Psychiatrist Prof. Nevzat Tarhan, President of Üsküdar University, emphasized that digital conscience is a mental skill that must be managed with mastery, stating: “Digital conscience is a part of our soul and mind that must be handled skillfully, just like driving a car.”
Tarhan noted that screens offer users a psychological “cloak of invisibility,” which can disengage conscience and lead to mistakes.
“When people think they are invisible, they begin to see the other person not as a human being but as an object. This effect is particularly strong among individuals aged 15 to 22,” he said.
The concept of “digital conscience,” selected by the Turkish Language Association as the Word of the Year for 2025, has once again brought the moral impact of digitalization into focus. Prof. Tarhan drew attention to the psychological and neuroscientific dimensions of digital conscience, offering important insights.
Emphasizing that conscience is not an abstract concept, Tarhan stated: “Conscience has a counterpart in the brain. Moral reasoning processes are directly related to it, and digitalization affects these processes.”
Algorithmic conscience…
Tarhan pointed out that the concept of digital conscience can also be interpreted as “algorithmic conscience,” explaining: “Algorithms tend to shape what we feel sad about, what we like, and where we act justly or unjustly. This creates digital conscience traps without us even realizing it.”
When speed overrides depth, conscience fails
Highlighting the need for balance between fast and deep thinking, Tarhan said: “Conscience requires deep thinking, contemplation, and time. When speed overtakes depth, mistakes begin. When depth is completely excluded, conscience is no longer used.” He reiterated that digital conscience is a mental skill requiring careful management: “Digital conscience is a part of our soul and mind that must be managed skillfully, just like driving a car.”
Conscience is innate, but its direction is shaped by education
Tarhan explained that conscience exists as an innate potential but is shaped by the environment: “Conscience exists as a genetic draft. Whether it develops in a benevolent or malevolent direction depends on education and social learning. Other living beings do not possess conscience.”
He added that the brain’s priority and importance network is directly linked to conscience: “What a person invests love, time, and energy in determines the hierarchy of conscience. The foundations of this network are laid within the family. After the age of 15, individuals are responsible for managing their own conscience.”
Silence can become a digital offense
Tarhan also drew attention to the concept of “active laziness,” stating that passively pproving or rejecting information without research or deep thinking in digital environments is a form of moral failure. “The speed trap of digitalization leads to ethical mistakes. People make quick decisions, fall into digital traps, and often do things they later regret,” he said, describing this as a visibility paradox driven by algorithms.
Algorithm transparency is an ethical necessity
Stressing the importance of explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), Tarhan noted: “Without transparent algorithms, people are trapped in echo chambers, exposed only to views presented to them.”
Responsibility does not disappear behind the screen
Reiterating the invisibility effect of digital platforms, Tarhan stated: “The digital world causes mistakes by giving people a sense of invisibility. When individuals feel unseen, they stop perceiving the other as human. This is especially impactful for those aged 15 to 22.”
He emphasized that leadership in digital tools must remain with the user: “If you are the leader of artificial intelligence, you control it. If you become its object, you hand over your conscience.”
Digital lynching harms global conscience
Describing digital lynching as one of the most dangerous areas of digital conscience, Tarhan warned: “Keyboard warriors and organized troll groups can systematically destroy people’s reputations.”
He also reminded that digital actions leave lasting traces: “A post you share today may resurface five or ten years later. Even though the right to be forgotten is debated, digital footprints are not easily erased.”
Conscience emerges when mind and heart work together
Concluding his remarks, Prof. Tarhan summarized the core principle of a healthy digital conscience: “Stop, think, then act in the digital world. Conscience emerges when mind and heart work together. Neither emotion alone nor reason alone is sufficient.”