I’m giving a brand-new talk ‘Revenants’ at FFConf. The failed utopias of the web, value-sensitive design, hauntology, all that good stuff. Captivating analysis or unintelligible screed? Signs point to yes. Join us on 13 Nov to find out.
I’ve just accepted a position to study for my PhD in philosophy at the University of Leeds, based at IDEA: The Ethics Centre . I start in October. I’ll be researching whether deception and manipulation are morally acceptable in AI-authored design. Aside from occasional, staccato projects where time allows, I won’t be taking on new consulting work from autumn. Thanks to my clients for taking the…
Our sweet, silly cat Beemo died yesterday. One of those slowly-then-quickly illnesses turned out to be an irreversible kidney problem. She was a wonderful cat, loving and easygoing and vocal, and a dear companion to us both. We’re in bits – but this is the price of love. Hug your nonhuman friends, all.
Great to receive a copy of Shruthi Chivukula and Colin Gray ’s new book Universal Methods of Ethical Design the other day. I’m a fan of the series – Lidwell’s Universal Principles of Design made an impression on me early in my design career – so I’m pleased it’s expanded into the design ethics space. View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize The authors have assembled 100 design methods,…
I don’t like the idea that AIs ‘hallucinate’. It brings to mind absent-mindedness – some emeritus-professor confusion or perhaps a kind of stoner wisdom, with the machine opening the doors of perception beyond mortal limitations. Of course behind the linguistic cover story we know what’s really going on: AIs are fabricating information. Much of this is due to AI systems’ design. These are…
I’m helping a client create a case for responsible tech so they can secure the high-level support these initiatives need. Having collated plenty of these cases (with evidence) over the years I sent some starting thoughts on risk reduction, revenue opportunities, and cost savings. I’ll write about these in the book. But the most important part of the document I sent is the caveats section. There’s…
Well, the UK – like the US – is now fully AI-pilled, with our leaders hailing AI as our economic saviour and a national security sine qua non. Most of this is posturing, not considered policy, so I felt it warrants some equally rushed, speculative reactions. AI is the weirdest technology of my lifetime. It does mysterious things unfathomably, and whatever we expect of AI it will prove us wrong.…
One of my more innovative new year pledges is to actually talk about the work I do. So here goes. I’m working with the RSPCA at the moment, kickstarting a responsible AI initiative. I’ve been reviewing a new AI-driven project for ethical risks and opportunities, and helping define the artefacts and mentalities the organisation needs to adopt to embed responsibility in its future tech work. As part…
Reflections on my time as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. 1. Elon University · 2. Flora and fauna · 3. Teaching technology ethics · 4. The sport · 5. Being a Fulbrighter · 6. Life in the North Carolina Piedmont · 7. The national future. I try to arrive in the US as non-judgemental as possible, determined to reappraise America from first principles. Unrealistic…
Reflections on my time as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. 1. Elon University · 2. Flora and fauna · 3. Teaching technology ethics · 4. The sport · 5. Being a Fulbrighter · 6. Life in the North Carolina Piedmont · 7. The national future . ‘It is easy to fall in love with the beauty of a place, harder to accept and ultimately forgive its flaws.’ —Jan Deblieu North…
Reflections on my time as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. 1. Elon University · 2. Flora and fauna · 3. Teaching technology ethics · 4. The sport · 5. Being a Fulbrighter · 6. Life in the North Carolina Piedmont · 7. The national future . Origin story, 1946: Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright persuades a war-weary Congress to flog its military surplus and invest…
Here’s the video of a new talk I gave at the University of Washington this spring. Titled What Could Go Wrong? , it’s a look at both contemporary and future ethics issues with AI, the false dichotomy of regulation vs. practitioner ethics, emerging info on AI red teaming and opportunities for improvement, and why lean and agile remain thorns in the side of practical tech ethics work. Thanks to Chad…
Reflections on my time as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. 1. Elon University · 2. Flora and fauna · 3. Teaching technology ethics · 4. The sport · 5. Being a Fulbrighter · 6. Life in the North Carolina Piedmont · 7. The national future . I have an advantage in that I already understand and enjoy American sports. It was even part of my cultural-exchange patter in…
Reflections on my time as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. 1. Elon University · 2. Flora and fauna · 3. Teaching technology ethics · 4. The sport · 5. Being a Fulbrighter · 6. Life in the North Carolina Piedmont · 7. The national future . I teach Ethics in Interactive Media, an elective course in Elon’s now-paused MA Interactive Media . I’m not precious, so here’s…
Reflections on my time as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. 1. Elon University · 2. Flora and fauna · 3. Teaching technology ethics · 4. The sport · 5. Being a Fulbrighter · 6. Life in the North Carolina Piedmont · 7. The national future . One afternoon, small bales of pinestraw appear in my back garden. The next, Elon grounds staff spread it over the red clay and…
Reflections on my time as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Elon University, North Carolina. 1. Elon University · 2. Flora and fauna · 3. Teaching technology ethics · 4. The sport · 5. Being a Fulbrighter · 6. Life in the North Carolina Piedmont · 7. The national future . First: no relation. Elon University’s misfortune to share a name with that man renders most of its merch unwearable. Dreading…
Estoy encantado de anunciar que hoy sale a la venta La Ética del Futuro , la traducción al español de mi libro Future Ethics. Desde que publiqué el libro hace unos años, muchas personas me han dicho que La Ética del Futuro es uno de los libros más perspicaces y prácticos que han leído sobre el tema. Las críticas también parecen confirmarlo. Si Future Ethics ha desempeñado un pequeño papel en el…
For a few months I’ve been working with the esteemed Harry Brignull to investigate design patterns in the browser space. Finally we can reveal the fruits of our labour: a major report, ‘ Over the Edge: How Microsoft’s Design Tactics Compromise Free Browser Choice ’. User behaviour has become a battleground. In pursuit of competitive advantage, many tech firms employ various design techniques to…
I’ve joined the technology advisory board at Our Future Health , the charity partnering with the NHS (and other stakeholders) to develop new ways to prevent, detect and treat disease. I’ll be offering them input on ethics and privacy across the innovation process, and I’m looking forward to learning from my fellow advisory board members on a range of topics from ML to security.
Last week, I was invited to be part of an ICO + CMA workshop on harmful / deceptive design, and gave a position statement for a panel with Sarah Gold and Google’s Abigail Gray . Here’s what I said, lightly edited: The cause of ethics in tech has reached a difficult moment. There’s a backlash against the techlash. We’re told tech ethics, sustainability, and social responsibility are the enemies ,…