TDDE32 Professionalism in Computer Science

Course information

Lecture 5: Moral agency and moral responsibility, 2h

Moral duties and responsibilities presuppose moral agency. This lecture introduces philosophical perspectives on moral agency and how moral responsibility as well as accountability can be understood. It covers the relation between individual responsibility and role responsibility as well as the problem of collective responsibility. The scope of moral responsibility is discussed in the form of responsibilities towards the global community and towards future generations. Also, conditions for morally responsible decision-making under uncertainty are discussed. This lecture presents central principles and concepts related to moral responsibility and professional responsibility and illustrates the theoretical accounts with practical cases and examples discussed in previous lectures and seminars.

Preparations

Read the course literature in advance.

• Franssen, Maarten, Lokhorst, Gert-Jan and van de Poel, Ibo, "Philosophy of Technology", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2018 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
• European Union Ethics guidelines for trustworthy AI
• Carsten Stahl, B. (2011). IT for a better future: how to integrate ethics, politics and innovation. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 9(3):140-156.
• The Software Development Impact Statement (SODIS)
• Cathy O'Neill TED talk

The slides from the lecture are available.

Page responsible: Arne Jönsson
Last updated: 2021-09-28