Case study 3
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IntroAnticipatoryEthics.pptxAnticipatory Ethics
Richard L. Wilson
Anticipatory Ethics
At the center of anticipatory ethics is a technology or a study of technological artefacts and how they work.
Without an understanding of a technology and how it works, it is difficult to project how it may or will work in the future.
As technology develops, its moves from a research and development stage, to a product introduction stage, to a market saturation stage, which is described as a power stage.
At each of these stages of technological development ethical and social problems may emerge as a technology moves from stage to stage.
See: Wilson Richard L. 3D Printing and Anticipatory Business Ethics .
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Stages of Technological Development
According to Brey as technology develops there are a series of stages through which it passes.
the R & D and stage of technology development
the introduction stage of technology development
the permeation stage
the power stage
We add “the retrofitting stage”
See Wilson, Richard L. , 3D Printing and Anticipatory Business Ethics
Brey, Philip, A. E,, Anticipating ethical Issues in emerging IT, Ethics and Information Technology (2012) 14:305-307
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4 important figures
4 important figures in Anticipatory Ethics:
James Moor
Deborah Johnson
Philip Brey
Veerbeck
James Moore
i. Introduction stage
ii. Permeation stage
iii. Power stage
Deborah Johnson
Anticipatory ethics is a new approach that integrates ethics into technological development.”
“Anticipatory ethics is ethical analysis aimed at influencing the development of new technologies. Advocates argue for ethics to accompany technological development rather than just reacting to it.”
Although a challenge, anticipatory ethics is best the best opportunity for ethical perspectives to influence science and technology.”
Brey
i. [Research and Development stage]
ii. Introduction stage
iii. Permeation stage
iv. Power stage
v. {Retrofitting Stage}
Peter Paul Verbeeck
Technology and behavior are closely intertwined, particularly in professional existence.
Human behavior results not only from intentions and deliberate decisions, but also from its interaction with technological artifacts.
In the area of traffic safety, for instance, people's driving behavior is determined as much by curves, speed bumps and the power of their motors as by considerations of safety and responsibility.
How can we best describe and understand these interactions between behavior and technology? What conceptual frameworks and empirical studies are available, and how can they be integrated? And how can we bring these interactions to bear on product design and policy making?
Review of USER BEHAVIOR TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
Shaping Sustainable Relations Between Consumers and Technologies
verbeck peter- paul; slob adriaan
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Professional Existence and Technological Development
To engage in Anticipatory Ethics is to attempt to identify problems that will arise in the development of technologies, while the technologies are still in the early stages of development.
It is important to recognize that all areas of professional existence are now deeply influenced by technology.
What we will argue is that Anticipatory Ethics should follow insights developed by PostPhenomenology which in turn have to be developed in conjunction with “an empirically oriented philosophy of technology”.
Our analysis should focus on technological artifacts and technologies that are employed in everyday existence and in everyday professional existence.
Ethics to Anticipatory Ethics
To understand the ethical issues involved with Domestic Terrorism, Racism, and White Supremacy requires an understanding of ethics.
Ethics relates to agents who perform actions.
Dwight Furrow identifies the focus of ethical analysis as involving series of factors.
As Furrow states, ethics is related to evaluating actions and actions are performed by those capable of being moral agents.
As Furrow says, “When we evaluate an action, we can focus on various dimensions of the action. We can evaluate the person who is acting, the intention or motive of the person acting, the nature of the act itself, or the consequences.” (Furrow, Dwight. Ethics: Key Concepts in Philosophy.)
To engage in Anticipatory Ethics is to attempt to identify problems that will arise in the development of technologies, while the technologies are still in the early stages of development.
See Furrow Dwight
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3 Levels of Ethical Analysis
Technology Level
Artifact Level
Application Level
See Brey Phillip
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Technology Level
A. Ethical issues related to the character of the technology
B. Issues that pertain to consequences that are likely to manifest themselves in artifacts of application of technology.
C. Issues pertaining to risks that the technology will result in artifacts or applications that are morally problematic.
Artifact Level
Application Level
A. The use of an artifact or procedure for a particular purpose or in a particular context.
B. Context of use
C. Ethical Issues at the context of use level
i. The morality of certain purposes for which an artifact or procedure may be used.
ii. Moral issues concerning side effects or unintended consequences.
iii. the rights and interests of stakeholders who may be affected by a particular use of an artifact
iv. Forecasting methods
v. Methods of ethical Analysis
Anticipatory Ethics
To engage in anticipatory ethics is to attempt to identify ethical problems that arise in the development of technology, while that technology is still in the early stages of development.
From what perspective should ethical analysis proceed?
Ihde’s analysis, in contrast with a conceptually based analysis of technology in general, proceeds from a discussion of mundane seeing within lived experience.
The importance of ordinary experience for postphenomenology is the recognition that ordinary experience operates with intuitions.
Many everyday decisions are based on moral intuitions.
Designer intentions for product.
User experiences of technology and multistability can be reconceptualized to carry out anticipatory ethical analysis.
Artefacts are ‘multistable’ exposing the ‘designer fallacy’.
What needs to be recognized is that anticipatory ethics has to be developed in conjunction with “an empirically oriented philosophy of technology” and that this empirical orientation for information technology ethics has to be in turn anchored in case studies of specific technologies and artefacts.
The reason for this emphasis on specific technologies and artefacts is due to the exponential rate of development and growth of technology.
This is also the reason for the need to develop anticipatory ethics. In order to carry out this analysis, we will 1st need to provide a conceptual background.
This conceptual background will provide a foundation for understanding the emphasis of each of the 4 versions of anticipatory ethics.
