We have an ethical obligation to avoid foreseeable long-term harm, preserve essential resources and opportunities, and prevent future people from bearing unfair costs created today. Digital systems can help through monitoring, forecasting, coordination, and knowledge preservation, but careful governance is essential.
This is a shared SL and HL inquiry into change and values and ethics. Change requires evaluating the forces shaping past, present, and future conditions. Values and ethics concern fairness, responsibility, and whose interests influence present decisions, especially when future generations cannot represent themselves.
| Obligation | Digital contribution | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Prevent foreseeable harm | Climate models and predictive analytics identify long-term risks. | Incomplete or biased data can weaken forecasts. |
| Preserve resources | Sensors and satellite data monitor forests, water, pollution, and energy use. | Infrastructure consumes energy and creates e-waste. |
| Protect future autonomy | Digital archives preserve knowledge, languages, and heritage. | Proprietary formats, platform failure, or unequal access can block use. |
| Ensure intergenerational fairness | Public data platforms reveal long-term policy consequences. | Institutions may prioritize short-term interests or expand surveillance. |
System: Global Forest Watch is an online platform combining satellite imagery, data, and algorithms to track forest change. Example specifics: The World Resources Institute launched it in 2014, enabling governments, researchers, and communities to view alerts about potential forest loss. Impacts and implications: It has widened access to environmental evidence and can support conservation responses. Its future effectiveness depends on accurate data, connectivity, political action, and equitable access for local communities. The platform supports responsibility but does not replace human decisions. It demonstrates change, systems, power, and values and ethics in practice.