Ethics in the ashes

[Verse] You build it fast and break it later That's how the West becomes creator Silicon saints with dirty hands Rushing gold on shifting sands The price? Unseen, uncounted faces Rights deferred in quiet places "Let the market sort it out" Till it screams and spits us out [Chorus] Ethics burn while empires race Code decides who owns your face One protects, one plays the game The last one doesn’t care for names This is not some distant tale It's your data, life, and veil [Verse] Europe draws a fragile line "Protect before we digitize" Paper shields and legal grace Slower steps, a safer pace But what’s the use of building walls When the fire’s global, bound to fall? A thousand filters, righteous air While unchecked code still gets in there [Chorus] Ethics burn while empires race Code decides who owns your face One protects, one plays the game The last one doesn’t care for names From Brussels to Beijing's core Freedom's traded at the store [Bridge] China doesn't even ask State commands behind the mask Innovation without consent "Progress" means full government The West? It shrugs and sells the thrill Just pray no lawsuit comes to kill And Europe dreams it leads the war While drowning behind its moral door [Chorus] Ethics burn while empires race Code decides who owns your face From the lab to parliament halls It’s conscience trapped in firewalls One delays, one dominates One just monetizes fates [Outro] [Spoken, low voice layered over the outro] Do you see it now? This isn’t a system glitch. It is the system.