Abstract:

The subject of the study is the ethical and social aspects of modern technologies that form the core of the fourth industrial revolution. Special attention is paid to the analysis of cyber-physical systems and blockchain technology as a backbone for the entire industry 4.0. The problem of the value content of new technologies, as well as the transformation of the system of values in the context of technological progress, is raised and considered. The problem of social transformations in the conditions of the fourth industrial revolution is analyzed in the context of changes in traditional boundaries and factors of social inequality. The research methodology is based on an interdisciplinary approach, within which a comparative analysis of the technologies of the fourth industrial revolution and the achievements of previous stages of technical development, as well as an attempt of humanitarian expertise of modern technologies, is carried out. The main conclusions of the conducted study are the definition of technologies of the fourth industrial revolution as objects integrating the material and digital aspects of their functioning; identifying axiological reasons for the non-acceptance of technology by society, the conclusion that the impossibility of rewriting, changing information, in particular, the history of operations in the blockchain makes traditional ideas about truth and the procedures for its establishment untenable. It is shown that social transformations caused by new technologies change existing borders and factors of social inequality.