On February 1, 2024, PhD student Sharon Lindberg will present her ongoing work on “Cultivating Ethics in Technology Design with Design Practitioners”. The seminar takes place at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Stockholm University.

Respondent: Sharon Lindberg, DSV
External reviewer: Christopher Frauenberger, University of Salzburg, Austria
Internal reviewer: Barry Brown, DSV
Main supervisor: Ola Knutsson, DSV
Supervisor: Chiara Rossitto, DSV

Contact Sharon Lindberg

Abstract

This thesis explores the cultivation of ethical design from the point of view of design practitioners. The ethical aspects of design have gained increased recognition in recent years. The way products, systems, and services are designed influence individuals, societies, and the planet. For instance, digital products and services can manipulate and coerce users, leading to issues like screen addiction, privacy concerns, and over-consumption. The design of “smart devices” has even facilitated abusive behaviors, such as enabling control, harassment, and stalking, health apps have displayed biases by excluding individuals with darker skin tones, and AI chatbots have provided harmful advice, triggering eating disorders. These examples highlight the need to address the ethical implications of technology design.

Ethics is a well-researched topic in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). However, propositions from academia seem underused in practice. According to practitioners, a reason for this is that academic research findings often lack practical applicability. A way to further ethically responsible design, and bridge this research–practice gap, is to involve practitioners in research. Following this practice-centered approach, I have investigated the cultivation of ethical design together with design practitioners. The presented research builds on four qualitative studies, utilizing interviews and co-design to explore design practitioners’ perspectives on ethics and ethics cultivation.

Cultivating more ethical design requires questioning the current “business-as-usual” design paradigm, where profit and growth are the overarching ideals shaping design. Changing the current paradigm is an intricate task, since ideals and practices are deeply intertwined with multifarious factors, including tradition, law, social habits, organizational structures, power, incentives, cognitive learning processes, and identity. This thesis builds on the assumption that, although complex, cultivating more ethical design is possible. My research contributes to existing knowledge by providing practical starting points for cultivating more ethical design—for instance, a set of reflective questions, a workshop format, and a design brief—informed by design practitioners (such as UX, UI and service designers as well as developers). My aim is for this acquired knowledge to be valuable and actionable for researchers and others (such as design practitioners, managers, and educators) who share the desire to cultivate ethical design in practice.

Keywords: Cultivation, Ethics, Design, Practice