Course

Ethics and Technology

Faculty
Humanities & Social Sciences
Department
Philosophy
Course code
PHIL 2290
Credits
3.00
Semester length
15 Weeks
Max class size
35
Method(s) of instruction
Lecture
Course designation
None
Industry designation
None
Typically offered
To be determined

Overview

Course description
This course will introduce students to the ethical dimensions of technological development and distribution. Technological innovations are not new and have been shaping human experience since at least the first time our ancestors used fire to cook their own food. As we move through the twenty-first century, humanity has seen an acceleration and expansion of technological tools and digital devices, bringing with them new ethical issues and moral dilemmas. Topics may include biomedical technologies and disability, surveillance software and discrimination, the digital divide, cryptocurrency, intellectual property and generative AI, and the impact of algorithmic decision-making on moral agency.
Course content

In this course, moral themes, principles, and theories will be discussed in relation to a variety of practical ethical issues that arise in the tech sector. Such topics might include:

 

  • Technology and addiction
  • Technology, trust, fake news, and political equality
  • Surveillance, privacy, security, and power
  • Discrimination and social media
  • The digital divide: technology for whom?
  • Biomedical technologies, phenomenology, and the body
  • Technology, art, and entertainment
  • The ethics of digital companions
  • Professional responsibilities of designers and engineers in the tech sector
  • Transhumanism and disability
  • Posthumanism, technology, and the environment
  • Intellectual property and generative AI
  • Technology and personal identity
  • Historical perspectives, including topics such as the Industrial Revolution and workers' rights
Learning activities

 

The course will employ a variety of instructional methods to accomplish its objectives, including some of the following:

 

  • combination of lecture and seminar
  • group discussions, student presentations, and projects
  • use of audio-visual material
  • analysis of case studies
Means of assessment

Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy.  The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria for assessment at the beginning of the semester.

 

As an example, a breakdown may include the following, totaling 100%:

 

Tests, quizzes and Short Assignments

20%-50%%

 

 

Written Class Presentations, Essays, Essay Exams

20%-60%

Instructor’s general evaluation (e.g., participation, attendance, homework, improvement, extra-credit, group work)

0%-20%

 

No single evaluation component in any of these categories may exceed 40%.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

  • apply ethical approaches (principles, theories, perspectives) to moral issues as they arise in the tech sector;
  • recognize values and politics as they go into the development, implementation, and application of technology;
  • analyze moral issues in the context of historical, contemporary, and future technologies;
  • analyze the ethical dimension of a technological innovation before it is released to the public;
  • develop strategies for mindful and timely responses to ethical problems as they arise in the tech sector.
Textbook materials

Hansson, Sven Ove. (2017). The Ethics of Technology: Methods and Approaches. Rowman and Littlefield.

 

Noble, Safiya. (2018). Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism. NYU Press.

 

Benjamin, Ruha. (2019). Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code. Polity.

 

Mulaney, Thomas S, Peters, Benjamin, Hicks, Mar and Philips, Kavita. (2021). Your Computer Is On Fire. The MIT Press.

 

Boylan, Michael and Teays, Wanda. (2022). Ethics in the AI, Technology, and Information Age. Rowman and LittleField.

 

Robson, Gregory J. and Tsou, Jonathan Y. (2023). Technology Ethics: A Philosophical Introduction and Readings. Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.

 

Nyholm, Sven and Hales, Steven D. (2023). This is Technology Ethics: An Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell.

 

Requisites

Prerequisites

No prerequisite courses.

Corequisites

No corequisite courses.

Equivalencies

No equivalent courses.

Course Guidelines

Course Guidelines for previous years are viewable by selecting the version desired. If you took this course and do not see a listing for the starting semester / year of the course, consider the previous version as the applicable version.

(Current)

Course Transfers

These are for current course guidelines only. For a full list of archived courses please see https://www.bctransferguide.ca

Institution Transfer details for PHIL 2290
There are no applicable transfer credits for this course.

Course Offerings

Winter 2025