Ethics and Direction in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Authors:   Korean Association For Corruption Studies, Kim Jong Se 
Published: April 2023

The 4th Industrial Revolution is bringing about great changes in various social fields worldwide. As the entire world is connected to the network, tremendous data has exploded and various information can be easily accessed anytime, anywhere, and new technologies such as artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicle, robotics, Internet of Things, 3D printing, biotechnology, nanotechnology, material engineering, quantum computing, and energy storage technology are being developed. The 4th Industrial Revolution consists of various innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things based on technologies firmly built by the digital revolution. Recently, network-based intelligence, led by digital technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things, has led to economic and industrial growth, creating a wide range of innovative changes throughout the nation's cooperation system and society.
It is necessary to actively discuss anti-corruption and ethical issues related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution by analyzing factors that threaten the fundamental value of humans with artificial intelligence, genetic information, and genetic technology. The policy direction to cope with ethical risks with innovative changes caused by the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution lies in human dignity and values, and philosophy and education on ethics such as human understanding and value judgment should be conducted by applying human science and technology. It is necessary to propose ethical issues and anti-corruption policy directions in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution with the importance of ethics based on wide convergence, culture, and basic education.
In the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution, our society has raised ethical issues due to the growth of innovative science and technology, and at the same time, we are proposing alternatives in line with the trend of change in the legal and institutional, policy, and education sectors. As a representative technology area of the 4th Industrial Revolution era, artificial intelligence, big data, genetic technology, and virtual reality are increasing opportunities for human disease prevention and treatment, and many changes will occur in life. However, as with all science and technology, innovative technology in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution can lead to a debate about value neutrality, so discussions on various forms of social and ethical effects of research and development and growth of innovative technology are continuing. Guidelines and legal and institutional devices are already being prepared to help artificial intelligence, big data, and dielectric technologies achieve beneficial purposes worldwide, and at the same time, discussions on ethical core matters have been actively underway. In addition, countries and developers in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution should be able to cultivate critical thinking and decision-making skills on ethical issues that may arise from the introduction of science and technology by giving fundamental meaning to human dignity and values based on ethical awareness in research and development.