Technology doesn’t give you a pass on honesty

Every time you bypass payment for content, you are actively destroying the ability of creators to earn an honest living

I was at the grocery store when the clerk rang up everything in my cart. Afterward, I realized an unpaid item lay underneath a book in the cart. I pointed it out so she could add it to my total.

She smiled and joked, “You know, I shouldn’t say this, but you’d make a bad shoplifter.”

I took her comment in the spirit she intended and replied, “Well, I’ll take that as a compliment. We don’t want to be shoplifters.”

Shoplifting is theft you can see, and once someone notices an unpaid item, it creates a moment for honesty and conversation. Today, though, many opportunities for theft, fraud, and dishonesty are less obvious. Because we don’t always notice what’s happening, we can miss chances to discuss it and, more importantly, to hold ourselves accountable.

The online world makes this problem worse. It remains largely unregulated, and it often allows people to act without being noticed. In a sense, that invisibility tests character. Technology may change, but our responsibility to act honestly does not. Whether we’re talking about shoplifting, illegal downloading, AI or a VPN, the same standards of honesty still apply.

One persistent example is illegal downloading. Many people treat it as harmless or even justified because they believe they’re “attacking a greedy company.”

But unauthorized downloads are still theft: they take something that isn’t paid for and deprive creators of the value of their work. Creators deserve the fruits of their intellectual property just as anyone deserves payment for labour. It’s striking how often people who steal still claim they respect the work they’re stealing.

In the 21st century, artificial intelligence (AI) tools and virtual private networks (VPNs) further challenge our sense of honesty. AI raises new issues as the technology improves. For example, a publisher recently removed a novel from its selection after the novelist was accused of using AI to write it.

The concern wasn’t simply that AI appeared in the process; it centred on the allegation that the author misrepresented how much of the work was actually their own when much of it may have come from AI tools. Problems also arise when AI uses copyrighted materials without permission, or when someone presents AI-generated images or art as if they were entirely original.

We are at a point where transparency matters. When AI is used in creating something, it should be labelled as such. So-called “deepfakes” and other AI outputs that manipulate or imitate someone else’s voice or image without permission should be treated as fraud and, depending on what they claim and how they’re used, potentially as fabricated libel.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, taught that we should encourage new technologies and put them to good use. The technology itself is not the problem. What matters is how we choose to use it. Technological advances can spread knowledge, improve lives and encourage generosity. The Rebbe used the technologies of his day to great effect, reaching both Jews and non-Jews with the wisdom of his teachings and universal ethics.

But technology also carries moral responsibility, and that responsibility belongs to humans.

When we use any new tool, we should ask ourselves whether we’re using it honestly. Many people use VPNs to conceal their identity online. That can be ethical in certain contexts, for instance, protecting privacy on public Wi-Fi, securing legitimate business activity or reducing the risk of identity theft.

Still, a VPN should not be used to bypass geographic restrictions tied to paid subscriptions or to obtain goods and services at prices intended for residents of another country. Like many technologies, a VPN is morally neutral; we give it moral meaning through our choices.

It can protect security and privacy, but it can also facilitate illegal gain, deception and evasion of law.

Ultimately, the ethical obligations of the digital age are not fundamentally different from those that have always guided us. Technology changes, but our responsibility to act honestly does not.

Universal prohibitions against theft exist for our good. Just as physical laws support harmony and stability, moral law supports a society where people can earn fairly, contracts are honoured and trust remains possible.

When people disregard physical and intellectual property, income from labour becomes harder, promises lose meaning and trust erodes.

So, to circle back to the start: we should all aim to be “bad shoplifters,” especially in a time when accountability can feel invisible. We will eventually see the reward of that choice.

Joseph Quesnel is the founding director of the Canadian Foundation for Universal Ethics Education. A seasoned journalist and policy analyst with over 15 years of experience, he has provided expert testimony to both the Senate and the House of Commons on public policy. He holds a degree in political science and history from McGill University and a Master of Journalism from Carleton University.