Ethical and political controversies often concern new and emerging technologies.

Their novelty
revolutionizes, yet they also influence society on a moral, ethical, and political level. Both proponents
and opponents of new technologies can be preoccupied with the extremes of possible impacts, and the
debate can be hampered or stifled as a result. How then, can we assure that contemporary and
emerging technologies are beneficial, responsible, and sustainable?

HOW CAN WE UNDERSTAND THE ETHICAL, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ROLE OF CONTEMPORARY
TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING ITS DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT, AND ASSESS ITS IMPACT ON SOCIETY?

This ethical and moral debate is grounded in the design and development of new technologies - long
before their introduction into society. Through the research strand Ethics & Technology, we seek to teach
and advise both engineers and policy makers regarding the possible and plausible impact of new
technologies, as well as the general public, and to investigate the societal impact of such technologies
through objective and scientific methods.

This research strand currently focuses on four primary facets:

The relationship between technology and values

How do technological artifacts and processes embody and express values and norms? How can they be
ethically assessed because of their values and norms, and how can the embedding of values and norms
be made part of the design process?

The role of technology in human well-being and flourishing

We analyze the positive and negative implications of technological artifacts/processes for the well-being
of users and other stakeholders, and investigate how these artifacts/processes may be designed to
positively affect the stakeholder’s well-being.

The conditions for the realisation of responsible research and innovation

Through the development of practical methods involving different kinds of stakeholders, we seek to
make research and innovation more responsible and ethical.