Guidance ethics

In this workshop, an employee of the Knowledge Centre Data & Society will explore with your organisation how a new technology can be best deployed in your organisation. We do this using the Approach to Guidance Ethics.

Process of the workshop

First, the technology is explained in context. A “case holder”, someone who knows the application in depth, explains the specific application. There is room for participants to ask questions. This ensures that all participants have a good understanding of the application being discussed.

In the second step, the actors involved in the case are identified. They can be all sorts of actors, from users to developers, consultants and policymakers. Ideally, all of these are also involved in this workshop. In the group, the possible positive and negative effects of this case are listed. And also the values that are important for this technology and the environment in which the technology will be used.

In the final step, potential impacts and values are translated into solutions. Solutions are thought up from three different domains: technology, environment and use. The technology domain involves (re)designing the product with ethical values in mind, through ethics-by-design, for example. The second domain is the environment: this can also be (re)designed with the ethical values in mind using policy, legislation, processes, organisation and infrastructure. Consider, for instance, the mandatory documentation of ethical choices that were made during the development of the system. The last domain is about usage. This domain is about how individuals interact with the technology. Here you can think, for example, of training, awareness-raising campaigns and communication about the product to encourage more ethical use.

At the end of the workshop, you end up with a selection of actions. Not all actions will be feasible or relevant, but they are a good starting point to further work towards responsible technology because you start from the values that matter when using the technology and the actors involved.

Practical details about the workshop

• Type of course: workshop
• Duration: half day
• Prerequisites: 8 to 12 participants (diversity of profiles)
• Facilitator(s): at least 1 employee of the Knowledge Centre

Depending on the size of the group and the specific demand, the workshop will be facilitated by one or more employees of the Knowledge Centre. This will also have an effect on the cost of this workshop.

Contact us, and together we will review your request and discuss the details. No or little budget? Do not hesitate to contact us anyway. We will take a look at your question together and discuss the possible options.

Photo of Giu Vicente via Unsplash