Transparency, Good Governance, Public Ethics: The Person Beyond the Web of Words

Abstract

This paper explores the dual nature of transparency and its implications for good governance and public ethics, with particular attention to the challenges emerging in the context of digital transformation.

At the heart of the discussion lies the need to understand transparency as a philosophy of administration, one that goes beyond appearances and mere perception. When transparency does not lead to genuine understanding, it risks becoming superficial, limiting citizens’ ability to interpret and evaluate how public power is exercised, and ultimately weakening their active participation in democratic life.

A further issue concerns the paradox of information overload: the abundance of available data does not necessarily enhance knowledge but may instead obscure it. Moreover, the interpretation of administrative data and processes is inevitably shaped by individual factors (competence, experience, linguistic and legal literacy, and even perceptual or cognitive biases). These elements influence how transparency is experienced and, at times, distort its meaning. In the current phase of modernization, there is a growing risk that innovation and digital tools, rather than serving the public interest, become ends in themselves. Technology, especially artificial intelligence, should remain an instrument to strengthen accountability and bring citizens closer to public institutions. Yet its misuse can undermine the very principles of transparency, respect, and clarity that it is meant to promote.

These dynamics call for a renewed ethical reflection, particularly on the increasingly sophisticated and sometimes opaque persuasive techniques used in the digital sphere—techniques that are not always directed toward socially beneficial purposes.