Future Ethics

Design changes how we see the world and how we can act within it; design turns beliefs about how we should live into objects and environments people will use and inhabit.

It is not enough for a virtuous person to intellectually grasp her moral duty to extend compassion, or even to understand that it would be irrational not to do so. We must also find ways to feel compassion, which is an experience that goes beyond the intellect. —Shannon Vallor22

According to the law of unintended consequences, there will always be outcomes we overlook, but unintended does not mean unforeseeable. We can – and must – try to anticipate and mitigate the worst potential consequences.

‘Ethics is the aesthetics of the future.’6

19 The future isn’t a mark on a map; it’s the map itself. Collectively we get to decide which coordinates to head to.

We must show that we deserve society’s trust by engaging the public in the moral decisions that surround technology, and prioritising the good of all, not just our revenue streams.

For some people, a fair algorithm is one that reflects today’s society. For others, a fair algorithm must be an agent of social change.

The Incredible Machine, ‘Transparent Charging Station’. Reprinted by kind permission.

Data always looks backward, meaning historical prejudice is frozen into a training corpus.