curiosity overcome automated groupthink?

Abstract

Secrecy and transparency are fundamentally undermined by automated decisionmaking that transforms our understanding of where we begin and end, of self and society. This article considers whether and how technological applications compromise secrecy, transform our perception of the idea appropriate disclosure, our interaction in society and the society itself. It argues that secrecy is part of a continuum of transparency and accountability that cannot be reliably sustained and mediated by automated decisionmaking devoid of curiosity. Do we need an ethics of secrecy derived, perhaps, from our understanding of harmful effects of disclosure?