Humanity is feeling the effects of huge changes due to design and technology but often is left out of the considerations when we create that world. What does it mean to design ethically, and how can we do it? Hollie will explore how and why we should switch from a focus on individuals to focus on humanity.

1. Design for humanity
not humans
@hollielubbock
Fjord
November 2018

2. Hello,
@hollielubbock

3. “Whoever controls the menu
controls the choices.”
Tristan Harris, Center for Humane Technology

4. The issue of
Dark Patterns

5. Design = practical ethics

6. Why do we need ethical design
more than ever?

7. “The pace of change has never
been this fast, yet it will never be
this slow again.”
Justin Trudeau, Davos 2018

8. Lonelier,
Less satisfied,
Less productive

9. “We are morphing so fast that
our ability to invent new
things outpaces the rate we
can civilise them.”
Kevin Kelly, The Inevitable

10. So how do we design ethically?

11. 11
Human Centred
Humanity centred

12. ‘Any team with performance targets will try
to manoeuvre user behaviour to reach
company goals. This means we can’t simply
pledge to never practice persuasion, we’d
have to quit design all together.
Instead, we have to dive in with intent
acknowledging our responsibilities and
choosing how to address the ethical
challenges’
― Cennydd Bowles, Future Ethics

13. 02
Design for
transparency
03
Design
mindfully
01
Design for
respect
Humans & Humanity
3 key areas

14. Design for
respect

15. Understand
your impact
ind.ie

16. Toolkit Ethics for Designers
Moral advocacy > Moral value map
Moral value
map
SPECS
Suggested Time
30 - 60 minutes
Materials needed
Overview universal human values, this
template, post-its, pens
Participants
Design team, stakeholders
Process phase
Framing, validating
for more tools check out:
www.ethicsfordesigners.com
PROCESS
State your design. Ensure everyone
agrees on what you are working on.
Select the human values that are
relevant to your design.
Translate each value into a concern
to describe how it is present in the
context you are designing for. Write the
concerns on post-its.
Map the relations between the different
concerns. Discuss any conflicts between
stakeholders. Not all conflicts must be
resolved, some tension could inspire
the design. But it should be clear which
values you agree to prioritise.
Write down the design’s effect on each
concern. Choose from: The design
inhibits/supports/limits/enhances/
prevents/enables/reinforces/undermines/
challenges this concern.
Discuss the effect of the design on the
different concerns. Also discuss any
changes that should be made to the
design.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Values are an important concept in
ethics. With this tool you will look
at which values are relevant to your
design and how your design affects
them. Doing this exercise with different
stakeholders helps to understand
everyone’s value priorities.
1. OUR DESIGN IS...
4. MAP THE CONCERNS: 5. DESCRIBE THE DESIGN’S EFFECT ON EACH CONCERN
2. SELECT VALUES RELEVANT TO YOUR DESIGN:
6. DISCUSS THE EFFECT OF YOUR DESIGN:
3. TRANSLATE VALUES TO CONCERNS:
e.g. AUTONOMY X virtual reality gaming = “I want to be in control of my own actions in the game”
Which concerns does each stakeholder prioritise?
Which concerns conflict?
The design inhibits/supports/limits/enhances/prevents/enables/reinforces/undermines/challenges this concern.
Does everyone agree this fits your design intentions?
Is the design morally right?
Entertainment: Experiencing
excitement or heightened arousal
Physical well being: Feeling healthy,
energetic or physically robust
Receiving: Obtaining approval, support
or validation from others
Bodily sensations: Experiencing
pleasure associated with the senses,
physical movement or bodily contact
Exploration: Satisfying one’s curiosity
about personally meaningful events
Understanding: Gaining knowledge or
making sense out of something
Positive self: Maintaining a sense of
self-confidence, pride or self-worth
Transcendence: Experiencing optimal
or extraordinary states of functioning
Harmony: Experiencing a profound
sense of connectedness, harmony or
oneness with people, nature or a greater
power
Tranquility: Feeling relaxed and at ease
Belonging: Building or maintaining
attachments, friendships, intimacy or a
sense of community
Equity: Promoting fairness, justice,
reciprocity or equality
Giving: Giving approval, support,
assistance, advice or validation to others
Responsibility: Keeping interpersonal
commitments, meeting social role
obligations and conforming to social rules
Management: Maintaining order,
organisation or productivity in daily life
tasks
Creativity: Engaging in activities
involving artistic expression or novel though
Safety: Being unharmed, physically
secure and free from risk
Mastery: Meeting a challenging standard
of achievement or improvement
Uniqueness: Feeling unique, special or
different.
Autonomy: Experiencing a sense of
freedom to act or make choices.
Superiority: Comparing favorably
to others in terms of winning, status or
success.
Intellectual stimulation: Engaging
in activities involving original thinking or
novel or interesting ideas
Moral value map
https://www.ethicsfordesigners.com
Moral advocacy > Moral value map
5. DESCRIBE THE DESIGN’S EFFECT ON EACH CONCERN
2. SELECT VALUES RELEVANT TO YOUR DESIGN:
Entertainment: Experiencing
excitement or heightened arousal
Physical well being: Feeling healthy,
energetic or physically robust
Receiving: Obtaining approval, support
or validation from others
Bodily sensations: Experiencing
pleasure associated with the senses,
physical movement or bodily contact
Exploration: Satisfying one’s curiosity
about personally meaningful events
Understanding: Gaining knowledge or
making sense out of something
Positive self: Maintaining a sense of
self-confidence, pride or self-worth
Transcendence: Experiencing optimal
or extraordinary states of functioning
Harmony: Experiencing a profound
sense of connectedness, harmony or
oneness with people, nature or a greater
power
Tranquility: Feeling relaxed and at ease
Belonging: Building or maintaining
attachments, friendships, intimacy or a
sense of community
Equity: Promoting fairness, justice,
reciprocity or equality
Giving: Giving approval, support,
assistance, advice or validation to others
Responsibility: Keeping interpersonal
commitments, meeting social role
obligations and conforming to social rules
Management: Maintaining order,
organisation or productivity in daily life
tasks
Creativity: Engaging in activities
involving artistic expression or novel though
Safety: Being unharmed, physically
secure and free from risk
Mastery: Meeting a challenging standard
of achievement or improvement
Uniqueness: Feeling unique, special or
different.
Autonomy: Experiencing a sense of
freedom to act or make choices.
Superiority: Comparing favorably
to others in terms of winning, status or
success.
Intellectual stimulation: Engaging
in activities involving original thinking or
novel or interesting ideas

17. Enhancing human potential

18. Better as a team
http://humanrobotinteraction.org/journal/
index.php/HRI/article/view/173

19. Transparency

20. Any sufficiently
advanced
technology is
indistinguishable
from magic
― Arthur C. Clarke

21. Who is doing
it well?
Everlane

23. 23
Netflix, Fit, Headspace, Amazon, Google maps
Who is doing it well?

24. “Transparency does not happen
on its own: it has to be consciously
audited, understood, designed
and implemented to take root”
― Andy Polaine

25. Design
Mindfully

26. Frictionless = choice-less?

27. Consideration levels
1. Who is the project for?
2.What is the project?
3.Can you create positive impact?
4.How do you feel?

28. ‘Ethics must become a custom, a
way of thinking, a set of values
held by all in the industry’…’ethics
as ethos’
― Cennydd Bowles, Cameron Tomkinson

29. Stop. Think. Consider. Design

30. 02
Design for
transparency
—
Be clear about what it is
and how it works
03
Design
mindfully
—
Stop. Think. Consider.
Design
01
Design for
respect
—
Enhance humans &
respect human values
Humans & Humanity
3 key areas

31. Thank you!
Any Questions?
@hollielubbock