Moral metrics: Are corporate algorithms becoming our new moral authorities?

Increasingly, numbers tell us how we are doing. These systems promise something appealing: clear feedback about whether we are behaving well. They appear objective, neutral and data-driven. But they also signal a deeper cultural shift, as algorithms define what counts as virtuous behavior. In other words, we are living in a world where metrics are being translated into moral judgments. As a researcher who has long studied how markets and technologies shape moral responsibility, I’ve seen how these metrics quietly reshape how people understand themselves and how other people judge them.