Embedded Ethics: How to Build Better IT Mousetraps

PurposeTo help the reader understand how the ethics of management decisions become embedded into technology systems.Design/methodology/approachThe article explains better approaches based on a core principle known as “Subsumption ethics.” Using many sources, it explains the concepts and methods in order to help readers avoid unintended consequences in technology development.FindingsTechnology can be dramatically improved by attending to its ethics. There are particular tools available to help.Practical implicationsUltimately, these principles will require a higher level of professionalism in technology deployment, and formal processes devoted to impact analysis.Originality/valueThis paper represents a new way of looking at the technology development process that incorporates ethics in a cost‐effective manner. Business and technology leaders will learn how to improve the outcomes of technology projects.