New ideas about robots, the internet and digital spying have all come to light at a cutting-edge conference held at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
Twenty years after it was held for the first time at DMU, Ethicomp has this year returned to the campus, bringing top science and technology minds together to discuss the ethics of computing.
Over the course of three days, the growing role of robots in our society, the dangers of a life lived online and the morality of electronic surveillance and data protection were all discussed by leading academics in the field.
Bernd Stahl, Director of DMU's Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, and Ethicomp's Conference Chair, said the world of technology had transformed completely since the first event in 1995.
He said: "If you think that 20 years ago we had no social networks, no Google, you can start to see how quickly our world has changed and how important a role technology has played in that.
"Individual use of IT was much more constrained: maybe you still wrote your PhD on a computer but you didn't Skype your grandmother.
"Now, in 2015, we all carry round with us a phone that is more powerful than most computers were 20 years ago.
"But, having said that, the implications this technology has remain quite similar, albeit on a different scale. At this year's Ethicomp we are looking, broadly, at big data and how this is being used, and how it should be used. We are looking, chiefly, at privacy."
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Visitors to the conference saw presentations from three keynote speakers:
Professor M. Lynne Markus, Bentley University: A discussion of the ethical considerations when business and other large organisations use automated processes and algorithms for handling customer or consumer services. To what extent are consumer apps, self-driving cars and drones the legal and ethical responsibility of their creators?
Robin Wilton, Internet Society: An address looking at the impact of trust on the internet, of responsibility in online commerce and the ethical dilemma when personal data has financial worth.
Professor Sarah Spiekermann, Vienna University of Economics and Business: How can we build ethical machines? How do we instil human values in the robots and computers of tomorrow?
Posted on Wednesday 9 September 2015