Fit for the Future: A Pragmatic Account of Human Autonomy to Understand Emerging Issues in The Internet of Everything

This contribution aims to illuminate the tacit but necessary concept of human autonomy that guides regulation of emerging technology within the domain of the Internet of Everything (IoE). Human autonomy can be considered a widely recognised fundamental principle of moral and legal systems, or, in other words, a value worth protecting. However, the opacity brought by the use of the term “autonomy” both in colloquial use and in the legal literature hinders the application of (legal) safeguarding measures that ought to protect human autonomy. I show that this is true in particular when considering the impact of agents of the IoE on humans. First, this contribution explores the philosophical and ethical grounding of human autonomy and compares contemporary accounts that attempt to define autonomy. I will then show how current legal regimes presuppose some type of autonomy when aiming to protect individuals with the following three protective rights: (a) right to privacy, (b) right to freedom of thought and belief, and (c) right to freedom of opinion and information. I will then draw from both the tacit assumptions of international legal regimes and the philosophical considerations of autonomy to propose a pragmatic concept of autonomy. In the final part of the presentation, I will test this newly derived concept against situations that have emerged due to the novel vectors of influence available to agents of the IoE. By that this contribution will show the value of the proposed concept over narrower concepts and how this can serve as a basis for more decisive, consistent and granular legal control over such emerging technology.