The 2022 Tech Ethics Working Group

For people in the class who are interested in continuing to think about / work on projects with a social or ethical focus, we are planning to host a tech ethics working group, next winter and spring, that can be taken for credit.

What are the goals of the working group?

• To nurture a community of technologists who are interested in working to create tools, processes, systems, educational resources, etc. that explore or address ethical issues in tech.
• To consider the ethics of the design process by putting CS396 ideas into practice.
• To continue ongoing discussions / debates involving the ethics and politics of tech.

How do I join?

To join the working group, you must:

• Have already taken CS396 (Computing, Ethics, & Society)
• Be nominated by Aysé, Sarah, Natalie, and/or Sepehr based on your final project submission and expressed interest.
• Be able to commit to the independent study.

What are the expectations / commitments of the group?

• Commitment from beginning of winter quarter until end of spring quarter (20 weeks total).
• 1.5 hr/week meeting with other teams, can enroll in independent study with Sarah for credit (winter quarter required, spring quarter optional)
  • Meetings will be a time to reflect on current progress and issues that arise when designing and implementing projects.
• Writing in Identity Journal
• Turn in a final version of the project proposed within CS396 final project proposal.
  • Totally OK if implementation changes throughout the course of the year!
• Presenting your work at a CS Ethics Conference in the Spring

Assessment

• You deliverable must demonstrate that you engaged deeply with a topic /concept related to the class
• You deliverable must demonstrate that you worked genuinely with a real stakeholders / community groups throughout the process.
• You deliverable must demonstrate that you have put your knowledge in action to create a meaningful change.

Note that we use the term “deliverable” to make the format open-ended and inclusive of a wide variety of different approaches: artwork, graphic novels, storybooks, videos, and more. Have fun with this and express yourself in the format most comfortable for you.

CS Ethics Conference

In the Spring, working group participants will present their final projects as part of a CS Ethics Conference, hosted at Nortwestern. There, they will discuss their deliverables, share lessons learned, brainstorm potential next steps, etc. with fellow students and stakeholders.

Other Ideas

• Depending on projects, can work at the Garage (which has a prototyping lab, staff resources, etc); could maybe have an interesting conversation about neoliberalism’s effects on design.
• Once a quarter coming to TREE lab meetings and present – for feedback, support, and accountability.
• Let’s keep adding to this list!