The digital human. Ethics 6/6.

Jason Millar both engineer and philosophy professor talks about programming ethical decision making in technology. There are instances when this problem is particularly troublesome, for example programming moral decisions into autonomous vehicles. Another example might be the manipulation of Facebook users’ newsfeeds to understand human online behaviour and the corresponding issue of research ethics. Kate Darling, robot ethicist, talks about how the programmer also works within the limitations of their own influences which in turn affects the kind of moral decisions they programme into the machine. Dr Alana Vincent specialises in Jewish studies and talks about the practice of rewriting songs to cater to secular audiences and the nature of isolation in self-policing communities. Next, programmer, Assaf Nativ programs a kosher smartphone for the orthodox community in Israel; this involves disabling smart phones apps to create a basic phone that has the stamp of approval from the rabbi. Furthermore, Judith Newman mother of an autistic child talks about how the computer program SIRI changed her son’s life by giving him a non-judgmental space to communicate about the topics he is interested in. Finally, Professor Sheila McLean talks about the implications of medical ethics and business ethics in product development.