122
6.4 conclusIons
The chapter offers an overview of ethics and prominent ethical theories,
which can help to chart existing literature in relation to ethics and cloud
computing. One of the key findings of this analysis is that the contributions aimed at addressing ethical issues in cloud computing do not explicitly refer to a specific conception of ethics, nor explicitly declare a reference
point for their analysis from an ethical perspective. It was therefore not
possible to structure the chapter in line with the different schools of ethics,
and required analyses to focus on recurring topics within selected cloud
computing literature. Given the complex multi-stakeholder cloud computing environment, ethical issues particular to cloud computing were
distinguished in relation to three categories: data, providers and users.
With reference to data, issues related to ownership, security and privacy
were discussed. The cloud computing literature in this context is particularly technical and oriented to address the legal framework of pertinent
data issues. Further research in relation to data ethics in cloud computing
may be inspired by the seminal work conducted in the parallel field of data
ethics and algorithm ethics. In addition, the methodology of social ethics
could be useful to conduct research on the way the society of the future
will store and manage data via cloud computing technology. This research
could explore the different kinds of society that could result depending on
the quality and quantity of individual and collective data available and how
human beings could live in these kinds of societies. Another interesting
direction that the research about data ethics in cloud computing might
take is suggested by Koehn (2019). In the context of the new technologies of the twenty-first century, she argues that it is worth reflecting on
Plato’s Socratic notion of responsibility: this notion is essentially dialogic
and goes beyond the concept of responsibility typical of the AngloAmerican culture, which perceives responsibility as part of a role-based
duty. This personalization of responsibility can help those who manage
data on others’ behalf, so that they do not limit themselves to what is prescribed by their role, but are able to see the relational component of their
role towards the people on the cloud platform, considering them as people
and not as a set of data.
With reference to the ethical issues related to cloud computing service
providers, codes of ethics, green and sustainable cloud computing, and
concentration of power were examined. Future research in sustainability
and oligopolies in cloud computing may consider studies such as those
conducted in mainstream literature regarding these topics, while ethics
B. MURPHY AND M. ROCCHI
6.4 conclusIons
The chapter offers an overview of ethics and prominent ethical theories,
which can help to chart existing literature in relation to ethics and cloud
computing. One of the key findings of this analysis is that the contributions aimed at addressing ethical issues in cloud computing do not explicitly refer to a specific conception of ethics, nor explicitly declare a reference
point for their analysis from an ethical perspective. It was therefore not
possible to structure the chapter in line with the different schools of ethics,
and required analyses to focus on recurring topics within selected cloud
computing literature. Given the complex multi-stakeholder cloud computing environment, ethical issues particular to cloud computing were
distinguished in relation to three categories: data, providers and users.
With reference to data, issues related to ownership, security and privacy
were discussed. The cloud computing literature in this context is particularly technical and oriented to address the legal framework of pertinent
data issues. Further research in relation to data ethics in cloud computing
may be inspired by the seminal work conducted in the parallel field of data
ethics and algorithm ethics. In addition, the methodology of social ethics
could be useful to conduct research on the way the society of the future
will store and manage data via cloud computing technology. This research
could explore the different kinds of society that could result depending on
the quality and quantity of individual and collective data available and how
human beings could live in these kinds of societies. Another interesting
direction that the research about data ethics in cloud computing might
take is suggested by Koehn (2019). In the context of the new technologies of the twenty-first century, she argues that it is worth reflecting on
Plato’s Socratic notion of responsibility: this notion is essentially dialogic
and goes beyond the concept of responsibility typical of the AngloAmerican culture, which perceives responsibility as part of a role-based
duty. This personalization of responsibility can help those who manage
data on others’ behalf, so that they do not limit themselves to what is prescribed by their role, but are able to see the relational component of their
role towards the people on the cloud platform, considering them as people
and not as a set of data.
With reference to the ethical issues related to cloud computing service
providers, codes of ethics, green and sustainable cloud computing, and
concentration of power were examined. Future research in sustainability
and oligopolies in cloud computing may consider studies such as those
conducted in mainstream literature regarding these topics, while ethics
B. MURPHY AND M. ROCCHI