Ethics: A human-centered design goal

© Design for Context

Karen [email protected]@karenbachmann

Ethics: A human-centered design goal

UXPA 2017 Toronto

#UXPA2017 #DesignEthics

@design4context Ethical Design UXPA 2017


● Ethics and related concepts

● Different ways to talk about ethics and share a positive message

● Building business and professional case for ethical outcomes as design goals

● Ideas for making ethics a core part of our design practices

What we’ll be discussing

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@design4context Ethical Design UXPA 2017 3


“AND ETHICS IS SUCH A NEGATIVE SUBJECT.”

Many people believe that embracing ethics would limit their options, their opportunities, their very ability to succeed in business.

John C. Maxwell, Ethics 101

(CEO considering ethics as a topic for a sales meeting)

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Empathy Ethics

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Ethics has a PR problem. Empathy, though related, doesn’t.



Empathy●A “method of data gathering

about… humans”

● The basis of ethics; makes “ethical life possible"

Ethics●A philosophy that governs actions

informed by empathy among other inputs from the “ecology”

● Standard of expected behavior that guides the correct course of action

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Ethics

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Morality

Legality

the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group;

a guiding philosophy

of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior;

conforming to a standard of right behavior

attachment to or observance of law

Definitions from https://www.merriam-webster.com/



A progression for doing good?

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LawsNorms/CodesEthicsValues/morals



Applied Ethics

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Applied ethics is a field of ethics that deals with ethical questions

specific to a professional, disciplinary, or practical field. Subsets of

applied ethics include medical ethics, bioethics, business ethics, legal

ethics, and others.

Applied ethics is the philosophical examination, from a moral

standpoint, of particular issues in private and public life which are

matters of moral judgment. It is thus the attempts to use philosophical

methods to identify the morally correct course of action in various fields

of everyday life.

Definitions from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Applied_ethics and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Applied_ethics



Code of ethics WIKIPEDIA“PROFESSIONAL ETHICS”

Most professionals have internally enforced codes of practice that members of the profession must follow to prevent exploitation of the client and to preserve the integrity of the profession.

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Code of design ethics? RELATED CODES

● AIGA

● HFES

● ACM

● IEEE

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All focus on business conduct and some for research, not guidance for ethical design. Useful, but incomplete.



● APA Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct, specifically section 8, “Research and Publication”

● The Little Book of Design Research Ethics (IDEO)

● But what about ongoing data collection and data science?

…most of the activities we call “data science” fall outside of those regulations, and data science receives little in the way of prior ethics review.

Clear guidance for user research?

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https://points.datasociety.net/ethics-review-for-pernicious-feedback-loops-9a7ede4b610e



So what?

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● Ensure that the human need and benefit is considered fully in our work.

●Consider the full human context, including implications for technology over time and social ecosystem.

●Mitigate the thrill of the “new.”

● Counter the emphasis on technology over humanity and the primacy of "data" over people.

● Ensure that human stories accompany qualitative data or other tools that diminish the visibility of actual people.

● Ethics can provide a pragmatic path to supporting these goals and the conversations around them.

Why should UX professionals care?

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CONSIDER ETHICS WHEN DESIGNING NEW TECHNOLOGIES

What is needed is strong, anticipatory guidance by those who intersect the technology, health and ethics worlds to determine how we develop and deploy technologies that deliver the greatest societal benefits.

Christie and Yach, TechCrunch

Reacting to Facebook’s dilemma with fake news

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https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/31/consider-ethics-when-designing-new-technologies/



Making ethics a design goal●A business case

●A professional case

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vs.



All too easy to find examples of unethical behavior

https://www.fastcodesign.com/3066

586/the-year-dark-patterns-won



● Need to think ethically in a larger scale, not just "treat your participants well" and "avoid dark patterns"

● Move away from focusing on the cost of being caught being unethical, illegal, non-compliant because it encourages only the minimum

● Avoid the fatigue of negativity by only telling the cautionary stories or focusing on shocking failures

Focus on the “stick” is not enough



● Business and professional value

● Ability to measure success gained as a result of ethical practices, not penalties avoided

● A stance of opportunity and growth, not constraint and stagnation

Consider the “carrot” ethical design offers



Companies with good ethical policies earn:

● Marketing advantages over their competitors. Customers readily invest in the companies through shares and also want to establish long lasting business relations with the company.

● The performance of employees improves with good ethical policies present in a company. Morale is high and employees feel obligated to put in their all to continue to make it a success.

● Reputation management: a bad reputation is created by unethical behaviour which will eventually lead to a scandal. A scandal will result in falling stock prices, anxiety, and low morale among employees as well as government and public scrutiny and inquests.

● Legal and financial incentives: companies known for their high ethical standards and education of employees on ethical polices are provided with strong legal and financial incentives by regulatory bodies.

Support: SixSigma Online

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http://www.sixsigmaonline.org/six-sigma-training-certification-information/the-importance-and-advantages-of-good-business-ethics/



● It reduces business liability.

● It helps employees make good decisions.

● It assures high-quality customer service.

● It prevents costly administrative errors and rework.

● It consistently grows the bottom line.

Support: National Ethics Association

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https://www.ethics.net/a/five-benefits-of-ethical-leadership



A better motivation for inspiring ethical behavior is the benefits it provides, both personally and financially. Besides feeling good about doing the right thing, principled business conduct can also be profitable. Ethical behavior is good business.

Four key benefits:

● Easier accounting – real numbers and honest account is easier than maintaining falsified records

● Better branding – creates trust with employees, suppliers and customers

● Improved bottom line – retain customers, earn high ratings, and gain referrals

● Better health – Reduce stress and feel better about your business

Support: Steve Parrish in Forbes

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveparrish/2016/02/04/the-profit-potential-in-running-an-ethical-business/#654f4a9e7687



QUOTING JAMES BURKE

If you invested $30,000 in a composite of the Dow Jones thirty years ago, it would be worth $134,000 today. If you had put that $30,000 into these [socially and ethically responsible] firms - $2,000 into each of the fifteen [in the study] – it would now be worth over $1 million.

John C. Maxwell, Ethics 101

Chairman of Johnson and Johnson

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DESIGNER’S RESPONSIBILITY

If your company is just in it for the money, maybe you should look for a better company.

It’s not your fault, but it is your responsibility.

Alan Cooper

Do the ethics of your employers align with yours?

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https://www.slideshare.net/secret/8EVFuubtAzkpkh



● Technology is changing faster than ever, and that can lead to fear, uncertainty, doubt, anger, and unrest.

● Examples abound in the tech industry of unethical behavior, arrogance, and lack of empathy. Culture and leadership have reputation for being unethical.

● Technology is not neutral, but too often we jump into the new and the cool before considering the ramifications.

● Ethical decisions are often not starkly good or bad, but nuances of behavior and habits. Just walking away isn’t the answer.

● Why not lead through design?

Ethics is needed in tech

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● Understand your values and adopt an ethical stance that embodies them before you reach a crisis.

● “Be conscious and aware of what you’re endorsing with your time, not only for the welfare of others but for your own sense of self. The work you choose to take on defines you.” - Stephen P. Anderson

● Establish what it means to do good, not merely avoid doing harm. Consider context as well as tactics.

Know your ethical boundaries

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http://uxmag.com/articles/towards-an-ethics-of-persuasion?page=43



● Support and bolster your colleagues’ ethical practice

●Share case studies and techniques

●Adhere to and promote ethical design practices

●Amplify successes

● Protect the integrity of the profession by setting a standard of ethical design practices as the norm

Promote professional boundaries

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Tools for ethical design

If it's not ethical, it cannot be beautiful.

Yves Behar

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● Design programs with ethics in the curriculum

● Code of ethical design

● Design and research “hygiene”

● Ethical design methodologies, heuristics, guidelines, practices

Do we have the tools?

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Scenarios, role playing?

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● Trolley problem: Break failure while in motion

● Two choices, but both are deadly

● Unrealistic qualifiers

WHO DIES?

MIT Moral Machine Project: http://moralmachine.mit.edu/



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● In design, more than dark patterns! In research, more than session decorum.

● Similar to HBR issues articles that explored real, nuanced situations.

● No absolute right or wrong or even catastrophic failure – but a cost to be weighed.

CASE STUDIES

MIT Moral Machine Project: http://moralmachine.mit.edu/

Scenarios, role playing?



● New thinking: Cradle-to-cradle or closed loop design thinking

● Biomimicry, nature as inspiration

● Focus on human and ecosystem benefit and betterment

● Focus on design over time and evolving scenarios

Rethinking how we design

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Reference: http://sustainableux.com/.



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● Product definition

● Product vision

● Who and When

● Benefits and Harms

● Trade-offs

Ethical Design Protocol

Detailed article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ethical-design-protocol-exploring-full-effects-our-work-bachmann

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ethical-design-protocol-exploring-full-effects-our-work-bachmann



Ethical Design Protocol

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Applying the protocol: Exercise app● Definition: A native mobile app that

● Tracks physical activity using platform tools

● Reminds users to exercise at specified intervals based on health

● Suggests new exercises periodically

● Connects to social media to create accountability with connections

● Vision: To help increase health and foster healthy habits in a sedentary population

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Applying the protocol: Exercise app● Who?

●Directly affected

● Indirectly affected

● What is one benefit gained by someone in each group?

● Initially

●After using the product over time

● What is one harm those same people might experience?

● Initially

●After using the product over time

● Can the harm be mitigated? Does it require a trade-off against a benefit?

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Instead of a designer code of ethics…

consider a users’ bill of rights!

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Example: Computer User’s ManifestoBY DR. CLAIRE-MARIE KARAT AS SHARED BY THEO MANDEL

● The user is always right. If there is a problem with the use of the system, the system is the problem, not the user.

● The user has the right to easily install software and hardware systems.

● The user has the right to a system that performs exactly as promised.

● The user has the right to easy-to-use instructions for understanding and utilizing a system to achieve desired goals.

● The user has the right to be in control of the system and to be able to get the system to respond to a request for attention.

● The user has the right to a system that provides clear, understandable, and accurate information regarding the task it is performing and the progress toward completion.

● The user has the right to be clearly informed about all system requirements for successfully using software or hardware.

● The user has the right to know the limits of the system’s capabilities.

● The user has the right to communicate with the technology provider and receive a thoughtful and helpful response when raising concerns.

● The user should be the master of software and hardware technology, not vice-versa. Products should be natural and intuitive to use.

theomandel.com/resources/users-bill-of-rights



Design principle User has a right …

Digestibility Not to work too hard to accomplish their goals

Digestibility To have their goals and their time respected

Clarity To understand exactly what they are getting

Clarity To be respected

Trust To be informed and in control

Familiarity To be oriented from the moment they start using a product

Familiarity To have their prior experience and knowledge respected

Delight To have an enjoyable experience

Delight To have an effortless (or appropriate effort) experience

Delight To have the UI disappear into the context of their work

Adapt design principles into user rights

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From a blog post by InVision: http://blog.invisionapp.com/ux-principles-to-guide-your-product-design/



Other ideas or examples?

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● Understand where ethics fits in our work and with other influences on design practice

● Able to establish business and professional cases for ethical design

● Gained some tools and techniques to incorporate ethical decision-making in you design practice

● Increased awareness about the value of and role for ethics in the profession

Takeaways

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The BIG takeaway!DRAWING FOR ATTENDEES

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Karen [email protected]@karenbachmann

Ethics: A human-centered design goal

UXPA 2017 Toronto

#UXPA2017 #DesignEthics

Presentation will be posted on Slideshare and available at www.designforcontext.com/insights

http://www.designforcontext.com/publications

http://www.designforcontext.com/insights



In the past year, I’ve read a tremendous amount of articles on ethics, design, and related topics. I am happy to share my full reading list, but here are some that I found especially insightful for this specific talk.

● Mark B. Baer, Esq. “The Connection Between Empathy Toward Others and Ethics,” Psychology Today

● Cennydd Bowles, “Ethics in the AI Age,” presented at IxDA 2017

● Kelsey Campbell-Dollaghan, “The Year Dark Patterns Won,” Co.Design

● Gillian Christie and Derek Yach, Consider ethics when designing new technologies

● Samantha Dempsey and Ciara Taylor, Designer’s Oath

● Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Empathy and Sympathy in Ethics”

● John C Maxwell, Ethics 101: What Every Leader Needs to know

● #uxchat on Twitter “Embedding Ethics into Design,” hosted by What Users Do

● Sara Wachter-Boettcher and Eric Meyer, Design for Real Life

● Thomas Wendt, "Empathy as Faux Ethics”

Selected Readings and References

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https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/empathy-and-relationships/201701/the-connection-between-empathy-toward-others-and-ethics

https://vimeo.com/album/3945251/video/209303271

https://www.fastcodesign.com/3066586/the-year-dark-patterns-won

https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/31/consider-ethics-when-designing-new-technologies/

http://designersoath.com/

http://www.iep.utm.edu/emp-symp/

https://www.amazon.com/Ethics-101-Every-Leader-Needs/dp/0446578096

http://whatusersdo.com/blog/embedding-ethics-design-uxchat-roundup/

https://abookapart.com/products/design-for-real-life

https://www.epicpeople.org/empathy-faux-ethics/