January 29, 2025
In this hands-on group-based activity, students work in small groups (3-4 members) to draft a science fiction storyline, namely the main actions happening in it, through a guided step-by-step activity. The exercise aims to reflect on technological innovation and the societal impact of a technology by fostering narrative imagination and through this process, expanding one’s moral imagination about technological innovations.
Lavinia Marin, Gitte van Helden
January 27, 2025
The exercise proposes a step-by-step activity in which students will perform a value sensitive design analysis of 13 cases related to computer sciences/ ICT technologies. Students are asked to analyse a technology case in small groups. They are asked to identify the underlying value conflict that pertains to contrasting stakeholders’ views. Students do so through group work by selecting and working on one morally salient case study with an identifiable ethical problem (the exercise offers 13 such cases to pick from, but instructors are encouraged to add their own cases to this list). The students are encouraged to solve the value conflict by searching for already existing solutions proposed by different stakeholders (for example, designers, journalists, scholars, engineers, policy makers, etc.), and then analysing how a particular solution prioritizes certain values over others.
Lavinia Marin, Samuela Marchiori, Joseph Emmanuel Sta. Maria, Dmitry Muravyov
June 19, 2022
This exercise uses a value-sensitive design approach towards redesigning social media platforms for a different purpose: from being predominantly spaces of entertainment, social media platforms can become spaces of epistemic engagement with information in a fruitful manner by fostering the user’s critical reflection in engaging with information found on social media. The exercise challenges students to redesign user interactions on social media platforms in such a way that explicitly fosters reflective thinking for users about the information that they find online. Note: this exercise can be used in a suite of exercises on social media platform design, together with the Fake news exercise and the Design for information quality exercise.
Lavinia Marin
June 18, 2022
Students analyse a moral case of transparency regarding pollution in engineering. By going through the steps of the ethical cycle, students get to individually analyse various drafted options for actions by means of various ethical frameworks. Based on these analyses, students reflect on what according to them is the most morally responsible option for action and write down a final recommendation.
Lambèr Royakkers
June 5, 2022
This exercise uses a value-sensitive design approach towards redesigning social media platforms from spaces of entertainment to spaces of epistemic engagement with information in fruitful manner. The exercise introduces students to the idea of informational quality, elaborates on the parameters to look for in the design of existing platforms and then stimulates the reflection and imagination by asking students to redesign some features of these platforms in view of making the platforms truth-conducive and knowledge-building.
Lavinia Marin
June 1, 2022
This exercise will look at justice and equity concerning Information and Communication Technologies (ICT’s) in transportation through specific theories of justice and compare two technological innovations (Uber and OV ChipKaart) in the classroom. The ethical implications of these innovations will be debated in order to make conscious decisions about fair systems of mobility.
Filippo Santoni de Sio, Miranda Nell
March 22, 2022
This case-based exercise is concerned with the Internet of Things and the technology of “smart houses” as an emerging technology. This case will focus on the feature of 'smart smoke alarms' since it provides a potentially high stakes example of risks and benefits.
Miranda Nell, Adam Henschke
March 4, 2022
Social media companies face increasing pressure to address the spread of fake news, with it majorly affecting public opinion in recent years. In this CBE, students will develop a position on what changes companies should make in their approach to dealing with fake news. The CBE offers use of extended literature and the ethical cycle procedure to make students develop arguments to support their position. The reasoned position will be orally presented, with other students arguing against it. Finally, the reasoned position (with rebuttal of objections) will be written down in a report.
Julia Hermann, Merel Noorman
March 4, 2022
In this exercise, students will explore the possibility of designing smart energy grids using the approach of value-sensitive design. Rather than using a rule-based ethical theory to determine the best objective answer, students will approach the question with a focus on the ways that different members of society will be affected differently, specifically by looking at values and needs.
Miranda Nell
February 24, 2022
Social media companies face increasing pressure to address the spread of fake news, with it majorly affecting public opinion in recent years. In this CBE, students will develop a position on what changes companies should make in their approach to dealing with fake news. The CBE offers use of extended literature and the ethical cycle procedure to make students develop arguments to support their position. The reasoned position will be orally presented, with other students arguing against it. Finally, the reasoned position (with rebuttal of objections) will be written down in a report.
Julia Hermann, Merel Noorman