Technology, research and ethics
The course gives the required credit points in ethics for TekNat students.
Start date: 29 October 2012, 10.15-12.00, room: 1146
ECTS credits: 5
Course period: 2012 - 2013
Maximum number of participants: 30
Apply before: 2012-10-26
Target group/s and recommended background: PhD students from all the disciplines of TekNat. No special prerequisities.
Contact person: Iordanis Kavathatzopoulos
Course literature:
1. The elements of moral philosophy. J. Rachels and S. Rachels. McGraw-Hill.
3. Good research practice: What is it?
; Good research practice; Freedom, responsibility and universality of science
3. Papers, links: Sunstein, Shalvi, Cockton, Friedman, Jonas, Schumacher, Neumann, Spafford, Moor, Johnson, Stallman, Górniak-Kocikowska, Weckert.
Aim of course
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 suboprimally 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.
Contents, study format and form of examination
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.
Program
| Time, room | Subject | Presenter | Literature, links, etc. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Oct, 10.15-12.00, 1146 | Introduction | Iordanis |
Slides; Apologia Sokratous
|
| 07 Nov, 10.15-12.00, 1145 | Ethical skills | Iordanis | Slides; Sunstein, C. R. (2005). Moral heuristics. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28, 531-573., Shalvi et al.: Honesty requires time, Cockton: Value-centred HCI, Friedman: Value Sensitive Design; reference literature: Kant; Platon: Politeia; Platon: Theaitetos; Aristoteles |
| 29 Nov, 10.15-12.00, 1211 | Philosophy | Group seminar | Rachels & Rachels; Slides Group 1; Slides Group 2; Slides Group 3; Slides Group 4; Slides Group 5; Slides Group 6; Slides Group 7; Abstracts Ia, Abstracts Ib |
| 5 Dec, 13.15-15.00, 1311 | The Ethics of Technology according to Hans Jonas and E F Schumacher | Thomas Lennerfors | Jonas, H. The Imperative of Responsibility - In search of an ethics for the technological age, University of Chicago Press. (ch 1-6, around 200 pages), and Schumacher, E F. Small is beautiful. Economics as if People Mattered, Harper. (Part I, Ch 4: Buddhist Economics, Part II, Ch. 5: Technology with a Human Face, Part III, Ch. 2: Social and Economic Problems Calling for the Development of Intermediate Technology. (Total number of pages to read: 50) |
| 10 Dec, 09.15-12.00, 1213 | Technology, ethical issues | Group seminar | Neumann, Spafford, Moor, Johnson, Stallman, Górniak-Kocikowska, Weckert; Slides Group 1; Slides Group 2; Slides Group 3; Slides Group 4; Slides Group 5; Slides Group 6; Slides Group 7; Human enhancement; Internet and human rights; 3D printers; ACTA; Bank payments; Abstracts IIa, Abstracts IIb |
| 14 Dec, 13.15-15.00, 1145 | Training, exercises | Iordanis, Mikael | Laaksoharju, Rauschmayer et al., Autonomy method, EthXpert software, ColLab software, Notes on arguments
|
| 21 Jan, 09.15-12.00, 1145 | Research issues | Group seminar |
Good research practice: What is it?; Good research practice; Freedom, responsibility and universality of science; Slides Group 1; Slides Group 2; Slides Group 3; Slides Group 4; Slides Group 5; Slides Group 6; Slides Group 7; CODEX; Publications;PublishingDNA evidence fabrication; Charlatanry in science and in publishing; Criminal scientists; Special student; Conflicts 1, 2, 3, 4; Abstracts IIIa, Abstracts IIIb |
| 28 Jan, 09.15-12.00, 1145 | Presentation of group projects | Group seminar | Slides Group 1; Slides Group 2; Slides Group 3; Slides Group 4; Slides Group 5; Slides Group 6; Slides Group 7; Analyses and Evaluations |
Groups
Here is the list of the groups and their members plus e-mail addresses.
Seminars
Groups
For each seminar 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 three seminars, 29/11, 10/12 and 21/01 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.
- Answer the online evaluation questionnaire
- 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, as well as the completed OLE questionnaire and the brief evaluation of the tools as a pdf file to Mikael Laaksoharju before the seminar. Upload your presentation slides to this page.
Essay
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.
Evaluation
Please evaluate the course. The questionnaire is here.