Ethical reasoning methods for ICT: What they are and when to use them
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Information and communication technology (ICT) brings about numerous advantages across various domains of our lives. However, alongside these benefits, there is a growing awareness of its potential negative ethical, social, and environmental impacts . Consequently, stakeholders ranging from conceptual modellers to policy makers often find themselves grappling with ethical considerations stemming from ICT engineering and usage. This paper presents a review of 10 ethical reasoning methods suitable for the ICT domain. We have employed a method engineering technique to author metamodels for the methods, which were subsequently subjected to validation by experts proficient in the respective methods. Following a situational method engineering approach, we have also characterised each ethical reasoning method and validated the characterisation with the experts. This has allowed us to develop a tool that helps select the method that is most suitable for a given ethical reasoning situation. Furthermore, we deliberate on the practical application of ethical reasoning methods within conceptual modelling contexts. We are confident that we have laid the groundwork for further research into ethical reasoning of ICT, with a specific emphasis on its role during conceptual modelling .
Source: Data & Knowledge Engineering
Institutions: Utrecht University, Universitat Politècnica de València
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems and Management
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,700
OpenAlex ID: W4404025971