BIOETHICS AND BIOETHICS COMMITTEES IN TIMES OF INFOCRACY

O PAPEL DOS COMITÊS DE BIOÉTICA EM TEMPOS DE INFOCRACIA

Abstract

The digital transformations of contemporary society make us reflect on the social control that “big techs”, Silicon Valley companies, are acquiring when it comes to obtaining information and data from users when using digital media. The information society is characterized by social relationships connected and shared in virtual environments; however, the “big tech” algorithm controls and monitors the structure of digital interactions. According to Byung-Chul Han, this period can be called “infocracy” and represents the dominance of digital media over knowledge formation and communicative interaction. Infocracy puts democratic institutions and the possibility of communication with a telos of understanding at risk because the “viral” way of disseminating information is not necessarily guided by the criterion of truth and knowledge of the Other. Faced with this context of risk for the exercise of democratic politics and communicative misunderstanding, we want to reflect on bioethical references on a new possibility of reinventing democratic participation and communicative interaction in virtual environments. The Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights raises the need to promote multidisciplinary and pluralistic dialogue to resolve ethical conflicts. Therefore, the Declaration encourages Bioethics Committees to develop activities that promote public debate and a more informed decision on sociopolitical issues.