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Ethics Power Inclusion in Design. Waikato University
A presentation for Year 3 students across design majors to support their thinking and preparing for ethical conundrums and dilemmas in the workplace. Delivered in September 2025 at the University of Waikato in Aotearoa New Zealand
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Ethics Power Inclusion in Design. Waikato University
- 1. Ethics, Power & Inclusionin Design A guest lecture for DSIGN342 University of Waikato, 2025 Prof. Ricardo Sosa ricardo.sosa@waikato.ac.nz
- 2. Andrew J. Hawkins@andyjayhawk Tech Skills “Soft” Skills Design ethics
- 3. Politics in design “Users”in UCD Agency of design Ethics canvas 4 cases to unfold (CYOA) Student presentations & discussion
- 4. Every design has“politics” Asdesigners, we embed our* morals, values and perspectives into the designs we create impacting people This responsibility requires designers to act with the intention and the skills to make ethical design decisions “politics”as in: pertaining to public life * or worse, someone else’s Verbeek, PP (2008). Morality in design: Design ethics and the morality of technological artifacts. In Philosophy and Design (pp. 91-103). Springer, Dordrecht.
- 5. UCD to HCDto…? https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=User+Centred+Design%2C+human+centred+design&year_start=1970&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3
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- 8. Agency of design Verbeek,PP (2008). Moralityin design: Design ethics and themoralityof technologicalartifacts. In Philosophy and Design (pp. 91-103). Springer, Dordrecht. Foldable phones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4PY0k7_4Dk
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- 10. Ethics Canvas “Mark Zuckerbergwants you to have AI friends. He thinks the average person wants to have more friends and connections with other people than they currently do—and that AI friends are a solution.” https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/artificial-intelligence/zuckerberg-s- grand-vision-most-of-your-friends-will-be-ai/ar-AA1EjI6Q
- 11. Ethics Canvas “Mark Zuckerbergwants you to have AI friends. He thinks the average person wants to have more friends and connections with other people than they currently do—and that AI friends are a solution.” September 2025 https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/2105311/donald-trump-exchange-mark-zuckerberg-dinner
- 12. https://www.ethicscanvas.org/ “AI friends” Gender, age, neurodivergent, personality, location…of more isolated, introverted and vulnerable individuals People with access, affordability Trauma & conflict How“friendship” is redefined Skill building Erosion of empathy & tolerance Friendship: as-a- service, transactional, performative, responsive, archival Fragmented social groups and communities of practice Family bonds & parental control, care givers, mediation roles Teamwork skills, trust, emotional & time sinks Stigma, radicalization Investors, start-ups Humanism vs Transhumanism Techno-Optimism, Posthumanism, Feminism… Lower social skills, more vulnerable to manipulation & control Surveillance, silos, weaponisation Regulatory frameworks Anticipatory checks & balances Inter-operability EI education AI for social skill building, coaching, explainable AI Equitable access Cross-discip & participatory design AI Data centers: CO₂ emissions, local water shortages, energy strain, rare earth material dependencies, e-waste Dependencies, AI “letdown”, biases, stereotypes & inequalities mirrored or worsened, manipulation…
- 13. 4 cases https://thelaundrylady.co.nz A. “Theranos”(USAv. Elizabeth A. Holmes, et al. justice.gov/usao-ndca/us-v-elizabeth-holmes-et-al) B. Biases in design C. Clients, bosses, briefs D. “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”Apocryphal quote
- 14. A. Theranos skymall.com/products/inflatable-water-park-with-large-water-slides-and-basketball-hoop To imaginethe future: • Designers “lie” • We suspend disbelief • Pretend-play • A “stopping rule” • Ethical lying? When? How? How much?
- 15. B. Biases https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_instrument Jimenez, S.H., Godot, X., Petronijevic, J., Lassagne, M., & Daille-Lefevre, B. (2024). Considering cognitive biases in design: an integrated approach. Procedia Computer Science, 232, 2800-2809. “if the only tool you have is a hammer, it is tempting to treat everything as a nail” Kaplan/Maslow How to identify biases in how: • We think, act & live • We frame problems • We conduct a design project • We generate ideas • We test & evaluate ideas • We collaborate/partner • We learn & reflect
- 16. C. Clients, bosses,briefs Stewart, John B. (1959) Problems in Review – Planned Obsolescence, Harvard Business Review. September-October Design ethics beyond design: • The “bottom line” • Shot-term convenience • NIMBY mindset • Nudging behaviour change • Sourcing of resources • Trade-offs • How to respond to ethical conundrums, dilemmas?
- 17. D.“Faster horses” https://www.stlouiscarmuseum.com/vehicles/968/1927-ford-model-t https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/07/28/ford-faster-horse/#note-2539-2 “If Ihad asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses” misattributed to Henry Ford - Do we ask people? - Who and what? - How and when do we ask? - How do we listen/interpret? - Who knows best?
- 18. Student presentations &discussion
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- 20. Ethics, Power & Inclusionin Design A guest lecture for DSIGN342 University of Waikato, 2025 Prof. Ricardo Sosa ricardo.sosa@waikato.ac.nz
- 21. 5P Design Ethicsby Ricardo Sosa Product or Solution – Why should this type of solution exist? – Who is this for? Why? Who is being excluded or may be harmed? – How will this design be produced, maintained, disposed of? Project and Brief – Why should we be designing this? – Whose values, interests, or worldviews shape the brief and the goals? Process and Delivery – What are our sources of knowledge and ideas? Is our research ethical and fair? – Are we testing ethically? Is our process cost-effective? How could we design better? – How do we handle feedback, paradox, and biases in our design process? Planetary well-being – What are the consequences of this design for life (Nature, Culture)? Can this be more sustainable, regenerative, low-impact? Personal positioning – What are my personal values and guidelines? How do I hold myself accountable? – How do I reflect and learn about ethics? What’s my vision of the future?