Which of the following applications of the technology described above

QUESTION

Which of the following applications of the technology described above would likely be LEAST objectionable?

A) comparing the prescriptions purchased at the grocery store’s pharmacy with other purchases and alerting the consumer about possible side effects of consuming combinations of those products
B) monitoring the dollar value of the shopper’s purchases and relaying that information to credit rating agencies in order to help determine the shopper’s creditworthiness
C) examining purchase patterns and sending political and religious messages to the people who are most likely to be receptive to those messages
D) requiring shoppers to view personalized advertisements before checking out
E) charging shoppers for items automatically added to their shopping lists before the shopper re-enters the grocery store

ANSWER

Answer: A
Explanation: A) All of the choices present strong ethical problems except Choice A. Consumers would surely benefit from knowing about side effects, and alerting the consumer is a good way to do this. There’s no evidence that anyone else would know about the prescriptions, so there is no real privacy objection here. Choice A is the least objectionable. Choice B has the system relaying the shopper’s purchase information to credit agencies to see if he or she is spending too much. Most consumers would be enraged about that. Choice C involves potentially offensive messages, which sounds dangerous. Choice D involves an ad-viewing requirement. Who wants to be forced to see commercials just to shop for groceries? Choice E has the system doing the shopping for shoppers, which in this case might involve charging shoppers for things they never received. Sounds like trouble.