Newsletter - Issue 1 - Ethics and Philosophy Section
By Udo Pesch
Introduction
Given the magnitude and gravity of sociotechnical developments such as the COVID-19 crisis, the mitigation of and adaptation to global warming, and digital challenges like artificial intelligence and fake news, ethical reflection is urgently needed. As such, we are proud to present the first newsletter of the section for the Ethics and Philosophy of Technology of the Delft University of Technology, which shows efforts undertaken this year to fulfil this need. From different ethical angles, we shed light on some of the most pressing problems in today's societies.
Table of contents
-
- Neelke Doorn and Udo Pesch are editing a special issue on "Ethics of Climate Adaptation" in the journal Sustainability: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/Ethics_Adaptation
- Lavinia Marin has co-edited a special issue on note-taking in the journal Educational Philosophy and Theory https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rept20/53/13?nav=tocList
Michelfelder, D.P. and N. Doorn (2021). The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy of Engineering (edited volume). Routledge: London. https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-the-Philosophy-of-Engineering/Michelfelder-Doorn/p/book/9781138244955
Marin, L. (2021). On the Possibility of a Digital University: Thinking and Mediatic Displacement at the University. SpringerBriefs in Education Ser. Springer International Publishing AG. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-65976-9
- Miller, S., Regan, M., & Walsh, P. F. (2022). National Security Intelligence and Ethics. (Routledge, 2021)
- Miller, S., Henschke, A., & Feltes, J. F. (Eds.). (2021). Counter-Terrorism: The Ethical Issues. Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Burke, P., Elnakhala, D., & Miller, S. (2021). Global jihadist terrorism: Terrorist groups, zones of armed conflict and national counter-terrorism strategies. Edward Elgar Publishing.
- Smith, M. and Miller, S., Biometric Identification, Ethics and Law (Springer, 2021). https://link.springer.com/book/9783030902551
Taebi, B. (2021). Ethics and engineering: An introduction. Cambridge applied ethics. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/au/academic/subjects/philosophy/ethics/ethics-and-engineering-introduction?format=PB
Brackel, Lieke. 2021. "Continuous Negotiation in Climate Adaptation: The Challenge of Co-Evolution for the Capability Approach to Justice" Sustainability 13, no. 23: 13072. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132313072.
Stefan Buijsman:
- Second-order characteristics don’t favor a number-representing ANS, Behavioural and Brain Sciences
- Building blocks for a cognitive science-led epistemology of arithmetic, Philosophical Studies
Cañizares JC, Copeland SM, Doorn N. Making Sense of Resilience. Sustainability. 2021; 13(15):8538. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158538
Rocky Clancy III:
- The Merits of Social Credit Rating in China? An Exercise in Interpretive Pros Hen Ethical Pluralism. Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia. 20:1
- The Development of a Case-Based Course on Global Engineering Ethics in China. International Journal of Ethics Education. 6:51-73.
- With Chevalier, A. (2021). Dockless App-Based Bicycle-Sharing Systems in China: Lessons from a Case of Emergent Technology. Technology and the City: Towards a Philosophy of Urban Technologies. Eds. Michael Nagenborg, Margoth González Woge, Taylor Stone, and Pieter Vermaas. Dordrecht: Springer.
Samantha Copeland:
- “Pushing Back the Boundaries of Doubt, A Review of Ignorant Cognition: A Philosophical Investigation of the Cognitive Features of Not-Knowing by Selene Arfini.” Studies in Philosophy and Education 40:219-223. DOI: 10.1007/s11217-021-09755-y.
- With Sauer, S., Wa/ondering with data-or, Responsibly measuring socio-technical serendipity in the urban environment. In 2021 IEEE International Smart Cities Conference (ISC2) (pp. 1-4). IEEE. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9562963
de Wildt TE, van de Poel IR, Chappin EJL. Tracing Long-term Value Change in (Energy) Technologies: Opportunities of Probabilistic Topic Models Using Large Data Sets. Science, Technology, & Human Values. November 2021. doi:10.1177/01622439211054439
Juan Durán:
- Models, explanation, representation, and the philosophy of computer simulations, in Proceedings of IACAP 2019. Björn Ludgen and Nancy Abigail Nuñez (eds.)
- Pozzi, G. & Durán, JM. Ethics. In Comandé, G. Encyclopaedia of Law and Data Science, Edward Elgar Publishing
- Dissecting scientific explanation in AI (sXAI): a case for medicine and healthcare” Artificial Intelligence.
- With Jongsma, K. Who is afraid of black box algorithms?” On the epistemological and ethical basis of trust in medical AI. Journal of Medical Ethics. Here is a: Response to our reviewers
- Sand, M., Durán, JM, & Jongsma, K. Responsibility beyond design: Physicians’ requirements for ethical medical AI” Bioethics.
- Casey, J & Durán, JM Why the FAIR principles are not enough: lost data and a case for FAIR+
- with Various authors. Tech Philosophers Explain The Bigger Issues With Digital Platforms, And Some Ways Forward
Michael Klenk:
- Moral realism, disagreement, and conceptual ethics, Inquiry, DOI: 10.1080/0020174X.2021.1995483
- Moral Luck and Unfair Blame, with M. Sand, Journal of Value Inquiry
- Moral Judgment and Moral Progress: The Problem of Cognitive Control, with H. Sauer, Philosophical Psychology
- The Influence of Situational Factors in Sacrificial Dilemmas on Utilitarian Moral Judgments, Review of Philosophy and Psychology
- (Online) Manipulation: Sometimes Hidden, Always Careless; Review of Social Economy
- Manipulation Online: Charting the Field, with Fleur Jongepier, forthcoming in The Philosophy of Online Manipulation, edited by Fleur Jongepier and Michael Klenk, Routledge, forthcoming., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3965705
- COVID-19, Uncertainty, and Moral Experiments, with Ibo van de Poel, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences.
Lavinia Marin:
- Sharing (mis) information on social networking sites. An exploration of the norms for distributing content authored by others. Ethics and Information Technology, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-021-09578-y
- A Digital Picture to Hold us Captive? A Flusserian Interpretation of Misinformation Sharing on Social Media. Philosophy Today. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.5840/philtoday2021514404
- With Sturm, S. (2021). ‘Why aren’t you taking any notes?’ On note-taking as a collective gesture. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(13), 1399–1406. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2020.1744131
- with Sturm, S., & Vlieghe, J. (2021). Notes on note-making: Introduction. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 53(13), 1316–1320. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131857.2021.1939008
Seumas Miller:
- "A Principled Approach to Cross Sector Genomic Data Access" (co-author M Smith) Bioethics vol. 35 no. 8 2021
- “The Ethical Application of Biometric Facial Recognition Technology” (co-author Marcus Smith) AI and Society vol. 36 2021.
- "Ethics, Public Health and Technology Responses to COVID-19" (co-author Marcus Smith) Bioethics vol. 35 no. 4 2021
- “Joint Rights: Human Beings, Corporations and Animals” Journal of Applied Ethics and Philosophy vol. 12 2021
- "Rethinking the Just Intelligence Theory of National Security Intelligence Collection and Analysis: Principles of Discrimination, Necessity, Proportionality and Reciprocity" Social Epistemology vol. 35 2021.
- Truth-Seeking and the Principles of Discrimination, Necessity, Proportionality and Reciprocity in National Security Intelligence Activity” in National Security Intelligence and Ethics (eds.) S. Miller, M Regan and P Walsh (Routledge, 2021)
- “Definition of Terrorism” (co-author J. Feltes) in (eds.) S. Miller, A Henschke and J. Feltes Counter-terrorism: The Ethical Issues (Edward Elgar, 2021)
- “Collective Responsibility and Counter-terrorism” (co-author J. Feltes) in (eds.) S. Miller, A. Henschke and J. Feltes Counter-terrorism: The Ethical Issues (Edward Elgar, 2021)
- “Preventive Detention of Terrorists” in (eds.) S. Miller, A. Henschke and J. Feltes Counter-terrorism: The Ethical Issues (Edward Elgar, 2021)
- “Use of Stings in Counter-Terrorism: Ethics and Entrapment” in (eds.) S. Miller, A. Henschke and J. Feltes Counter-terrorism: The Ethical Issues (Edward Elgar, 2021)
- “Predictive Policing: The Ethical Issues” in (ed.) David Edmonds Future Morality (Oxford University Press, 2021)
Udo Pesch:
- The Ethical Challenges of Innovation. Science and Engineering Ethics, 27(3), 31. doi:10.1007/s11948-021-00308-7
- From Liberalism to Experimentation: Reconstructing the Dimensions of Public Space. In M. Nagenborg, T. Stone, M. González Woge, & P. E. Vermaas (Eds.), Technology and the City: Towards a Philosophy of Urban Technologies (pp. 291-317). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
- Imaginaries of innovation: Turning technology development into a public issue. Science and Public Policy.
- Institutions of justice and intuitions of fairness: contesting goods, rules and inequalities. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 1-14. doi:10.1080/13698230.2021.1913887
- With Cuppen, E.(2021). How to Assess What Society Wants? The Need for a Renewed Social Conflict Research Agenda. In S. Batel & D. Rudolph (Eds.), A critical approach to the social acceptance of renewable energy infrastructures: Going beyond green growth and sustainability (pp. 161-178). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
- Rodhouse, T. S. G. H., Pesch, U., Cuppen, E. H. W. J., & Correljé, A. F. (2021). Public agency and responsibility in energy governance: A Q study on diverse imagined publics in the Dutch heat transition. Energy Research & Social Science, 77, 102046. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102046
Richie C, Environmental sustainability and the carbon emissions of pharmaceuticals, Journal of Medical Ethics, Published Online First: 14 April 2021. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106842
Sabine Roeser:
- Emotionen und ethische Beurteilung technologischer Risiken. In: Grunwald A., Hillerbrand R. (eds) Handbuch Technikethik. J.B. Metzler, Stuttgart. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-476-04901-8_36
- With Janna van Grunsven, (2021) AAC Technology, Autism, and the Empathic Turn. Social Epistemology 0:0, pages 1-16. DOI: 10.1080/02691728.2021.1897189
- With Janna van Grunsven, Marin, L., Stone, T. W., & Doorn, N. (2021). How to Teach Engineering Ethics?: A Retrospective and Prospective Sketch of TU Delft’s Approach to Engineering Ethics Education. Advances in Engineering Education. https://advances.asee.org/how-to-teach-engineering-ethics-a-retrospective-and-prospective-sketch-of-tu-delfts-approach-to-engineering-ethics-education/
Martin Sand:
- With Klenk, M. (2021) Moral luck and unfair blame. Journal of Value Inquiry. DOI:10.1007/s10790-021-09856-4
- with Jongsma, K.; Durán, J.M. (2021) Responsibility beyond design – Physician’s requirements for ethical medical AI. Bioethics. DOI: 10.1111/bioe.12887
- Steen, M.; Sand, M.; van de Poel, I. (2021) Virtue Ethics for Responsible Innovation. Business & Professional Ethics Journal 40(2), pp. 1–156, DOI: 10.5840/bpej2021319108
- A defence of the control principle. Philosophia- Philosophical Quarterly of Israel, 49, pp. 765–775, DOI: 10.1007/s11406-020-00242-1
- With Bergen, J.; Stone, T. (2021) Introductie in ethiek en onderzoeksethiek voor bouwkunde. In: Hoekstra, M.; Lousberg, L.; Rooij, R.; Floet, W.; Zijlstra, S. Inzicht – akademische vaardigheden voor bouwkundigen. Delft, pp. 57-68.
- RRI und Postwachstumsökonomie als Herausforderungen für die Technikfolgenabschätzung. In: Böschen S, Grunwald A, Krings B-JMA, Rösch C, (Eds.): Technikfolgenabschätzung: Handbuch für Wissenschaft und Praxis. Baden-Baden: Nomos, pp. 403-14.
Teng, Y. Towards trustworthy blockchains: normative reflections on blockchain-enabled virtual institutions. Ethics and Information Technology (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-021-09581-3
Ibo van de Poel:
- Design for value change. Ethics and Information Technology, 23(1), 27-31
- Yaghmaei, E., & van de Poel, I. (Eds.). (2020). Assessment of Responsible Innovation: Methods and Practices. Routledge.
- van Gelder, P., Klaassen, P., Taebi, B., Walhout, B., van Ommen, R., van de Poel, I., ... & Jung, D. (2021). Safe-by-design in engineering: An overview and comparative analysis of engineering disciplines. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(12), 6329.
- Umbrello, S., & van de Poel, I. (2021). Mapping value sensitive design onto AI for social good principles. AI and Ethics, 1-14.
- Klenk, M., & Van de Poel, I. (2021). COVID-19, uncertainty, and moral experiments. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 43(1), 1-5.
- Steen, M., Sand, M., & Van de Poel, I. (2021). Virtue Ethics for Responsible Innovation. Business and Professional Ethics Journal, 40(2), 243-268.
- Steen, M., Timan, T., & van de Poel, I. (2021). Responsible innovation, anticipation and responsiveness: case studies of algorithms in decision support in justice and security, and an exploration of potential, unintended, undesirable, higher-order effects. AI and Ethics, 1-15.
- Van de Poel, I., & Sand, M. (2021). Varieties of responsibility: Two problems of responsible innovation. Synthese, 198(19), 4769-4787.
- de Wildt TE, van de Poel IR, Chappin EJL. Tracing Long-term Value Change in (Energy) Technologies: Opportunities of Probabilistic Topic Models Using Large Data Sets. Science, Technology, & Human Values. November 2021. doi:10.1177/01622439211054439
Janna van Grunsven:
- Making and embedding humane technologies: can artistic practices provide normative guidance?. Adaptive Behavior, 1059712321995229.
- Enactivism and the Paradox of Moral Perception. Topoi, 1-12.
- With Roeser, S. (2021). AAC Technology, Autism, and the Empathic Turn. Social Epistemology, 1-16.
- With Marin, L., Stone, T. W., Roeser, S., & Doorn, N. (2021). How to Teach Engineering Ethics?: A Retrospective and Prospective Sketch of TU Delft’s Approach to Engineering Ethics Education. Advances in Engineering Education. https://advances.asee.org/how-to-teach-engineering-ethics-a-retrospective-and-prospective-sketch-of-tu-delfts-approach-to-engineering-ethics-education/
Sabine Roeser:
- April 2021-: member of the Beraadsgroep of the Gezondheidsraad (Dutch Health Council; independent advisory council on health policy for the Dutch government; the Beraadsgroep comments on all advises before they are published); Summer 2021-Winter 2022: member of a temporary subcommittee on sustainability and health
- May 2021 – February 2022: member of a governmental advisory committee on societal aspects of nuclear energy, for the Raad voor de Leefomgeving en Infrastructuur (RLI; Dutch Council for the Environment and Infrastructure)
OECD (2020), "Addressing societal challenges using transdisciplinary research", OECD Science, Technology and Industry Policy Papers, No. 88, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0ca0ca45-en (co-authored by Behnam Taebi)
Popular media and blogs
Udo’s blog https://udopesch.weblog.tudelft.nl/
-
- The corona ethics podcast (project managed by Steffen Steinert, funded by 4TU.Ethics) https://www.delftdesignforvalues.nl/covid-19/podcast-series/ has had several guests from our Section this year:
- Cristina Richie, Episode 5: Corona, healthcare and the environment https://anchor.fm/4tuethicspodcast/episodes/5-Corona--healthcare-and-the-environment-e15d70m
- Ibo van de Poel, episode 6: Corona, ethics and philosophy of technology: https://anchor.fm/4tuethicspodcast/episodes/6-Corona--ethics-and-philosophy-of-technology-e15d7ja
- Stefan Buijsman – public outreach:
- Monthly 3-page columns on philosophy and AI for Filosofie Magazine, the first two are public right now: https://www.filosofie.nl/het-nieuwe-gezicht-van-ai/, https://www.filosofie.nl/de-computer-zegt-nee/ and with a bit of a delay new ones are released every month (and shared on social media)
- NWA Facebook Live session on AI & Control, Sep 15 https://www.facebook.com/nationalewetenschapsagenda/videos/407345294241309
- Knack Magazine interview on Responsible AI, https://www.knack.be/nieuws/belgie/wiskundefilosoof-stefan-buijsman-auto-s-zullen-pas-over-20-a-30-jaar-zelfstandig-rijden/article-longread-1780793.html
- Studium Generale Delft, Art & Tech, Sep 26
- TiU AI Forward Forum, Live session on Superintelligence and limitations of current AI, Sep 30
- Keynote Het Zoekend Hert, philosophical society in Belgium, on Philosophy and AI
BNR Nieuwsradio, expert panel on facial recognition, https://www.bnr.nl/podcast/breekt/10456260/breekt-er-is-geen-houden-aan-gezichtsherkenning-wordt-uiteindelijk-de-norm - Brainpool, Swedish non-profit for teenagers, talk on AI and philosophy, October 23
- Samantha Copeland participated in two podcasts:
- The CauseHealth Series on The Words Matter podcast (January/February)
https://www.wordsmatter-education.com/the-causehealth-series
-
- Encountering Serendipity for the Scientific Imagination podcast (March):
https://www.scientificimagination.org/
- and a video web-series: Interdisciplinarity at the forefront of technology development – stories from Convergence. For the Webinar series, Collaboration Beyond Disciplinary Boundaries. How to make it work. – hosted by NMBU (Norwegian University of Life Sciences) CAPS (Centre for Applied Philosophy of Science): https://www.nmbu.no/en/faculty/hh/research/centers/caps/resources
- Neelke Doorn was asked to write an essay on the ethical aspects of wastewater surveillance for the Foundation for Applied Water Research STOWA, the centre of expertise of the Dutch Water Authorities. Based on this essay, Neelke was invited as expert for two workshops on this topic at the Ministry of Health, jointly organized by the Ministry, the RIVM (National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) and the Union of the Dutch Waterboards. The essay can be read here: https://waterandresilience.org/essay-on-the-ethics-of-wastewater-surveillance/
- Trijsje Franssen has organised and moderated three editions of the philosophical café Prometheus' Problems where several members of our Section appeared as guest speakers:
- Should an engineer work for the military?: https://sg.tudelft.nl/event/prometheus-problems-should-an-engineer-work-for-the-military/, moderated by Filippo Santoni de Sio
- Neurotypical or Neurodiverse?: https://sg.tudelft.nl/event/prometheus-problems-neurotypical-or-neurodiverse/ , moderated by Samantha Copeland and with Caroline as one of the speakers
- Moral machines: What if technology decides for us?: https://sg.tudelft.nl/event/prometheus-problems-moral-machines-what-if-technology-decides-for-us/with Jan Bergen, moderated by Trijsje Franssen
- Michael Klenk - public outreach:
- Interview on Manipulation and AI for special report by Rathenau Institute (forthcoming)
- Invited Panelist ‚The Ethics & Future of Data & Technology,’ 2021 World Ethical Data Forum
- Invited Presentation on ‚AI & Manipulation,‘ Ethikverband der deutschen Wirtschaft e.V.
- Delft Studium Generale Presentation, on ‘Spotting Bullshit Online’, featured on Delft Dies Natalis
- Sabine Roeser:
- Interview on ethics of AI for Dutch newspaper Trouw (June 2021)
- Interview on moral emotions and nuclear energy for VPRO Tegenlicht (website accompanying TV program), May 2021
- Interview on moral emotions and nuclear energy for NRC Handelsblad (reprinted in various regional newspapers), April 2021
- Interview on moral emotions and nuclear energy for Dutch Radio 1, dr. Kelder & co (popular science radio program), March 2021
- ‘AI and Moral Emotions’, keynote lecture for science week Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, 7 October 2021 (online)
- Behnam Taebi and Nynke van Uffelen gave an interview for C2W on energy transition: https://www.sciencelink.net/opinie-and-analyse/de-energietransitie-is-een-rechtvaardigheidsprobleem/20357.article
- The corona ethics podcast (project managed by Steffen Steinert, funded by 4TU.Ethics) https://www.delftdesignforvalues.nl/covid-19/podcast-series/ has had several guests from our Section this year:
-
- Samantha Copeland was awarded two grants:
- “Values Taking Shape: A collaborative deliberation toolkit for Convergence Squares” 10,000 EUR, August 2021, with Pei-Hua Huang and the Converging Ethics for Converging Technologies project team (TUD & EMC), and Maarten van der Sanden and the Communications Lab (TUD-TWI)
- Funded Lorentz Center Workshop: Enacting Chance (August)
https://enactingchance.wixsite.com/website
- Cristina Richie was awarded two grants:
- PI, Environmentally Sustainable Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Technologies, TU Delft Safety and Security Institute, 2021. 8,000 Euro.
- PI, Environmentally Sustainable Artificial Intelligence in Biomedical Technologies, TU Delft Artificial Intelligence Lab, 2021. 1,500 Euro.
- Steven Umbrello was named one of 35 under 35 by Santander Bank and Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB). https://www.cidob.org/es/actividades/lineas_de_investigacion_tematicas/cidob/santander_cidob_35_under_35_list2
- Mark Young received the SPT 2021 award for best paper for “How Artifacts Acquire Agency”: http://www.spt.org/the-2021-spt-awards-for-mark-thomas-young-and-orane-kail/
- Samantha Copeland was awarded two grants:
-
- Value Sensitive Design and the Future of Value Alignment in AI. Thursday, 16 December @ 17:00 - 18:30 (organized by Michael Klenk). This online round-table discussion aims to discuss whether and how VSD can advance AI ethics in theory and practice. After six decades of research and development, aligning AI systems with our goals, intents, and values remains an elusive objective. How do we make sure that AI models capture our norms and values, understand what we mean or intend, and, above all, do what we want? More details here: https://www.delftdesignforvalues.nl/event/value-sensitive-design-and-the-future-of-value-alignment-in-ai/