MIT_Sloan_Management_Review_-_Spring_2020

KEITH NEGLEY/THEISPOT.COM SPRING 2020 MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW 71

ambridge Analytica has become a household name, synon-

ymous with invasion of privacy. Its controversial entanglement

with Facebook was a wake-up call about how we share infor-

mation online. Of course, Cambridge Analytica is gone now,

and Mark Zuckerberg has survived so far. But the fallout for

Facebook feels never-ending: the initial stock drop, the con-

gressional testimony, a record-breaking $5 billion fine from

the Federal Trade Commission, a class-action suit approved

by a federal judge,^1 and another uncomfortable grilling in

Congress.

The Facebook scandal is a cautionary tale for executives and consumers alike. But the

lesson is much bigger than one about so-called fake news. The hasty reconstruction of

value chains around new technologies is introducing and exacerbating ethical concerns

across industries. It’s a free-for-all race as companies compete to impress users with new

capabilities, and what’s at stake isn’t just which ones survive but whether we are able to

sustain a civilized society or end up in a high-tech Wild West.

A Crisis of Ethics in

Technology Innovation

As businesses work to delight consumers, they must also protect the public trust.

BY MAX WESSEL AND NICOLE HELMER

DISRUPTION 2020: DOING BUSINESS WITH INTEGRITY