Ethics of technology

The goal of this course is to develop competence in analyzing ethical questions related to the design and use of technology. Students will learn some established Western frameworks for approaching the ethics of technology and learn to apply, adapt and criticize these frameworks. Students will reflect on engineers' responsibility for human beings, society and the environment by thinking about the ethical implications of new technology.
The course starts with an overview of established Western normative ethical theories and principles in week 1. In the following weeks, a number of specific topics in the ethics of technology will be addressed, namely:Week 2: ethics and engineering design;Week 3: value-sensitive design;Week 4: technological risks;Week 5: moral responsibility;Week 6: intellectual property;Week 7: ethical products
The topic of week 8 will be selected by the students in consultation with the lecturer. Case studies and practical examples will be used throughout the course to examine the practical aspects of applying ethical theories and principles to technology.

By the end of this course, students should be able:

• To describe and criticise important established Western normative ethical theories and principles on a general level.
• To apply and adapt these theories and principles to new technologies on a basic level.
• To identify and analyse ethical questions related to the design and use of technology and describe their most important features.
• To systematically reflect on engineers’ responsibility for human beings, society and the environment.
• To describe and interpret primary ethical literature on a basic level.
• To present and conduct a critical discussion of ethical issues related to technology.
• To be motivated to use independent sources on the ethics of technology when addressing a moral issue encountered in a professional activity.

You must meet one of the following collections of requirements

• Collection 1
• Completed Final examination Bsc program
• Collection 2
• Completed Pre-Master

• Readings available through the library or Internet, listed on Studyweb