From gender-biased resume scanning bots to the dissemination of fake news to apps that send our every smartphone action back to the mothership, the ethics of technology is now under a 10,000-watt spotlight. How can your company avoid becoming the center of the scandal? By putting ethics at the heart of your technical design process. Join Dr. Matt Beard from the Ethics Center for a primer on embedding ethics into your development process. You'll learn how to prevent costly re-designs, how to become an advocate within your organization, and the philosophies underpinning it all.

1. ETHICAL BY DESIGN: HOW TO BUILD GOOD TECHNOLOGY
Matt Beard
DRMATTBEARD @MATTHEWTBEARD

4. ETHICAL TECHNOLOGY
KNOWING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
DOING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
NOURISHING
WHAT’S RIGHT

5. ETHICAL TECHNOLOGY
KNOWING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
DOING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
NOURISHING
WHAT’S RIGHT

6. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.
'I don't much care where -' said Alice.
'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
– LEWIS CARROL, ALICE IN WONDERLAND

7. Image sources: MIT Technology Review, Strategy Bridge, UX Planet

8. Existentialism Virtue Theory Consequentialism
ETHICAL THEORIES
Teleology Contractualism Deontology Relational Ethics

9. Existentialism Virtue Theory Consequentialism
Teleology Contractualism Deontology
Taking Responsibility Bringing Out the
Best in People
Good Outcomes
Doing Your Job Using Power
Wisely
Honouring
Commitments
ETHICAL COMMITMENTS
Relational Ethics
Showing You Care

10. PR00.
OUGHT BEFORE CAN
The fact that we can do something does not mean that
we should.
PR01.
NON-INSTRUMENTALISM
Never design technology in which people are merely
a part of the machine.
PR02.
SELF-DETERMINATION
Maximise the freedom of those affected by your design.
PR03.
RESPONSIBILITY
Anticipate and design for all possible uses.
PR04.
NET BENEFIT
Maximise good, minimise bad.
PR05.
FAIRNESS
Treat like cases in a like manner; different cases
differently.
PR06.
ACCESIBILITY
Design to include the most vulnerable user.
PR07.
PURPOSE
Design with honesty, clarity and fitness of purpose

11. ETHICAL TECHNOLOGY
KNOWING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
DOING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
NOURISHING
WHAT’S RIGHT

12. KNOWING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
DOING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
NOURISHING
WHAT’S RIGHT
ETHICAL TECHNOLOGY

13. Could this be used for evil?
No
Are you sure?
Yes
Go for it!
No
Back to the
drawing board
Yes
What would let
this happen?
Who could stop this?
What would stop
them from doing so?
How likely is it?
Is the risk worth it?
Can we go public
with the risk?
AM I BUILDING THE DEATH STAR?

14. • Stress-testing the ethical pressure points
• Is there anything you’ve missed?
• What trade-offs have you made?
Can you defend them?
• Were there ethically preferable ways of
getting this result?
• Have you stayed on brief?
Was the brief a good one to begin with?
RED TEAMING

15. RED TEAM
Why can’t they walk around
without having their screen
turned on?
Have you
asked the
owners of
these locations
if you can
include them in
the game?
Are there some
places where there
won’t be infrastructure
to support the amount
of people?
What happens if a
Pokémon appears
somewhere it shouldn’t?
Will this encourage
people to go where
it’s not safe?

16. Affordance Theory
• Clues as to how we should use technology
• Not intended or primary functions of design
• Bids to user and responses to user bids
Affordances are design invitations –
‘here, use me like this’
TODDLER TALK

17. • Imagine you had no preconceptions about
how to use this. What could
you infer from the design?
• How do you want people to use this?
• How don’t you want people to use this?
• Do your design choices and affordances
reflect these expectations?
• Are you unnecessarily preventing other
legitimate uses of the technology?
TODDLER TALK

18. ETHICAL TOTEMS
• Teams, or people in teams,
champion and safeguard a certain
ethical viewpoint or a certain
ethical theory
• Can also be done with
ethical stakeholders
• Assists team in developing a
reflective equilibrium
• Challenges ethical biases through
conscious acknowledgement of
different lenses

19. • If you’ve built something great,
tell us about it!
• Disclose ethical trade-offs and limitations
• Describe the world you’re trying to create
• Encourage & be explicit about affordances
• Seek feedback, iterate
SHOW YOUR WORK

20. KNOWING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
DOING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
NOURISHING
WHAT’S RIGHT
ETHICAL TECHNOLOGY

21. KNOWING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
DOING
WHAT’S
RIGHT
NOURISHING
WHAT’S RIGHT
ETHICAL TECHNOLOGY

22. YOU’VE GOT TOGIVE A FUCK

23. “We are what we repeatedly do.
Excellence, therefore, is not an act,
but a habit.”
– WILL DURANT (cribbing Aristotle)

24. “We live on a trampoline. If we
move, it affects a whole lot of
people.”
– CAROL GILLIGAN

25. • Value-based incentives
• Who you hire
• Bonuses and promotions
• Storytelling
• Who we are defines what we do
• What does it mean to be an Atlassian?
• Stories that connect ethics with identity
• Choose your heroes wisely
• Who do you heap kudos on and why?
• Advertise who your role models are and why
GIVING A FUCK

26. Hypocrisy is the hill on which trust goes to die.

27. Skin in the game
• Diversity: actively seeking those who
are likely to be most affected by what
you’re building.
• Reducing moral hazards:
who suffers? Who benefits?
Are you safe either way?
• Accountability: What happens
if something goes wrong?
DIVERSITY

28. Seeing the full picture
• Have you mitigated the risk of ethical biases?
• Do you all resolve ethical issues and
dilemmas the same way?
• Do you have an adequate stocktake of the
potential effects, benefits and uses of what
you’re building?
DIVERSITY

29. WWW.ETHICS.ORG.AU
ETHICSCENTRE ETHICS_CENTRE ETHICS_CENTRE