Ethics in technology is a big topic in society today. And it should be. Everyone of us is reliant on technology, either directly or indirectly, to live our lives. From the phone in your hand to the shoes on your feet, technology is everywhere. The latest arena of ethics in technology is artificial intelligence and machine learning. There are two ways to think about AI ethics. First, as an investigation into the moral decision-making of AI developers (this is where my PhD research focuses), and second on the ethics of the artificially intelligent system itself. I will cover a lot of territory in the blog posts below, from general concepts to book reviews, to sneak peeks of my own research.

Latest Posts

  • A desk with a computer monitor and keyboard. The monitor displays the words "Do more" in large font.
    On Moral Awakenings
    I have been thinking about moral awakenings. Since coming to the University of Maastricht in February 2021, I have spent a fair amount of time getting to know my colleagues in data science and machine learning. In meeting after meeting, my colleagues in these disciplines insist that “all technology isContinue Reading
  • Social Media Ethics: An Appropriate Response
    The great paradox of social media is that it has both brought us closer together and driven us further apart. We can stay in contact with old friends, cheer each other on from afar, and help strangers in real time. Yet, we’re also flooded with viral videos, sensationalized headlines, andContinue Reading
  • Ethics and the Fine Art of Surveillance
    News that Italy is pointing AI-enhanced cameras at museum visitors has caused a flurry of despair on surveillance ethics Twitter. Here’s what’s happening: The Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy, and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA) is placing cameras next to certain pieces of art at the Istituzione Bologna Musei.Continue Reading
  • What is data? Part III: Data as a Relationship
    In parts one and two of this series I explored the idea of “data as exhaust” and “data as people.” Here, I will argue that data is neither of those things individually, but is instead a relationship. There is an old Buddhist story in which an enlightened monk is invitedContinue Reading
  • What is Data? Part II: Data as People
    In my last post, I explored one of the growing ways in which data scientists view personal data: as digital exhaust. Today, I want to explore another perspective: that personal data is, in fact, people.   In a 2016 article for Aeon, historian Rebecca Lemov argues compellingly that “data isContinue Reading