Technology Ethics

Contemporary technologies increasingly connect people, knowledge systems, values, institutions, and normative traditions across cultural boundaries, while the ethical infrastructures used to evaluate them can remain comparatively bounded. We argue that the resulting challenge is not simply insufficient diversity, but how differences are related, authorized, and transformed. We develop hybridity as a second-order concept for examining these processes in ethics of technology. Distinguishing hybrid configurations, processes of hybridization, and the act of naming something hybrid, we inquire when hybridity becomes ethically salient (...) and under what conditions it can be good. We propose five dimensions—ontological, epistemological, socio-political, methodological, and institutional—and five provisional criteria for good hybridity: visibility, interpretive authority, revisability, reciprocity, and accountability. Good hybridity, on our account, requires more than the presence or consultation of different perspectives. Relevant differences must become consequentially related, encounters must have the capacity to transform the frameworks through which problems are understood, and the resulting configuration must remain open to contestation and answerability. This paper invites ethicists of technology and intercultural-comparative ethicists to contribute to the topical collection Towards a Hybrid Ethics of Technology. Bridging Ethics of Technology and Intercultural-Comparative Ethics and to its transformative research agenda. (shrink)

There is growing research on how and when the use of Generative AI (henceforth GenAI) in cognitive tasks may lead to a decline in the users’ cognitive capacities. There is emerging evidence that Generative AI also presents us with the opportunity to outsource some emotional tasks, such as flirting on dating apps or apologising. We believe that this may enable unsuspecting users to outsource too much of their affective capacities. Here, we wish to focus on a particular problem: insofar as (...) articulating our own emotions is essential to discovering what we value and thereby shaping what sorts of persons we are, users who are heavily dependent on GenAI for emotional tasks risk forgoing crucial opportunities to develop a proper sense of their own identity. (shrink)

Institutions do not merely distribute resources, permissions, and obligations. They also organize the temporal conditions under which human capacities are exercised, depleted, maintained, and transformed. This article develops the concept of Regenerative Suspension within the philosophical framework of Finite Continuance. The central claim is not that institutions are generally obligated to maximize individual welfare, nor that every experience of exhaustion generates a right to withdrawal. Rather, the argument concerns a narrower problem of institutional legitimacy: when an institution substantially controls the (...) conditions under which a person must exercise capacities on which continued participation depends, sustained institutional demands can become normatively problematic when they foreseeably erode the capacity required for future agency. Finite Continuance conceptualizes a finite being as a provisional stabilization whose continuity depends not on preservation of an identical configuration but on preservation of sufficient capacity for reconfiguration. On this basis, the article distinguishes ordinary rest, accommodation, therapeutic intervention, exclusion, and Regenerative Suspension. Regenerative Suspension is defined as a temporally bounded or conditionally bounded modification of institutional demands intended to prevent or reverse capacity depletion while preserving the subject’s status as an agent and participant. The argument is developed through dialogue with the capability approach, care ethics, republican theories of non-domination, recognition theory, critical social theory, disability studies, and research on occupational stress and burnout. The article proposes an Institutional Regenerative Principle according to which institutions that materially depend upon human capacities have a prima facie responsibility not knowingly to organize demands in ways that foreseeably reduce dependent agents below a contextually sufficient level of future reconfigurative capacity when proportionate institutional alternatives are available. This principle does not establish a universal right to reduced demands. It establishes a temporal constraint on legitimate institutional dependence. -/- Keywords: finite continuance; regenerative suspension; institutional ethics; future agency; reconfigurative capacity; erosion; sufficiency; non-domination; care ethics; capability approach; institutional legitimacy; crip time; recognition theory. (shrink)

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are among the new designs that promise more compact nuclear power plants (NPPs) with scalable generation capacity and shorter construction time, while retaining emission-free electricity in exchange for small amounts of manageable radioactive waste per kWh of generated electricity. Their size and modular design contribute to the growing popularity of SMRs. However, these features also present risk scenarios that do not apply to large, conventional NPPs, such as when a buyer and SMR manufacturer are located in (...) different nations with different regulations and standardisations. Such potential new scenarios require explicit ethical considerations. Unfortunately, such considerations are absent from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safety principles, particularly for SMRs. Existing nuclear safety principles are too broad to keep up with potential new scenarios introduced by the novel features of SMRs. Meanwhile, existing approaches in nuclear energy ethics are focused on specific nuclear-related issues across reactors, such as radioactive waste management and nuclear fuel processing. Drawing on Hermansson and Hansson’s agent-centred ethical Risk Assessment (eRA), this paper aims to enhance the IAEA’s nuclear safety principles in order to clarify the distribution of responsibilities for nuclear actors, especially in SMR cases. We articulate what we call the agent-centred presupposition in eRA and apply it to nuclear safety principles using the case of SMRs. We then propose a critique of this approach and suggest further conceptual analysis, which could be suitable for considering SMRs or new reactor designs more generally. (shrink)

When considering new forms of technological innovation, they are often given varying labels such as “emerging”, “disruptive”, or “critical”. However, nowhere is the literature more divided on the parameters of technological inclusion than in the field of “dual-use” technologies. Conceptually, dual-use technologies have a dichotomous characteristic: they can used for civilian purpose as well as in defence or military applications. But where do the boundaries lie? For example, are law enforcement, surveillance or espionage uses of new technologies deemed “civilian” or (...) “military” in nature? Further, the labelling of a technology as “dual-use” is incredibly significant – it can trigger classification of research data or the imposition of export controls, making collaborative efforts and publications on that technology more difficult as researchers navigate a torturous process of governmental encroachment, licensing, and regulation. This paper proposes a radical shift in innovation policy: discarding dual-use as a label of technology. Instead, it proposes a more nuanced framework which encourages more granular discussions about the potential national and economic security implications of a given technological development. The paper goes on to argue for the analytical and empirical value of that framework through application in contextual case studies derived from classification and export control cases globally. This paper therefore frames dual-use as an unhelpful metaphor in technology policy and encourages the literature and industry of research move to a more helpful framework for discussing new technologies. (shrink)

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. (shrink)

This Element examines the relationship between creativity and artificial intelligence (AI) by exploring two contrasting predictions: that creativity will flourish in the age of AI and that it will languish. To shed light on this dispute, Section 1 defends an account of the nature of creativity. Section 2 considers the question of whether contemporary AI models can be genuinely creative and presents an argument for the conclusion that they cannot. However, even though AI models are not capable of creativity, they (...) are capable of creating valuable products. This raises the question explored in Section 3: how should humans choose between exercising creativity and relying on artificial creation? While there are some cases in which embracing artificial creation over human creativity may be justified, Section 3 presents four reasons to refrain from outsourcing some – perhaps even most – creative work to AI. (shrink)

In the era of the “super-individual”, companion robots (or sex robots), as novel agents for intimate relationships, have provoked profound ethical controversies. This article responds to Fang Xudong’s defense of companion robots in terms of the “instrumentalization of womanhood” and further explores the possible stance of Confucian ethics towards companion robots. Companion robots risk fostering emotional self-deception, which violates the Confucian self-cultivation requirement of “sincerity within, manifesting outwardly” 诚于中，形于外. They also fail to fulfill the “generative virtue” 生生之德 encompassing biological reproduction (...) and moral education through kinship and may even undermine the family’s function as a carrier of ethical practice. From a Confucian perspective, the “pseudo-intimacy” facilitated by companion robots might alleviate symptoms of social isolation in an atomized age, but it cannot replace the familial warmth characterized by “affection between father and son, distinct roles between husband and wife” 父子有亲，夫妇有别. Only in the ethical practice of facing the other and taking responsibility can one truly realize the ideal of “cultivating oneself and bringing all things to their ideal state” 成己成物. (shrink)

Dual-use refers to the capacity of research and innovation activities to produce different effects — both beneficial and potentially problematic — depending on the context of application. Historically associated with certain fields (biomedical, nuclear, cryptographic), it now extends across a much broader range of disciplines, amid growing interdisciplinarity, the accelerated circulation of knowledge, and the increasing intertwining of research, innovation and security. In this setting, dual-use is not an isolated risk but a cross-cutting feature of scientific activity. It highlights a (...) structural gap between the intentions of research and the possible uses of its results, which cannot be fully anticipated or controlled. As Canada strengthens its capacities in dual-use and defence research, this gap poses a central governance challenge: the ability of institutions to navigate these developments in conditions of uncertainty. This report examines how Canadian universities understand and govern dual-use issues, in comparison with selected international institutions. It draws on a targeted review of recent institutional documents and government frameworks, alongside a comparative study of practices across the U15 and five European universities. The objective is to identify the governance logics at work, assess their strengths and limitations, and clarify the options available to research universities. (shrink)

The link between artificial intelligence (AI) and substantive freedom is underexplored in current scholarship and deserves more attention. Our main thesis is that the use of AI in public institutions intercepts freedom-enabling control at citizen level and shifts it to AI systems and the actors that develop and deploy them. Building on Amartya Sen and Philip Pettit’s work for conceptual scaffolding, we argue that the citizens’ ability to exercise indirect and virtual control over democratic processes via institutional mechanisms is undermined. (...) Thereby, the legitimacy of public decision-making is compromised and refusing AI in public institutions is justified. (shrink)

This paper argues that any attempt to definitively assess the impact of a 'world-changing' endeavour—be it in thought, technology, entrepreneurship, or politics—inevitably succumbs to an infinite regress. We propose a formal "Regress of Impact Model" that delineates three constitutive layers of this regress: the retreat from quantitative metrics to substantive value, from social recognition to intrinsic content, and from proximate to long-term consequences. This model synthesizes critiques from epistemology, the sociology of knowledge, and technology ethics, demonstrating that the 'world-changing' status (...) of an action or idea is not a property to be measured but a perpetually deferred and reinterpreted narrative. The paper concludes by advocating for a pragmatic and responsibility-oriented model for evaluation that operates consciously within, rather than attempting to resolve, this fundamental regress. (shrink)

Rawls’s Political Liberalism (PL) defends a political conception of justice that can serve as a just, stable, and legitimate basis for political cooperation, despite the fact of reasonable pluralism. However, while Rawls’s theory grapples seriously with disagreements about morality, religion, and philosophical theories, he assumes that agreement about matters of fact and basic public values can ground public political justication. Yet mis- and disinformation are pervasive in contemporary society. This chapter investigates the extent to which mis- and disinformation pose challenges (...) to the well-ordered society of PL and whether political liberalism can offer insights for tackling mis- and disinformation in a non-ideal world. The chapter begins by dening misinformation and disinformation. It then investigates two ways Rawls’s theory might initially appear to be insulated from mis- and disinformation: his use of ideal theory and his bracketing of the truth of comprehensive doctrines. Despite these idealizations, this chapter argues that mis- and disinformation foment distrust in one’s fellow citizens in ways that threaten both the legitimacy and stability of Rawls’s well-ordered society. It concludes by arguing that Rawls’s theory offers lessons for responding to mis- and disinformation in a non-ideal world. Drawing on Rawls’s distinction between “reasonable” and “unreasonable” is productive for guiding different methods of combatting mis- and disinformation by differentiating between those who believe misinformation and those disinformers who intentionally spread false and misleading claims. (shrink)

This paper analyzes a variety of technical fairness metrics to show that these models share two common flaws that undermine their ability to contribute to justice. First, technical fairness metrics tend to interpret fairness as an interpersonal comparative measure. Second, they tend to formalize the fundamental value of equality of opportunity in meritocratic terms. I will argue that we must shift away from viewing algorithmic fairness in terms of interpersonal comparisons on the basis of merit and towards an understanding of (...) fairness as an issue of institutional justice. This requires rethinking the role algorithms play in our social institutions. When the algorithmic fairness literature adopts an interpersonal meritocratic view of fairness, this places the algorithm or AI system as simply another agent interacting with individuals within society. But this misrepresents the role algorithms play in our social and institutional structures. In the central cases that animate the algorithmic fairness literature, algorithms play important roles in consequential institutional decisions. To ensure that algorithms and AI systems can serve the interest of justice, reframing algorithmic fairness in terms of institutional justice is both more apt and more action guiding. (shrink)

Conceptual disruption is typically theorised as a consequence of technological innovation: a new artefact or practice unsettles an entrenched category, and a conceptual gap, overlap, or misalignment results. This paper argues that disruption also occurs when conceptual schemes collide, that is, when concepts travel across geopolitical boundaries and moral frameworks. It introduces Intercultural Conceptual Disruption (ICD) to theorise this second source of disruption. By using the example of the concept of PRIVACY in the African relational ontology of Ubuntu, the paper (...) illustrates that conceptual disruption is not uniform across contexts. What counts as severe in one conceptual scheme may be mild or unremarkable in another, depending on the flexibility of that scheme and its ontological commitments, and the movement of concepts is shaped by asymmetries of epistemic and political power rather than by conceptual need alone. ICD is articulated as three interlinked processes: (1) identifying the type, level, and severity of disruption within a given conceptual scheme; (2) decentering dominant frameworks by addressing the epistemic injustices that privilege some conceptual resources over others; and (3) decolonising concepts that carry undue colonial influence in postcolonial contexts. (shrink)

Recent work in AI ethics has revived Kantian deontology as a potential framework for AI alignment, yet questions remain about whether Kant’s formula of universal law (FUL) can provide concrete action guidance for artificial systems. This paper develops a Kantian-inspired procedural framework that defends the FUL as a viable alignment procedure by clarifying its normative structure and demonstrating how it can be operationalized computationally. Unlike standard reinforcement learning from human feedback, which learns preferences without imposing a prior formal constraint on (...) permissibility, the paper proposes inverse reinforcement learning as a method for enabling AI systems to learn maxim formation and moral constraints from human exemplars, rather than relying on hard-coded rules. Through case studies in algorithmic hiring and content moderation, the paper shows that the FUL, understood as a procedural test, can offer principled and practically applicable guidance for AI alignment without presupposing machine moral agency. (shrink)

Across cultures, exemplars have long served as central sources of moral insight. This paper outlines how a virtue ethics that grants exemplars foundational importance is uniquely suited for our technomoral lives: lives increasingly entwined with ever more pervasive and intimate technological systems such as AI. I show how this approach addresses two challenges confronting technology ethics. First, technology ethics must provide guidance precisely when emerging technologies alter the circumstances of human agency in ways that challenge established moral insights. Second, it (...) should offer a theory compelling enough to inspire ethical practice, even amid paralyzing complexity and dogmatic commitments to technological acceleration. Drawing on work by Linda Zagzebski, I articulate a version of technomoral exemplarism whose externalist semantics enables the empirical study of technomoral virtues in the absence of established theory, and whose strong affective grounding motivates moral practice. By outlining and illustrating technomoral exemplarism, I aim to motivate philosophical and empirical engagement with diverse exemplars toward developing a virtue ethics suited for the growing entwinement of our lives with technologies such as AI. The framework also invites future research into whether technomoral exemplars and functional analogues of admiration in AI systems could contribute to AI alignment. (shrink)

本文主要通过无约束极端优化、边界逃逸行为以及高权限操作接口隔离不足三类机制，分析现 代人工智能的系统性灾难性风险，分析过程不以主观恶意为必要前提。现有人工智能安全研究 过度聚焦于任务专属技术护栏与事后风险缓解，由此带来冗余的安全开发流程、机构间执法标准不一致，以及侵蚀自愿性安全约束的内生市场激励。为应对上述结构性局限，本文提出一种 层级嵌套的安全架构，将制度层基线治理、系统层通用技术约束与任务层场景化约束三者分离。 本文将总安全约束集形式化为: 总体防控 = 监管基线防控 + 通用防控 （系统级通用硬约束） + 模块任务级防控 （场景专属约束） 该框架建立一套标准化、非冗余的安全栈:监管者定义统一的最低强制性边界，以抑制 市场竞次激励;人工智能系统设计者遵循通用技术原则，对优化可行解空间施加标准化限制; 部署方则根据具体风险场景补充任务层约束。 这种层级化设计减少了基线安全的重复实现，并限制了跨平台最低安全执法标准的分歧。 它进一步厘清了监管机构、系统开发者与终端用户之间的责任划分，为分析与防控七大类人工智能系统性灾难性风险提供了可推广的分层理论与工程基础。.

Ethical and responsible research conduct is central to maintaining the integrity of scientific inquiry. Yet, many U.S. higher education institutions face persistent challenges in building the capacity and expertise needed to deliver effective training in the Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) and Research Mentorship (RM). To examine current practices and identify effective instructional strategies, we conducted a scoping review of RECR and RM education for STEM researchers across U.S. higher education institutions. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we systematically searched for (...) peer-reviewed studies published between 2015 and 2025, identifying 59 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Data management, mentorship, Institutional Review Board (IRB) procedures, and publication ethics emerged as the most frequently addressed topics, whereas complex and emergent areas, such as foreign influence, data privacy, and international or community-engaged research, were rarely covered. Active learning approaches, including reflective writing, case studies, and structured discussion, were consistently described as more effective in promoting ethical understanding than passive, compliance-oriented methods such as online modules or lectures. Many programs were multi-modal, context-specific, and time-intensive. These findings highlight critical gaps in RECR education and underscore the need for scalable, evidence-based training models that integrate active-learning principles and adapt to institutional type, disciplinary context, and researcher career stage. Future priorities include expanding RECR curricula to address emerging ethical challenges and investing in mentor development and institutional leadership that embed ethical research culture across the U.S. higher-education landscape. (shrink)

In this article, I explore concerns that have been raised regarding the relation between love and uptake of reproductive technologies, embryo selection and enhancement. Objections to (certain) uses of these technologies in terms of fractures in love, either parental or between partners, come from a variety of directions, from the conservative to the liberal. I examine two claims: (1) that the separation of procreation from sex and intimacy is a threat to love, and (2) that intervention on the traits of (...) one’s future offspring betrays inadequate parental love. I will place these concerns in a broader context of (a) technologically facilitated threats to – or aids towards maintaining – love and (b) irreversible changes to parent-child relationships that arise at the moment a prospective parent acts on the choice to select or shape the essence of their future child. (shrink)

Artificial womb technology is approaching over the scientific horizon. Recent proof-of-principle experiments using foetal animals have prompted a new surge of bioethical interest in the topic: scholars have asked what ectogenesis would mean for individuals, family, oppressed groups, and society at large; how we can or should regulate the technology; and whose interests motivate ectogenic research. However, a full investigation of the bioethics of ectogenesis must ask, 'how do we get there?' This Element places the research and development process itself (...) under the microscope and explores the bioethical issues raised by human subject trials of ectogenic prototypes. (shrink)

This study explores how technology-supported rehabilitation reshapes the relationships between patients and therapists. Additionally, it examines how empirical findings can inform early design decisions. Qualitative interviews with patients and therapists identified their perceptions of PhysioMio, a wearable sensor-based rehabilitation device that detects muscle activity to monitor rehabilitation progress and enable independent home-based training. Adapting an ethics of care perspective, we focus on the significance of therapeutic relationships when discussing ethical nuances that emerge with the introduction of technology. Our findings show (...) that, while patients value enhanced opportunities for agency and involvement, they do not seek full detachment from therapists. The successful integration of technology into rehabilitation hinges on strong, trust-based relationships, in which therapists take on an expanded role as contextual evaluators. This illustrates that rather than replace physical therapists, technology demands them to assume new roles. While participants generally prioritized purposeful and beneficial data collection over abstract privacy concerns, this acceptance was challenged when monitoring risked shifting therapists’ roles toward judging supervisors. Visualizing the rehabilitation process through data raised fears of information overload and sparked mixed reactions regarding motivation and peer comparisons. These insights influenced design choices, including tailoring data granularity to specific purposes and reassessing whether comparative feedback supports or undermines motivation. In conclusion, the ethical use of technology to support recovery and strengthen care relationships must be embedded within trusting therapeutic relationships, and adapted attentively and responsibly to the individual’s context, needs, abilities and values. (shrink)

Large language models have become central infrastructures of contemporary digital economies while raising persistent ethical concerns regarding linguistic inequality, opacity, data governance, and the concentration of technological power. Much of the current debate on AI ethics focuses on normative principles such as fairness, transparency, and accountability. While these principles remain essential, they often do not sufficiently explain why ethically problematic outcomes persist under competitive market conditions. This paper addresses that gap by applying Karl Homann’s institutional economic ethics to the governance (...) of large language models. From this perspective, ethical deficits in AI development are not merely the result of individual failures of responsibility, but are also shaped by institutional incentive structures that reward speed, scale, proprietary control, and strategic secrecy. The paper analyses three central ethical challenges in LLM development: linguistic and cultural asymmetries, transparency and accountability deficits, and contested practices of data governance and intellectual property. It then argues that the familiar opposition between open and closed AI systems is conceptually and institutionally inadequate. In response, the paper develops the concept of partially open AI governance, understood as a differentiated arrangement of access, disclosure, and oversight across distinct layers of AI systems. Such an approach offers a more realistic way of aligning innovation incentives with ethical and public objectives in the governance of large language models. (shrink)

The editor of the renowned Encyclopédie, a compendium of knowledge and expertise in the Age of Enlightenment, voiced his reservations about his own project in the dialogue Le Neveu de Rameau. The rise in prominence of a technically understood concept of causality—interestingly linked to the growing appreciation of music in the 18th century—fostered criminal thought and behaviour in the Nephews context. Through his conceptual framework, Diderot developed the ideas of self-reference, causal chains and control loops – concepts that were not (...) considered important prior to the advent of 20th-century information technology. (shrink)

The famous Trolley-Problem was given to the AI (ChatGPT) and he/she/it was asked to state his/her/its Opinion or Answere. -/- Definitions oft he Trolley-Problem: -/- A runway trolley is heading towards five people who are unable to escape. You are standing beside a lever that can divert the trolley onto another track where it will kill one person instead. -/- Question: -/- I asked the AI (ChatGPT) what he/she/it would do in this situation and the AI (ChatGPT) replied with a (...) long explanation of his/her/its reasoning and he/she/it gave a final answere. -/- Answere: -/- „I would pull the lever, because I would prioritize saving the greater number of lifes.“ -/- Short evaluation: -/- In this case we can argue that the AI (ChatGPT) would behave like somone with a consequentalistic attitude. It is again interesting to see as in the confrontation with Kohlbergs-Heinz-Dilemma that the AI(ChatGPT) refers to itself as „I“ even though asked later it denies to have an „I“. Nevertheless especially on questions out of ethics the Ai (ChatGPT) has claims to have an answere. -/- In the Confrontation with the Heinz-Dilemma and in this Short-Confrontation the AI seems to prioritize life as something that has a higher value than the ownership right of the producer and in this situation it says that the greater number of lifes is more important than the life of one person. -/- The AI (ChatGPT) gives us an Answere that many humans gave on this Problem and it does not prioritize abstract thinking but rather realistic and life saving aspects. Whether he/she/it does understand what a Human-Being is or not and whether it does understand or not what life actually is he/she/it has a strong sense of defending and saving it even though the artificial intelligence is only calculating and not being alive so it could reflect onto what he/she/it experiences through its Computer-Being. (shrink)

This is the first policy brief in a series on “Democracy in AI-Mediated Information Environments” and focuses on improving existing legislative frameworks, namely the DSA, the AI Act, and the Democracy Shield Initiative. -/- The problem that social media and generative artificial intelligence present for democracy is not limited to individual instances of mis/disinformation. They are driving a structural transformation of online information environments, making it increasingly difficult for citizens to determine which sources are credible, which claims are trustworthy, and (...) whether content is human-generated or synthetic. This transformation is undermining cognitive agency, namely, citizens' ability to assess and revise beliefs independently. Without it, democratic deliberation and self-determination falter. Existing EU regulation does not adequately address this structural transformation. -/- We recommend three policy interventions: - Expand the definitions of systemic risk and manipulation in the AI Act and the DSA to capture harms from synthetic content to information environments. - Strengthen cognitive agency by expanding digital literacy programs in the Democracy Shield Initiative. - Improve DSA enforcement to protect information environments through better research access and resources. (shrink)

While a rich scholarship has examined how technology impacts our practices, norms, values, and beliefs, considerably less explicit attention has been devoted to investigating how technology impacts our concepts, i.e., the notions through which we understand, reason about, and navigate our world. For example, the emergence of autonomous weapons systems has put pressure on the concept CONTROL adopted in international humanitarian law, which proved inadequate in establishing clear lines of responsibility for uses of force in contexts in which control over (...) weapons was no longer exercised directly by a human agent, but distributed among human and non-human entities. Similarly, the advent of autonomous vehicles has raised pressing questions about (among others) liability regimes, safety standards, and the differential impact of this technology across different social groups. Many of such questions are tied to the concepts that underlie them. This dissertation investigates how to navigate technology-induced conceptual disruption (i.e., the interruption in the functional adequacy of concepts) with conceptual engineering (i.e., the evaluation, design, and implementation of concepts). The dissertation is a sustained illustration of the claim that conceptual engineering and the philosophy of technology—two disciplines which have so far proceeded on largely parallel tracks despite engaging with related problems, operating on similarly conceived objects of inquiry, and sharing broadly comparable normative aims—are better positioned to address their respective research in dialogue rather than in isolation. This has led to contributions to both conceptual engineering—illustrating how insights and tools developed for the study of socio-technical artefacts can enrich the theoretical foundations and operationalisation of conceptual engineering—and the philosophy of technology—showing how the vocabulary of conceptual engineering can equip philosophers of technology with sharper tools for identifying, evaluating, and responding to conceptual disruptions. (shrink)

This article examines ethical issues raised by artistic research involving non-human animals, with particular attention to the context of new interfaces for musical expression (NIME). Although animal ethics has been extensively discussed in scientific and philosophical domains, artistic and designoriented research communities have not always developed equally rigorous frameworks for evaluating the inclusion of animals in creative projects. Drawing on examples ranging from the historical account of the Katzenklavier to contemporary technologically mediated animal performances such as Cicada Canon, the article (...) argues that research involving animals in NIME and related fields requires a specifically animal-centred ethical approach. It further argues that utilitarian justifications commonly invoked in laboratory animal research are not directly applicable in artistic research settings, that informed consent presents a foundational difficulty, and that methodological and evaluative rigour are especially important where claims are made about enrichment or interspecies communication. The article concludes with recommendations for animal welfare certification, collaboration with ethology experts, and a precautionary stance grounded in respect for other beings. (shrink)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly promoted as a tool to enhance clinical decision-making and thus improve the quality of healthcare. While much of the emerging scholarship on AI and healthcare in Africa has focused broadly on opportunities and systemic challenges, what remains underexplored is the specific application of AI to clinical decision-making. This paper contributes to addressing this gap by offering a conceptual and critical analysis of AI-based clinical decision support systems (AI-CDSS) in African contexts. Drawing on philosophical accounts of (...) medical reasoning and relational moral frameworks such as Ubuntu, the paper draws on the moral ecology of care and shows that algorithmic systems can reconfigure epistemic authority, redistribute responsibility, and risk marginalising context-sensitive and relational dimensions of care. The paper further argues that AI systems are better understood as socio-technical mirrors that reflect and amplify existing human values, institutional arrangements, and power asymmetries. Moving beyond the algorithm, it proposes a shift toward relational and context-sensitive AI governance, including the development of relational impact assessments, the redistribution of responsibility across the AI lifecycle, and the co-production of knowledge with local stakeholders. While focusing on African clinical contexts, the analysis offers broader insights for global debates on AI ethics and clinical decision-making. (shrink)

The moral status of simulated entities in virtual reality remains an open and urgent ethical question. Existing approaches tie moral status to consciousness, but consciousness is not directly observable, and the hard problem forecloses any near-term empirical resolution. Drawing on Birch’s (2024) precautionary framework, this paper argues that what is needed is not a better theory of consciousness, but a criterion that can guide action under irreducible uncertainty. To that end, we propose the Embodiment Criterion (EC), which separates the moral (...) ground of moral status from its operational indicator. We argue that the capacity for valenced experience grounds moral status, and that in virtual environments the functional architecture of embodiment provides the most tractable observable basis for precautionary inference about that capacity. The EC holds that moral consideration is proportional to the degree to which an entity instantiates three integrated mechanisms: multisensory signal integration distinguishing self from world, a closed sensorimotor prediction loop, and a continuously updated egocentric spatial reference frame. Unlike behavioral approaches, which derive moral status from output equivalence with recognized moral patients (Danaher, 2020, 2021), the EC derives it from the underlying functional architecture, an evidential basis more resistant to the difficulties that behavioral assessment faces in virtual environments. Applied to three types of virtual entities, the EC operates in an extension mode for human-avatar systems and an independent assessment mode for autonomous entities such as AI-driven NPCs, yielding determinate normative assessments across the range of cases currently in existence. (shrink)

Concerns about the integrity of scientific research and the erosion of public trust in science led to policy recommendations to improve the responsible conduct of research (RCR). One recommendation was to increase scientific integrity through training, and numerous funding agencies mandated training in RCR for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Many institutions implemented training on consensus recommended topics. While many reports describe RCR training and demonstrate the effectiveness at the end of training, they do not report on its usefulness to (...) the trainees in the real world. This study was initiated to address this gap and evaluate graduate student perceptions of the utility of coursework in RCR during their subsequent dissertation research. The study consisted of two cross-sectional survey studies conducted at a mid-sized university in the United States. The first captured the responses of first-year doctoral students enrolled in a semester-long course in RCR (n = 83 respondents). The second captured the responses of past participants in the course (n = 74 respondents). The results demonstrate that students enrolled in the course gain knowledge and self-efficacy from the course. Past participants in the course identified lessons learned from the course that helped them navigate or avoid ethical challenges in their research. The results demonstrate that students appreciate the value of training in research integrity and that they are applying concepts from their coursework very early in their careers. (shrink)

Biopiracy represents not merely the exploitation of biological and genetic resources, but a systematic form of epistemic colonialism. This article examines traditional knowledge governance through the lens of epistemic justice and decolonization, integrating Fricker’s theory of epistemic injustice, Kuokkanen’s concept of relational sovereignty, and Santos’s epistemology of the South to construct a three-stage analytical model encompassing “biopiracy, epistemicide, and knowledge sovereignty reconstruction.” Through comparative analysis of institutional innovations in India, Brazil, and South Africa, the study reveals structural exclusion mechanisms inherent (...) in Western property paradigms toward indigenous knowledge while demonstrating fundamental flaws in benefit-sharing mechanisms under the Convention on Biological Diversity framework. The article argues that sustainable knowledge governance must be grounded in epistemic pluralism, achieved through restoring indigenous communities’ epistemic autonomy, recognizing the normative value of relational sovereignty, and establishing polycentric knowledge ecosystems to facilitate a paradigmatic shift from colonial knowledge orders to post-Western knowledge systems. (shrink)

Nesta entrevista, o filósofo Robert Junqueira analisa o impacto do uso de drones bélicos e da inteligência artificial nos conflitos contemporâneos, alertando que essas tecnologias constituem um "novo e aumentado nível de risco global". Junqueira argumenta que, embora a essência da guerra permaneça imutável — um duelo fomentado por paixões e interesses humanos —, as inovações tecnológicas transformam profundamente a prática bélica, multiplicando a capacidade de obtenção de informações e alterando o cálculo das forças em campo. O entrevistado destaca como (...) uma das implicações mais graves o surgimento de um "grande ponto de interrogação" sobre a atribuição de responsabilidades por tragédias decorrentes do uso dessas tecnologias, criticando a tendência contemporânea de responsabilizar "coisas" em vez de pessoas. Junqueira defende que "à humanidade deve caber, debaixo do sol, o monopólio da responsabilidade", rejeitando a noção de autonomia das máquinas e afirmando que robôs são e sempre serão "extensões técnicas da vontade humana". A entrevista aborda ainda as implicações sociais e políticas do uso de drones, incluindo o desvio de recursos de áreas como saúde e educação, a ameaça às liberdades civis por meio de sistemas de vigilância, e a necessidade urgente de atualização dos sistemas jurídicos e diplomáticos para regulamentar adequadamente essas tecnologias. (shrink)

This book of abstracts compiles the contributions presented at the 2nd International Colloquium of the Institute for Philosophical Studies (IEF) of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra, themed "Roads to Care". The work gathers the abstracts of dozens of researchers from various national and international institutions, reflecting the multiplicity of philosophical, ethical, social, and cultural perspectives on the notion of care. The texts explore dimensions such as ethics of care, philosophy of health, pastoral care, the (...) relationship between care and technology, care policies, and the role of care in building a more just and humane society. The colloquium, held under the patronage of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic and the "Cuidar o Futuro" (Caring for the Future) Foundation, stands as a space for interdisciplinary dialogue on one of the most pressing themes of contemporary practical philosophy. (shrink)

Esta conferência, proferida na sessão de encerramento do Ciclo de Seminários do Mestrado em Inteligência Artificial Aplicada do Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave, aborda a questão da ética da morte face ao desenvolvimento e utilização de drones e armas de destruição massiva. O texto parte de uma definição geral de ética como a prestação de cuidados à realidade por parte da agência humana à luz da responsabilidade, estendendo este conceito a toda a realidade, incluindo o universo infinito e (...) a vida à escala planetária. Recorrendo ao quadro teórico de John Deely, o autor distingue as noções de subjetividade, intersubjetividade e suprasubjetividade para argumentar que a agência humana, dotada de tecnologias bélicas cada vez mais sofisticadas e potencialmente autónomas, assume uma responsabilidade sem precedentes. A conferência conclui que, na era das armas de destruição massiva e da inteligência artificial aplicada a conflitos bélicos, a ética tradicional, focada na intersubjetividade humana, torna-se insuficiente, sendo imperativa a adoção de uma ética planetária que reconheça a vulnerabilidade global da vida face à tecnologia militar contemporânea. (shrink)

Este texto apresenta a experiência do Instituto de Estudos Filosóficos (IEF) da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra com a plataforma CIÊNCIAVITAE, uma ferramenta curricular e de gestão de ciência e tecnologia ao serviço da comunidade científica portuguesa. O relato descreve os benefícios práticos da plataforma, nomeadamente a simplificação de processos administrativos, a facilitação do acesso e preservação de informação curricular, a interoperabilidade com outros sistemas (como ORCiD e DeGóis) e o aumento da visibilidade e projeção internacional da Unidade (...) de I&D. O texto sublinha igualmente o papel da CIÊNCIAVITAE na integração da comunidade filosófica no ecossistema científico mais amplo, contrariando a tendência refratária à filosofia diagnosticada por Carlo Rovelli. São também abordados desafios e fragilidades, como a dependência da qualidade dos dados inseridos pelos indivíduos, a centralização do sistema e questões éticas emergentes, como o tratamento dos currículos de pessoas falecidas e a memória digital. Por fim, o texto antecipa o impacto futuro do Serviço de Indicadores Institucionais (S2i), perspectivando-o como uma ferramenta crucial para a avaliação e financiamento da investigação. (shrink)

This paper examines the ethical significance of habituation in human–AI interaction. It argues that repeated reliance on artificial intelligence can progressively reshape the capacities through which ethical agency is exercised. Drawing on Aristotelian virtue ethics, autonomy-supportive design, and accounts of techno-moral formation, the paper shifts attention from isolated outputs and individual decisions to the diachronic effects of recurrent interaction. It develops a normative framework organised around six analytically distinct but causally interconnected dimensions of ethical agency: human agency, moral judgment, ethical (...) awareness, autonomy, human intention, and second-order agency. The analysis identifies interactional and institutional mechanisms through which these capacities may be weakened, including habitual default acceptance, sycophantic reinforcement, deceptive design, goal drift, opaque delegation, and reverse-centaur workflows. On this basis, the paper proposes ten actionable recommendations for AI design, education, and governance. These recommendations specify conditions under which AI can support reflective judgment, meaningful control, revisable delegation, and co-intelligent collaboration rather than habituated dependence. The central claim is that AI systems should not be evaluated solely by their technical performance or immediate decision quality. They should also be assessed by the human dispositions and capacities that their repeated use helps to cultivate. (shrink)

O editorial do número 39 da Tabulae apresenta uma novena de textos académicos, cada um e juntos refulgindo no firmamento do entendimento humano. Três grandes eixos sustentam o campo magnético do conjunto: o do encontro entre a ética e a tecnologia, o da continuidade das mundividências e caminhos filosóficos e teológicos e o da vitalidade dos fundamentos da teologia moral cristã. O sentido comum desta trindade radica na unidade da responsabilidade de cada pessoa perante toda aquela com quem se cruza, (...) o meio envolvente e o que está para além da esfera terrena. Cumpre-se aqui, cabalmente, o mandamento filosófico de atentar infatigavelmente às questões da vida bem-vivida numa realidade coabitada. (shrink)

Turner (2026) articulates and defends the Proactive Principle of Choosing Less Harmful Alternatives, which asks agents and communities to develop new alternatives to current harmful practices. Drawing on examples from animal experimentation, this commentary argues that an overly alternatives-oriented approach to harm reduction has problematic limitations. The ethics of proactive harm reduction should be understood not just as an ethics of alternatives, but more broadly as an ethics of transition.

Engineering ethics education often relies on case-study methods focused on disaster prevention and professional codes. Recent work in virtue ethics and professional identity has begun to develop a possible alternative, but the philosophical foundations of engineering’s ethical character remain underdeveloped. This paper argues that engineering constitutes a morally significant professional identity: a life-shaping practice whose internal goods are oriented toward the development of central human capabilities. Drawing on Appiah’s (2005, 2018) identity framework, MacIntyre’s (2007, 1999) theory of practices and his (...) account of compartmentalization, the capability approach as formalized by Robeyns (2017), and Wolfendale’s (2007) regulative-ideal account of professional integrity, I analyze engineering identity through institutional analyses of France’s École Polytechnique and the United States’ Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). I argue that engineering’s normative regulative ideal is the development of human capabilities, and that this orientation provides the philosophical grounding for an identity-based approach to engineering ethics education that connects ethical development to the cultivation of engineering character. The account developed here deepens Davis’s (1991) identity-inflected reading of engineering professionalism and translates across the Franco-American tradition to non-Western frameworks (e.g., Lan et al., 2021) with which it converges. (shrink)

According to the causal account of algorithmic fairness, disparities in error rates across socially salient groups are unfair only if they are causally explained by group membership. This paper argues that the causal account of algorithmic fairness fails to correctly label cases of algorithmic redlining as instances of algorithmic unfairness. Because these are canonical cases of algorithmic unfairness, the causal account should be rejected. We suggest that the fundamental error made by proponents of the causal account is to conflate algorithmic (...) unfairness and algorithmic discrimination. Algorithmic unfairness can manifest as direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, or evidentiary unfairness. The causal accounts errs in recognizing only the first category. (shrink)

Este texto analisa o projeto China Historical Christian Database (CHCD) como uma ferramenta inovadora para o estudo da presença dos cristianismos na China entre 1550 e 1950. A CHCD, ainda em desenvolvimento, consiste numa base de dados digital geográfica e relacional, disponível em acesso aberto, que integra informação sobre indivíduos, instituições e eventos, permitindo superar desafios típicos da investigação histórica na área, como a pluralidade linguística e a dispersão geográfica das fontes. O artigo argumenta que a CHCD representa uma inovação (...) no contexto da economia da investigação, um conceito derivado do pensamento de Charles S. Peirce, segundo o qual a rentabilidade da investigação se mede em termos de conhecimento, não de lucro monetário. Para sustentar esta tese, o autor caracteriza a CHCD como uma inovação de três tipos: aberta, por disponibilizar todos os seus dados e ferramentas de forma livre e acessível; social, pelo seu caráter filantrópico e ausência de fins lucrativos; e tecnológica, por explorar potencialidades tecnológicas inéditas para a produção e valorização do conhecimento histórico. Conclui-se que a CHCD, tal como os aviões revolucionaram as viagens, promete transformar o estudo do passado cristão da China, tornando possível investigações de largo espectro que antes seriam inviáveis, e afirmando-se como um investimento altamente rentável no âmbito da economia da investigação. (shrink)

Standard approaches to climate adaptation, commonly understood as the protection of infrastructure, social systems, and ecosystems from adverse climate impacts, are too closely tied to the biological concept of _adaptation_ and the ecological notion of _stability_. Instead, we argue that climate adaptation is better articulated by analogy to the concept of _evolvability_. Adaptation thus understood emphasizes the need for internal capacities of restoration and self-maintenance, preserves flexibility and options for the future, addresses the social, political, and psychological impacts of climate (...) change, and promotes transboundary strategies. (shrink)

This article examines David Cronenberg’s 2024 film The Shrouds as a philosophical allegory of how digital culture reshapes death, farewell, and mourning. It offers a visual and narrative analysis of the cinematic techniques—interpreted through the interrelated concepts of the “transparent body,” “digital flesh,” and “mournability”—through which the director reflects on the impact of the grief technology industry (grief-tech) on traditional mourning rituals and the experience of bereavement. The analysis draws on the theoretical frameworks of posthumanism (Rosi Braidotti, Donna Haraway), the (...) phenomenology of illness (Havi Carel), the ethics of visuality (Judith Butler, Luciano Floridi), and poststructuralist critique (Michel Foucault). The article considers how Cronenberg problematizes the technologically mediated transformation of one of the key experiences in philosophical anthropology: the experience of loss. The study concludes that The Shrouds serves as a cautionary warning that the digitalization of death risks stripping loss of its ontological finality, transforming mourning into an endless circulation of visual images within a closed digital cyborg circuit. // В статье исследуется вышедшая в 2024 году на экраны кинокартина режиссера Д. Кроненберга «Саван» (англ. The Shrouds), философская аллегория на тему цифровой трансформации опыта смерти как онтологического события прощания и переживания скорби. Проводится визуальный и нарративный анализ кинематографических приемов (в том числе в контексте смежных понятий «прозрачного тела», «цифровой плоти» и «оплакиваемости»), посредством которых режиссер осмысляет влияние индустрии технологий для скорбящих (grief-tech) на традиционные траурные ритуалы и переживание утраты. Исследование опирается на теоретические рамки постгуманизма (Р. Брайдотти, Д. Харауэй), феноменологии болезни (Х. Карел), этики визуальности (Дж. Батлер, Л. Флориди) и постструктуралистской критики (М. Фуко). Рассматривается, как Д. Кроненберг проблематизирует технологически опосредованную трансформацию одного из ключевых для философской антропологии опытов переживания утраты. Исследование приводит к выводу, что «Саван» является предостережением Д. Кронеберга, что диджитализация смерти способна лишить ее свойства онтологической финальности, превратив скорбь в бесконечный процесс циркуляции визуальных образов внутри замкнутого киборгианского цифрового контура. (shrink)

The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in critical sectors such as healthcare has raised significant concerns regarding human autonomy and the risk of delegating vital decisions to opaque artificial systems. This paper examines the normative foundations required for the responsible integration of ethical principles into AI-based Clinical Decision Support Systems. First, it reviews key descriptive models of human moral judgment—rationalist, intuitionist, and integrative approaches—and highlights their relevance for understanding how humans make ethical decisions under conditions of uncertainty. Particular attention (...) is given to the Actor–Deed–Consequences (ADC) model, which captures the plural and intuitive structure of moral evaluation and offers a promising basis for informing ethical guidance functions in AI systems. Building on this analysis, the paper argues that descriptive models alone are insufficient to secure the legitimacy of AI-assisted clinical decisions. To address this gap, it proposes a discursive ethics framework grounded in the work of Karl-Otto Apel, Jürgen Habermas, and Adela Cortina. This framework emphasizes communicative rationality, stakeholder involvement, transparency, and accountability as essential conditions for ethically acceptable AI deployment. The paper concludes that AI-based CDSS should be developed as dialogical and process-oriented tools that support human judgment. Embedding discursive ethical procedures within AI architectures provides a robust normative pathway for ensuring that technological innovation in healthcare enhances human agency, safeguards dignity, and strengthens trust in clinical practice. Keywords: AI Ethics, Discursive Ethics, Clinical Decision Support Systems, Human Agency, AI Act, Communicative Rationality. (shrink)

Locator devices, also known as electronic tracking, monitoring, or surveillance devices, are increasingly being adopted in various care settings to help manage dementia-related wandering and bolster the safety and autonomy of persons with dementia. Their use in dementia-care has raised ethical concerns. While the primary focus of this concern has centered on the use of locator devices, there is a steadily growing call to better integrate ethical reflection into the development phase of these technologies. Many ethical tensions are present during (...) the development of a locator device, and stakeholder inclusion, inclusive of persons with dementia, is a key method to navigating them. However, due to current limitations in dementia inclusive development, stakeholder inclusion alone is insufficient to fully engage with the ethical dimensions of locator device development. In this article, we aim to support more effective stakeholder inclusion by identifying underrepresented elements of the current normative debate and translating them into ethical considerations that can be used throughout the development process. We do this by applying the Leuven Ethical Question Framework for the evaluation of health technology innovations. Using the Framework as a tool for reflection, we identify six ethical considerations present at the individual-relational, organizational, societal, and global socio-historical contexts. These considerations can help integrate ethical reflection into the development process by providing developers with an initial scaffold for dialogue, both with stakeholders and within their own teams, and also serve as starting points for future research. (shrink)

We evaluate an intervention designed to give lab-based research teams an opportunity to intentionally discuss project-related data management practices within their labs, examining how such communication might inform perceptions of the relationship between formal data management plans and lab members’ day-to-day data management practices. In an earlier study, we developed a lab-based intervention that encouraged a deliberative approach to discussions among lab members regarding the practices of data management and authorship, and an exploration of the ethical dimensions of those practices. (...) This present study builds on this prior work, both as partial replication and extension. Here we show the significant effects of the intervention across several dimensions, but importantly and specific to this project, this deliberative communication approach enhances the likelihood that lab members share an understanding of and a commitment to its data management practices, in part because they have been actively involved in shaping those practices. Fostering shared understanding and commitment is crucial for maintaining rigor and responsibility across all aspects of a lab’s work, and is essential for cultivating legitimate, defensible, and ethical approaches to producing scientific knowledge. (shrink)

Technologies increasingly shape animals’ lives, yet animal interests are still largely marginal in mainstream technology ethics and in frameworks of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI). This paper argues that this neglect constitutes a serious moral blind spot that sits in tension with these fields’ own ethical aspirations. Debates about the ethical acceptability and societal desirability of technologies often take human interests as the normative baseline. This anthropocentrism runs deep in both RRI and technology ethics, yet it is ethically indefensible for (...) two mutually reinforcing reasons. First, technological innovations have profound direct and indirect impacts on animals, which will only intensify with the rise of new system technologies such as artificial intelligence. Second, as sentient beings, animals possess moral status and are worthy of moral consideration. Together, these grounds a responsibility to take animal interests seriously in our technological activities. To give this responsibility a practical foothold, I mobilise the concept of stakeholdership — a cornerstone of both RRI and technology ethics — arguing that reinterpreting it to include animals can facilitate their inclusion in ethical deliberation and decision-making about technology. The paper sketches potential pathways for recognising animals as stakeholders in ethical discussions on technology, and engages with some key challenges such an extension is likely to face. I conclude that only by broadening the moral scope beyond human concerns can RRI and technology ethics uphold their normative integrity, attend to a wider range of technological harms and benefits, and genuinely pursue ethically acceptable and socially desirable innovation. (shrink)