VM-WI: IS Ethics (SoSe 2022)


Course Number
048072

University Calendar

Learnweb Platform

Type
Specialization

Course Language
deutsch


Notice

Please note, that all relevant information regarding this course (registration, dates, structure, literature) is available in LearnWeb.

 

Course objectives:

• As the digital landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace, new variations of moral, legal, and social concerns arise along with it.

• Consider, for example, the increasing amount of personal data that social networking sites such as Facebook and major search engine companies such as Google now collect. Should we worry about how that information can be subsequently used? Should we also worry about the filtering techniques that leading search engines now use to tailor or “personalize” the results of our search queries based on profiles derived from information about our previous search requests?

• By exploring the main tenets of the ethical theories and explaining concepts such as freedom of speech, personal privacy, filter bubbles, autonomy, microtargeting, and engaging in a critical analysis of several mini-cases, hypothetical examples (vignettes), and a case study (class discussion), this course provides students an approach to identify and evaluate some of the ethical challenges that they may face in their personal and/or professional life.

 

 Course approach:

• Students will face a variety of technology-based issues as members of a complex technological society, in both their professional and personal lives.

• We believe it is important for students to see and understand the implications and impacts of the technology in our modern society.

• The course presents controversies and alternative points of view: privacy vs. access to information, freedom of speech vs. control of content on the Net, etc.

• We encourage students to explore the arguments on all sides and to be able to explain why they reject the ones they reject before they take a position.

• The course takes a problem - solving approach

• Discussions of the ethical issues will be largely based on 3 questions:

      - What?
      - So what?
      - Now what?

Lecturers

  • Matthias Werner (accompanying)