Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 2 sessions / week, 1.5 hours / session
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Overview
Technological advances, and the uses we make of them, continue to radically reshape the world we live in. Data is being collected and analyzed on an unprecedented scale; algorithms play an ever-increasing role in the decisions we make; social media is cited as radically transforming both personal and political discourse; and the list goes on. These developments raise a host of pressing ethical questions that we need to confront, both as a society, and as individuals. The aim of this class is to introduce students to some of these questions and equip them with the conceptual tools needed to engage with them productively and responsibly. Issues studied include:
- Privacy
- Consent to data practices
- Algorithmic justice
- Online manipulation and “dark patterns”
- Echo chambers
- Censorship and freedom of speech
In addition to looking at technology ethics, this class is intended as an introduction to moral philosophy and does not presuppose any philosophical background.
Course Objectives
Upon successful completion of the class, students will have:
- Been introduced to a variety of important issues in technology ethics.
- Developed a richer understanding of what ethics is and how to reason about it.
- Improved their skills in argument construction, analysis, evaluation, and articulation.
- Learned to recognize, and have productive discussions in the face of, reasonable moral disagreement.
- Learned to engage critically with the many ethical questions raised by technology.
Readings
All readings can be found in the Readings section.
Course Requirements
Class Attendance, Preparedness, and Discussion
You should come to class ready to contribute to class discussions in a way that demonstrates you have done the assigned readings. Attendance at recitations is mandatory.
Reading Quizzes
Every time a new reading is assigned (which is nearly every class), there will be a quiz. These aren’t anything to worry about; they are designed to be easy if you’ve made a sincere attempt to do the reading but hard otherwise.
Note: Quizzes are not included on the OpenCourseWare site for this course.
Writing Assignments
You are required to submit three short writing assignments (approximately 500–1000 words each) over the course of the semester. These are worth 15% of your final grade each. You will also be required to submit a single longer essay (approximately 1500 words) due on the final day of class. This is worth 30% of your final grade.
For detail on the writing assignments and the final essay, see the Assignments section.
Grading Policy
| ACTIVITIES | PERCENTAGES |
|---|---|
| Participation in Recitations | 10% |
| Reading Quizzes | 15% |
| Short Writing Assignment 1 | 15% |
| Short Writing Assignment 2 | 15% |
| Short Writing Assignment 3 | 15% |
| Final Essay | 30% |
