This Is Technology Ethics

Dec 20 2023 10 ep. 44

This Is Technology Ethics Podcast artwork

A series of accessible conversations about the ethics of technology. Topics covered include: the nature of ethics and technology, the methods of ethics, control and technological risk, responsibility and agency in machines, autonomy and behaviour change, should we merge with machines, AI in the workplace and more.

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10 – Bonus Episode: Audience Q and A

In this episode, John and Sven answer questions from podcast listeners. Topics covered include: the relationships between animal ethics and AI ethics; religion and philosophy of tech; the analytic-continental divide; the debate about short vs long-term risks; getting engineers to take ethics seriously and much much more. Thanks to everyone that submitted a question. You […]

9 – Human-technology futures

What does the future hold for humanity’s relationship with technology? Will we become ever more integrated with and dependent on technology? What are the normative and axiological consequences of this? In this episode, Sven and John discuss these questions and reflect, more generally, on technology, ethics and the value of speculation about the future. You […]

8 – Machines as Colleagues, Friends and Lovers

In this episode, Sven and John talk about relationships with machines. Can you collaborate with a machine? Can robots be friends, colleagues or, perhaps, even lovers? These are common tropes in science fiction and popular culture, but is there any credibility to them? What would the ethical status of such relationships be? Should they be […]

7. Can Machines be Moral Patients?

In this episode Sven and John discuss the moral status of machines, particularly humanoid robots. Could machines ever be more than mere things? Some people see this debate as a distraction from the important ethical questions pertaining to technology; others take it more seriously. Sven and John share their thoughts on this topic and give […]

6 – Moral Agency in Machines

In this episode, Sven and John discuss the controversy arising from the idea moral agency in machines. What is an agent? What is a moral agent? Is it possible to create a machine with a sense of moral agency? Is this desirable or to be avoided at all costs? These are just some of the […]

5 – Technology and Responsibility Gaps

In this episode Sven and John discuss the thorny topic of responsibility gaps and technology. Over the past two decades, a small cottage industry of legal and philosophical research has arisen in relation to the idea that increasingly autonomous machines create gaps in responsibility. But what does this mean? Is it a serious ethical/legal problem? […]

4 – Behaviour Change and Control

In this episode, John and Sven talk about the role that technology can play in changing our behaviour. In doing so, they note the long and troubled history of philosophy and self-help. They also ponder whether we can use technology to control our lives or whether technology controls us. You can download the episode here […]

3 – Value Alignment and the Control Problem

In this episode, John and Sven discuss risk and technology ethics. They focus, in particular, on the perennially popular and widely discussed problems of value alignment (how to get technology to align with our values) and control (making sure technology doesn’t do something terrible). They start the conversation with the famous case study of Stanislov […]

2 – The Methods of Technology Ethics

In this episode, John and Sven discuss the methods of technology ethics. What exactly is it that technology ethicists do? How can they answer the core questions about the value of technology and our moral response to it? Should they consult their intuitions? Run experiments? Use formal theories? The possible answers to these questions are […]

1 – Introducing Technology Ethics

In this episode, John and Sven introduce themselves and the general themes of the podcast series. The podcast follows the structure of Sven’s book This is Technology Ethics. In this episode, they focus in particular on the concepts of technology and ethics. If you are interested in buying a discounted copy of the book, then […]