While the concept of differential disruption has attracted growing attention in the ethics of technology, its normative dimensions remain underexplored. Current literature primarily uses differential disruption as a descriptive concept to highlight how Socially Disruptive Technologies (SDTs) impact diversely situated groups differentially, but rarely interrogates the normative implications of these differential impacts. Building on recent calls to bring to the fore the normative potential of differential disruption, this paper argues that assessments of SDTs must move beyond analyses of epistemic injustice alone, and consider how epistemic injustices are deeply entangled with concerns of wellbeing and human flourishing. The paper shows that epistemic injustices generated by SDTs may constrain people’s access to resources and opportunities necessary for flourishing. It further argues that SDT development and assessment practices often rely on generalised assumptions about wellbeing that risk epistemically excluding marginalised modes of flourishing. Consequently, it argues that ethical assessments of SDTs require a heterogeneous and context-sensitive evaluative framework. To this end, the paper argues for a capability-based approach to the ethical assessment of SDTs. By centring what people are actually able to be and do, as well as attending to people’s diverse conversion factors that shape whether SDTs can be converted into valuable capabilities and functionings, a capability-based framework equips ethicists of technology with the conceptual tools to critically assess when, how, and for whom SDTs may be disruptive, while being sensitive to heterogeneous interpretations and experiences of flourishing.
Computational or machine ethics examines how morality could be implemented in machines and represented computationally. In the cognitive sciences, different architectures (rule-based and connectionist) have been proposed. Nevertheless, such approaches have limitations when incorporating ethical claims. With the rise of artificial intelligence, new ways of simulating moral expertise seem possible, where chatbots can serve as dialogue partners for moral orientation. However, as I will argue, such systems lack a theoretical grounding in metaethics, as do the former approaches. In order to align such systems ethically and ground them conceptually, a topography of moral competence must be developed. By outlining this topography, I will show some directions for further research and how such systems might enhance us morally.
Engineering ethics education has often been criticized for relying heavily on abstract principles, professional codes, and decontextualized case studies, which can limit students’ emotional and imaginative engagement with ethical issues. This study examines how engineering students articulate different aspects of ethical engagement after participating in a scaffolded film-based teaching intervention. The intervention was implemented in a master’s-level course at a Swedish university, where students watched Hayao Miyazaki’s The Wind Rises (2013) and produced written reflections on ethical issues raised by the film. The analysis draws on 76 student reflections and follows a qualitative, abductive approach presented using a Gioia-inspired data structure. Theoretically, the study combines perspectives from engineering ethics education with the concept of cinematic ethics, which emphasizes identification with fictional characters, reflection on moral emotions, and the aesthetic expansion of moral imagination. The findings reveal three interwoven modes of ethical engagement through which students interpreted the film: professional responsibility, identification and moral emotion, and aesthetic mediation of ethical imagination. The study highlights these interwoven modes of ethical engagement, stressing the need for engineering ethics education to be aware of, respond to, and utilize different modes, including aesthetic mediation. Furthermore, it reflects on learner positions in arts-based pedagogies, stressing the potential of the viewer position for stimulating ethical reflection. Finally, it reminds educators of the importance of a scaffolded pedagogical setting for film-based pedagogy.
Access to scientific publications is essential for scientific progress, yet access remains uneven across countries due to differences in institutional subscriptions and digital infrastructure. This paper examines how digitalisation is associated with the use of accessible scientific publications, as proxied by Sci-Hub downloads, and scientific productivity across countries. Using Sci-Hub download data, we capture cross-country patterns in the use of accessible scientific knowledge. The results suggest that higher levels of digitalisation are associated with greater use of accessible scientific publications and higher levels of scientific output. Furthermore, the association between individual-level digitalisation and publication use is stronger in low- and lower-middle-income countries than in upper-middle- and high-income countries, whereas the corresponding income-group difference for business-level digitalisation is not statistically significant. These findings highlight the potential role of digitalisation in shaping global patterns of access to scientific knowledge and scientific production.
In this contribution, we explore iatrogenic harms associated with the maintenance of deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems. By conceptualizing patients with neural implants as infrastructures, we examine them as ongoing sites of maintenance that require continual care and adjustments. This analysis reveals the tradeoffs inherent in implantable neurotechnologies. Using first-hand accounts collected during a qualitative study of individuals with Parkinson’s disease treated with DBS, we subsequently develop a typology of harms associated with maintenance, highlighting the ethical issues arising from the integration of technology in the body. Importantly, by focusing on older DBS devices within a healthcare system constrained by financial resources, we address a gap in the literature, as current debates tend to prioritize innovation while neglecting the difficulties of maintaining older implanted systems. Our findings show how inadequate or faulty maintenance compromises the successful incorporation and integration of technological components within the body, underscoring the ethical significance of maintenance in the context of DBS. Finally, we emphasize the inherent limitations of implanted technologies in managing chronic illness and the enduring importance of caregivers. This study calls for a more comprehensive examination of the ethical implications of the maintenance in relation to neural implants.
