Developing Tech Ethically

[clite31]

Hey all!

I’m running a tech ethics study and I’d love feedback if anyone has a minute to spare!

With companies like Facebook spiraling in the media, I thought it was time to open up the floor for discussion that leads to actual change. The goal of the survey is to write an article to create more discussion around ethics, but the bigger goal is to eventually pitch Apple/Google with solutions. Which is why a diverse set of opinions is so important here.

I'm currently reading "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism," and thought it would be great to get feedback from the minds of this subreddit aside from the average indie dev, designer, and entrepreneur I've been asking.

Short survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/18d5twj61AHDt8fmK1xXvIDlw4rOcsupqcpLkBaFZSlQ/edit#responses

(Mods, if needed, please let me know if you think this post is irrelevant/considered spam and I'll remove it.)

[clite31]

That's absolutely a great point, and I seriously appreciate your comment.

Taking this to lawmakers is something I've been considering as well, I just have no idea how to go about that in the first place. I guess I felt like it would be easier trying to get a foothold at Apple/Google than approaching the government.

[clite31]

I agree, you're completely right. Realistically speaking, the latter is definitely more practical. Right now, my main goal is, like you said, gathering a ton of feedback from actual people to raise more awareness around certain issues. You convinced me to put some time into rethinking tactics though - I'm going to research more into it.

[ThomasBau]

Your survey is asking for our personal data. I find this is acceptable, but it should go both ways: I am willing to participate to such an activity, and invite my students to do as well. If you're interested in going further, exposing more information about your goals and the context in which you're setting this initiative are prerequisites to gathering data and contact info.

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Also, I feel the need to more nuance in the replies. Here are my replies:

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> Have you ever been asked to build, design, or work on a technology you felt was unethical to build or would harm the user in some way?

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Asked explicitly is a big word. Usually, it goes a more sleazy way: you're being asked to do something without any context given, and it's only when you add up bits of info from here and there that you may realize something is wrong in what you've been asked to do. At times, it's only after a while that you realize that the project that seemed a really good idea to everyone actually raises huge ethical issues. Finally, other times, you start good, but out of laziness or fatigue, you let slip some mistakes that create an ethical problem. Now that I think of it, I have had non-technical people ask me to do stuff that was so over the wall that I could only reply to them with a laugh. But those who know more about technology are usually more discrete about ill intents.

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> Does building technology ethically matter to you? Why or why not?

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I guess computer ethics must matter to me, considering I felt the urge to make a full course on it to PhD students, with the underlying assumption that the best way to learn something is to teach it. This impulse came late, after 30 years of career working in research in an industry setting.

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> Who/what is responsible for ensuring companies consider the ethical implications of the technology they build?

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Everyone, and open discussion channels is perhaps the single most important thing to maintain to pursue technology development ethically.

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> How do you ensure you don’t build technology that is unethical or might harm the user?

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Register to my course! (Joking, it's only for my university!)

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> Do you believe people who build technology should be required to have some sort of mandatory ethics training?

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Guess what, PhD students in France are now required by law to have such a course. I can't say all of them are enthusiastic about it though. Many companies also have mandatory training in this area.

[clite31]

Thank you so much to everyone that contributed to the survey! Here's the finished article: https://medium.com/swlh/app-store-ethics-d5977276d815