ELSI & Risk Management · Lecture Notes

ELSI & Risk Management

Lecture 2 · Information & Ethics · Proper conduct through principles & countermeasures

Core message: To understand and apply appropriate behavior, we need to grasp both the principle (ELSI) and the countermeasure (Risk Management). This lecture weaves together the Prometheus metaphor, the three lenses of ethics–law–society, and a practical approach to handle uncertainty.

⚡ Prometheus' Fire & Technology

Prometheus gave fire to humans — it brought cooking, warmth, civilization, but also weapons and war. Every powerful tool brings both benefit and risk. Today's "fire" includes IT, smartphones, and AI. We cannot uninvent them, but we must learn to live with them wisely.

“We can't go back to the time before cars, even though accidents happen every day. The same is true for IT — it's here to stay. The question is how we relate to it.”

🔍 ELSI — Three Essential Lenses

ELSI stands for Ethical, Legal, Social Implications. These three dimensions are interdependent and must be considered together when evaluating any technology or action.

⚖️ Ethical

What moral norms are at stake? Does the technology fit within existing ethical frameworks? (e.g., Is it right to let a self-driving car sacrifice one person to save many?)

📜 Legal

Which laws apply? Are current regulations sufficient, or do we need new ones? Example: drones — existing aviation law didn't cover small unmanned aircraft, so new rules had to be created.

🌍 Social

Will society accept this technology? Even if legal and ethically justifiable, public rejection can block adoption. Example: nuclear power — technically legal, but socially contentious.

Key Insight

These three are not always aligned. A dilemma arises when something is legal but ethically questionable, or ethical but socially unpopular. The classic “Run, Melos!” problem — running a red light to save a life: illegal, but ethically virtuous.

⚠️ Four Cautions about Law, Ethics & Society

① Law is not absolute truth

Laws change over time. Example: “Edict on Compassion for Living Things” in 17th-century Japan — unthinkable today. Law is a human construct, not infallible.

② Not always consistent

Legal ≠ ethical ≠ socially accepted. The three axes (legal–illegal, good–evil, accepted–rejected) create complex zones. We aspire to be in the “legal + good + accepted” corner, but reality is messier.

③ They are born, change, and disappear

New technologies create guideline gaps. After a drone incident, it takes time to establish regulations. During that gap, individuals must decide for themselves — which requires good judgment.

④ Each field is deep & ancient

Ethics dates back to Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics). No simple answers. The Trolley Problem — a classic ethical dilemma — is now real in autonomous vehicle programming.

💭 Real Dilemma

Trolley Problem: A runaway tram is heading toward five people. You can pull a lever to divert it to a track with one person. Is it acceptable to sacrifice one to save five? Self-driving cars now force engineers to answer this practically. There is no universally correct answer — but we must decide.

🛡️ Risk Management — The Practical Countermeasure

When faced with a decision, we need more than principles — we need a method. That method is Risk Management.

📐 Definition of Risk

Risk = Probability of occurrence × Magnitude of negative impact

Example: Getting wet in rain. If the impact is 100 (very unpleasant) and probability is 100% (I live in a rainforest), risk = 10,000 — very high. If probability is 0.1%, risk = 0.1 — negligible.

Risk is not yet visible — it's potential. Visible problems are called issues, not risks.

🧭 Three Core Abilities

🔮 Predict (forecast — e.g., check weather) → 🧱 Prevent (prepare — e.g., bring umbrella) → ⚡ Respond (act — e.g., open umbrella when rain starts)

⚙️ Risk Management Process

Step 1: Risk Assessment

Risk identification — list all potential hazards (rain, traffic, bad encounter…)
Risk analysis — assess probability & impact for each hazard
Risk evaluation — prioritize risks (which one matters most?)

Step 2: Risk Treatment — 4 Strategies

Avoid — don't do the risky activity (stay home to avoid rain)
Transfer — shift the risk to someone else (outsource, buy insurance)
Mitigate — reduce probability or impact (inspect a weak bridge before crossing)
Accept — acknowledge and live with the risk (sometimes the cost of avoidance is higher than the risk itself)

“Acceptance is not passivity — it's a conscious choice. You can't avoid every rain shower your whole life. Sometimes the best strategy is to say 'okay, this is tolerable' and move forward.”

🚨 When Risk becomes Reality

Once a risk materializes, it becomes an issue. At that point, we need two types of response:

🔧 Incident Management

Focus on symptoms — restore normal operations quickly. Example: power outage → use generator, flashlights.

🔍 Problem Management

Focus on root cause — prevent recurrence. Example: power outage → replace faulty wiring.

Both are necessary. Treat the symptom while investigating the cause — like taking fever medicine while also diagnosing the infection.

📌 Real Case — University Student Exhibition Fire (2016)

A university student displayed a work at an exhibition. The work caught fire, leading to a house fire that killed a 5-year-old boy. The student faced intense scrutiny.

Practice question: If you were in that situation — before, during, and after the incident — what would you do? Use the three abilities (predict, prevent, respond) and the ELSI framework to reflect.

There's no single right answer. But preparing your thinking now can help you act appropriately when it matters.

📋 Lecture Summary

Theme: To understand and apply appropriate conduct in an IT-driven society, we need both principles (ELSI) and countermeasures (Risk Management).

ELSI = Ethical + Legal + Social lenses. They are interdependent, not always aligned, and each is deep.
Risk = probability × impact. It's about future, unseen potential harm.
Risk Management = predict → prevent → respond. Process: assess (identify → analyze → evaluate) → treat (avoid, transfer, mitigate, accept).
When risk becomes real: use incident management (symptom) and problem management (root cause).
Knowing these frameworks helps you act as a compliant, responsible person — not a legal expert, but someone who makes better decisions for a better life.

“Being 'compliant' (ちゃんとしてる) means knowing the ethical, legal, and social landscape — and being able to choose appropriate behavior. It's not about perfection; it's about awareness and intention.”

Next lecture (Vol.2): What matters when collecting, using, and publishing information — practical ethics for real scenarios.

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ELSI &amp; Risk Management · Lecture Notes

ELSI & Risk Management · Lecture Notes