Digital Doubles and the New Ethics of the Information Age

The article examines the ethical aspects of the use of digital doubles and the challenges that society faces using these technologies. Digital doubles are virtual images of real objects and processes. Their peculiarity lies in the modeled variability, which is provided by their digital essence, which allows them to flexibly respond to the needs and desires of users. In addition to technical aspects, digital doubles play an important role in social ethics. It can be said that digital doubles are not only a technical achievement, but also a moral and ethical problem that generates deep philosophical discussions about the nature of reality, justice and moral responsibility. With the help of structuralist and phenomenological methods, the paper identifies the structural components of digital reality behind the array of social and technical facts. Digital reality necessarily generates digital doubles. Capturing the social and the human being with their essence, the simulation processes of total digitalization form new types of connections and relationships – timeless, extra-spatial and forgettable. Memory as a basic property of human existence against the background of the functional features of digital twins is increasingly being questioned. Digital reality sets special forms of existence and behavior of any kind of objects in its area of operation, changing ideas about scales, distances and deadlines. The complexity of the digital technologies and the anonymity of their existence for the users are leaving the modern process of civilization to face an uncertain future.