Using Fictional Role-Plays for Engineering and Computing Ethics Instruction

This poster presents the implementation of roleplay scenarios (RPSs) to introduce engineering and computing students to the fundamentals of technology ethics and participate in a collaborative discussion of navigating ethical dilemmas beyond the classroom. As algorithmic systems become more ubiquitous across all domains, concerns about using an opaque, black-box system to decide everyday activities are growing. Researchers working with these systems have described issues in creating these systems relating to fairness, accountability, and trust. They also highlight concerns with the outcomes, resulting in misinformation, biased predictive consequences, and harm against groups of people. Historical cases are available for many ethical scenarios and issues within STEM disciplines, though the focus of technology ethics today tends to focus more on predictive and potential outcomes. With this historical lens, students may find placing the case studies in an amorphous technological landscape challenging. As technology changes, so do the types and possibilities of ethical dilemmas students will face in their everyday work after graduation. To this end, we created and implemented fictitious cases grounded in reality to allow students to focus on the core question- given a situation where algorithms raise ethical concerns or dilemmas, how can you work with different perspectives to collaboratively make the best decision? The cases, which include topics such as facial recognition, algorithmic risk of lending, sustainability of electronic products, and farming in a high-tech world, each address the concept of ethics with a focus on the process rather than the result. Our work is theoretically guided by the situated learning paradigm, emphasizing the expression of perspectives in a collaborative environment while using story elements to highlight dilemmas. By doing so, we prime students to develop an ethical mindset and engage with the complexity of the systems at play. Over the past two years, we implemented these cases in a course that addresses technology in a global environment. The course describes applied ethical principles and frameworks and guides students towards informed decision-making, as it is a course used as an accreditation requirement. Our findings suggest that 1) students reported a higher level of engagement with the content through the analysis of surveys, 2) were able to recognize more (breadth and depth) of ethical dilemmas, and 3) came to a consensus recommendation on what the appropriate action should be. This works highlights an interactive way to engage students about ethics in the classroom while building practical decision-making skills on relevant developing technologies. Additionally, through iterating on the implementation within the classroom, this work reduces barriers to adoption for similar instructional modes.