Technology, research and ethics

Optional part, 3 credits

1. The elements of moral philosophy. J. Rachels and S. Rachels. McGraw-Hill.
2. Papers, links: Sunstein, Shalvi, Cockton, Friedman, Schumacher, Neumann, Spafford, Moor, Johnson, Stallman, Górniak-Kocikowska, Weckert.

Development and use of modern technology, for example IT, industrial applications, social media and biotechnology, affect people, organizations and society. Modern technology offer new possibilities and therefore causes new ethical issues. The way these issues are handled determines the effectiveness and usability of technology. There is a big risk that necessary and expensive technical systems may be abandoned or used sub-optimally because of ethical conflicts. People and organizations may be hurt when they doubt or refuse to adopt a certain technology. Considering ethical aspects significant to efficiency and effectiveness of technology demands personal skills, suitable cooperation and coordination processes, and access to ethical tools and methods. This has to be done early in the development process of technological systems as well as during installation and ordinary running of the systems. The course will offer knowledge in the areas of technology ethics and psychology ethics. Participants will train their ability to apply tools and methods in handling moral issues connected to project planning, project application, technology construction, implementation and use. Focus will be on methods and practical skills for people working with modern technologies.

The first mandatory part, 2 credit points, focuses mainly on research ethics, and works as an introduction to the follow-up optional part.
The second optional part, 3 credit points, expands to philosophical theory, technology and natural science ethics, and to application of different methods to handle professional ethical issues. Participation in the first mandatory part is a requirement for this step.

Lectures, seminars, group discussions and group work with focus on technology ethics. Application and evaluation of special tools during development, deployment and running of technology systems.
Treatment of real-life technology ethical conflicts and problems to exercise ethical competence.

Names and e-mail addresses

Johannes Aman-Pohjola, johannes.aman-pohjola@it.uu.se
Jonas Flodin, jonas.flodin@it.uu.se
Ramon Horvath, ramon.horvath@math.uu.se
Magnus Jobs, magnus.jobs@angstrom.uu.se
Konstantinos Koukos, konstantinos.koukos@it.uu.se
Dorothea Ledinek, dorothea.ledinek@angstrom.uu.se
Fei Liu, fei.liu@it.uu.se
Lars Melander, lars.melander@it.uu.se
Xiaoyue Pan, pamela.pxy@gmail.com
�sa Söderberg, asa.soderberg@kemi.uu.se
Ambuj Varshney, ambuj.varshney@it.uu.se
Fredrik Wahlberg, fredrik.wahlberg@it.uu.se
Aleksandar Zeljic, aleksandar.zeljic@it.uu.se

Here is the list of the groups and their members

Groups

For each seminar, 01/04 and 09/04 you need to prepare a ten-minute presentation and a corresponding number of slides.
The slides have to be uploaded here before the seminars. Upload them here yourself or if you cannot do this e-mail them to Iordanis.

Participants

At least one day before the two seminars, 01/04 and 09/04 each and one of the participants writes an abstract of 500 words about the literature we will discuss.
All abstracts will be uploaded here. Upload them here yourself or if you cannot do this e-mail them to Iordanis.

Group projects

Find a moral problem that you feel is important and relevant for your group. Describe it, identify the problem owner and state the problem, often including a moral dilemma, as a question that has more than one answer. Example: Should I accept to be included as a co-author of my colleague's research paper, which I haven't contributed to and which I cannot even judge the quality of?

• Answer the OLE questionnaire
• Perform an HA analysis, practice with AT and perform a ColLab analysis. Make a decision.
• Evaluate all tools (OLE, HA, AT, ColLab) together in your groups. Be precise and concise (around 300 words).
• Send the link to your ColLab analysis, and the brief evaluation of the tools as a pdf file to Mikael Laaksoharju before the seminar. Upload your presentation slides to this page.

Write an essay about a theme you choose, for example from your own professional life. Discuss how it connects to theories of ethics and how it can be analyzed and resolved. It is important to cover all aspects, positive and negative, strengths and weaknesses.
Min 1 500 words, max 10 000 words.
Your essays will not be uploaded.

Examination

Active participation in the group work and in group seminars. Individual abstract and essay.
Send your essay as pdf to: Urkund
Deadline: 05 June 2014

Please evaluate the course. The questionnaire is here.