The Wise Power of Ethics

Session 4: Technology and Humanism

Marc Le Menestrel

marc.lemenestrel@insead.edu
We'll sum it up in one sentence: 
mechanical civilization has just reached
its final degree of savagery. 
We are going to have to choose, in a more
or less imminent future, between
collective suicide and the intelligent use
of scientific conquests.

Albert Camus, Combat, August 8, 1945

Explosion of the outer building surrounding

Unit 3 of Fukushima I. March 13, 2011
In Search of Wise Power
Governance is the functional (and dysfunctional) use of power.
Mastering governance requires developing effective and
meaningful perspectives on the power dynamics.

PURPOSE

Values
$ Art of
Dream Surprise
Action Money

Rational Framework

Beyond business as usual, this involves developing capabilities to think, feel, dream and
act in known and unknown circumstances.
This is Wise Power.
This practice requires training, mostly outside of the comfort zone.
Global Power: The 3 spheres

Political
sphere

Economic Social
sphere sphere

What is the power of each sphere?

Who is at the service of whom?

Governance is shaped by the dynamics among spheres of power

3 Keys about Today’s Global Power

Political
sphere

Information Disclosure Financing of Politics

Economic
Social
sphere
Laws & sphere
Regulation

What is the power of politics?

What are the political actions of economic actors?

How involved should the people be?

2 Disruptive Spheres
Political
sphere

Biosphere

Techno
sphere

Economic Social
sphere sphere

Biosphere: Is humanity really “master and possessor of

nature”?

Technosphere: Is technology really at the service of humanity?

Global Governance at the Anthropocene

Political
sphere
Biosphere

Techno
sphere

Economic Social
sphere sphere

1. What are the values for which you will sacrifice some business interest?
2. Does your political influence help the common good?
3. How do you influence and exploit consumers’ demands?
4. What are the hidden risks of your technological development? Could it serve humanity better?
5. Do you exploit, protect or restore our common natural resources?
6. Have you formulated a utopia?
A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is
to survive and move toward higher levels
Albert Einstein, 1946
Trendy Mobile Phones
Topcell produces mobile phones which reflect changing customer
tastes.
Their products are designed to last an average of 4 months, after
which they are replaced with updated designs.
In this manner, quality needs not be a priority and profits are high.
The strategy is successful and production of mobile phones is
rapidly increasing, boosting the profits of Topcell.

What is your ideal strategy?

A Dangerous Technology
NewTech sells a product that is likely to cause harm directly or indirectly.
The regulatory authorities intend to strengthen the conditions for this product to
reach its final consumers and this is likely to affect the size of the market.
The company is part of an industry lobby group which primary objective is to
limit such evolution.
NewTech makes efforts to hide its participation as part of this lobby group.

You learn of this as an employee of NewTech,

Will you blow the whistle?

Edward Snowden

“It was difficult for me to come forward”

“What do you do when you have contradicting

obligations?

“To what do we owe our greater loyalty?”

“I believe the public had the right to know”