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All conduct is now moral, in the sense that it is measured and judged. The new moral conduct is the outward expression of an inner fear--of exposure, of being recorded, observed, of the fear of the consequences of being caught failing to confess, to report to expose oneself. Technology is the soul of this new morality--the camera; the journalist; the record of transactions, DNA and other interactions; the recording device; the Internet. These now serve as the new priest, government minister and neighbor; and more. It is the eye that never blinks, the memory that never fails, the image that never fades. Technology is the outward manifestation of the inner fear that is the new morality. It is Logos made manifest in the image of its makers. But it is not moral.

Consider the forms of the techno-morality of modern times, the morality of the camera, of the journalist, of the object of the photograph, of the value of contrition, of the function of morality through the lens of contextless observation.

Swimming superstar Michael Phelps has admitted to "regrettable behaviour", after a UK newspaper published a photo of him apparently smoking cannabis.

Mr Phelps, 23, who won eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics last year, was pictured by the News of the World inhaling from a glass pipe.

The picture was taken in November at a party in the University of South Carolina, the newspaper said.

Mr Phelps apologised to fans and said the incident would not be repeated.

In a statement sent to the Associated Press news agency, the swimmer acknowledged the photo was authentic.

"I engaged in behaviour which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," he said.

"I'm 23 years old and despite the successes I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me.

"For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

Swimmer Phelps Regrets Pot Pipe, BBC News Online, Feb. 1, 2009.

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