Digital Ethics

As our reliance on technology continues to grow, the importance of digital ethics cannot be overstated. In today's world, organisations in every sector must be aware of the ethical implications of their actions in the digital realm. From the handling of personal data to the development of new technologies, the decisions we make have the potential to impact individuals, society, and the environment in profound ways. By participating in this course, you will gain the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the complex ethical landscape of the digital world and make informed decisions that align with your organisation's values.

Our course will cover a range of important topics, including ethics frameworks and tools, regulation and legal issues, developing ethical technology, technology assessment, ethical dilemmas, and ethics in data and visualisation.

This course is designed for professionals working in a wide range of organisations and industries. Whether you are employed in government, industry, academia, or the non-profit sector, you will benefit from the comprehensive coverage of key topics in Digital Ethics. The course is particularly relevant for those working in fields such as technology, interaction design, data analysis, policymaking, law, and research. However, anyone with an interest in Digital Ethics and the impact of technology on society will find value in this course.

Session 1: Ethics frameworks – Thursday 18 April 2024

During this session, we will explore the various frameworks that can be used to justify ethical decisions, including virtue ethics, consequence ethics, and duty ethics. The participants will learn how to 'think ethically', and how these basic ethics frameworks can be applied to various scenarios in which digital technologies play a central role. We will also explore the concept of responsibility, including the different types of responsibility (moral, legal, causal or role responsibility) that can arise in the digital realm and discuss the responsibility gap. This session will provide attendees with a solid foundation in the basic principles of ethics and their relation to digital technology.

Session 2: Building Ethical Foundations - Thursday 25 April 2024

This session aims to create a communal learning environment among the participants, both online and on-site. During this session, participants will introduce themselves, share their professional backgrounds and discuss their expectations for the course, providing invaluable insight for the instructors to tailor the subsequent sessions. Additionally, participants will reflect on the ethical aspects of their jobs, exploring potential ethical dilemmas within their specific work contexts such as government, industry, academia, or non-profit sectors. This early engagement is designed to foster a deeper understanding and awareness of the ethical issues to be explored throughout the course, setting the stage for a more insightful reflection during the closing session.

Session 3: Tools and methods for ethical decision making - Thursday 2 May 2024

In this session we will introduce tools and methods that can be used to make ethical decisions in different contexts, such as in industry, government, academia and research. Participants will learn about practical frameworks and tools such as the guidance ethics approach, the AI Blindspots and the Data Ethics Decision Aid. This session will provide attendees with the basic tools and methods in the practice of ethical decision-making in the digital realm.

Session 4: Technology assessment in practice – Thursday 16 May 2024

This session will provide insight into the impact and effects of technology, and will introduce tools and methods for assessing the risks of innovation and averting undesirable consequences of new technologies. The session will look into the challenges of achieving (positive or negative) impacts with technology due to the interplay of technology, society, organisations and individuals. A dedicated focus will be on the impact of AI technologies in a government context as well as on evaluating the results of social corporate responsibility actions in the context of a company. This session will provide attendees with practical examples of how to effectively assess the risks and potential consequences of technology.

Session 5: Designing ethical technology – Thursday 23 May 2024

In this session, we will explore different approaches to designing technology that takes into account the needs and values of human beings. We will explore humanity-centered design (including design thinking), inclusive design, value-centered design, and participatory design (or co-creation). We will then discuss how technologies are often designed in a way that threatens our digital well-being, and which strategies can be used to improve digital well-being. This session will provide attendees with the tools and knowledge they need to create ethical technology that is designed with people at its core.

Session 6: Ethical topics and dilemmas – Thursday 30 May 2024

This session will explore the application of behaviorist principles in digital technologies, particularly in the realm of surveillance. It will highlight how these technologies not only observe but actively influence and modify user behavior, raising important ethical questions about privacy, autonomy, and the power dynamics between users and technology providers. The session will emphasize the need for ethical guidelines to address the challenges posed by digital surveillance. This session further examines the various functions fairness and equality hold in the AI governance debate. Drawing from political philosophical theories of justice and practical use-cases, a relational perspective on AI is developed to understand better the social and technical dynamics that give rise to digital injustice. This session will provide attendees with an understanding of the ethical challenges that can arise in the digital world, and the tools and frameworks that can be used to address them.

Session 7: Legal and policy issues – Thursday 6 June 2024

This session will explore a number of legal issues that arise in the digital realm. This session will first provide attendees with an understanding of appropriate legal frameworks related to the free flow of information, (personal) data protection, and the principles, rights and obligations of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This session will also provide a comprehensive review of the impact AI may have on individual and collective human rights across various sectors. The participants will learn about the technical legal instruments at their disposal to combat AI discrimination, including legal tools related to direct and indirect discrimination, as well as discrimination by association. Moreover, participants will be invited to critically reflect on the resilience of ethics in the context of AI. This approach to AI will consider high-level legal instruments within the European Union, such as the EU Charter on Fundamental Rights, the proposed AI Act, and the set of equality directives. A comparative law approach will also be mobilized to provide a better understanding of addressing AI challenges with traditional legal instruments.

Session 8: Ethics in data and visualisation – Thursday 13 June 2024

In this session, we will discuss the ethical aspects of handling and visualising of data. We will start by examining how data are 'constructed' and therefore are inherently 'biased', rather than representing an objective truth. We cross over to understand the value of visualising data, acknowledging its potential risk to yet further objectify this constructed, situated nature of data. We then dive into how some data visualisations can be (unintentionally) perceived as unethical, whether through potentially misleading design choices, the use of dubious data, the omission of uncertainties, or the disregard of cognitive biases. This session aims to provide practical skills and reflective insights for handling and visualising data in ways that are more transparent, equitable and responsible.

Session 9: Closing and reflection – Thursday 20 June 2024

The seventh and final session will be a closing session focused on reflection. In this session, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on how the topics covered in the previous sessions apply to their own professional situations. This session will provide a space for attendees to share their thoughts, insights, and experiences, and to discuss how they plan to incorporate the knowledge and skills they have gained into their work. This will be a valuable opportunity for participants to consolidate their learning and to develop a personal plan for applying the principles of Digital Ethics in their professional lives.