My presentation on the ethics of being a designer at the 10th Anniversary party for the IxDA in Berlin, Germany. September 8, 2018

1. EthUX
Seven deadly sins that keep us from
building a better world
Eric Reiss
@elreiss
IxDA 10th Anniversary
September 8, 2018
Berlin, Germany

2. Disclaimer
Absolutely no attempt has been made
to make this presentation politically correct.
If you can’t handle the real world, get in line
for the Turkish BBQ. Jetzt!
No animals were harmed during the production
of this PowerPoint (even though I tried).
Made entirely of recycled electrons.

4. Disclaimer #2
If you’ve heard this all before, my apologies.
If you’ve ignored these issues, step up and take a stand.

5. Charlie Mulholland | “Design Ethics as Inspiration | 6 February 2012

7. Clive K. Lavery | “Being a Digital Do-gooder”| 27 September, 2016

8. Aral Balkan | “Design or Decoration?”| 27 September, 2017

10. Leyla Nasib and Jonna Ratanen| “Children’s Rights and Ethics in Design”| 17 April, 2018

11. What are “ethics”?
What are “morals”?

12. “Morals” “Ethics”
“The beliefs I
have accepted.”
“How I practice
these beliefs.”

13. “Thou shalt not kill.”

16. Internal External

17. Johann and his iPhone

19. Johann and the lost letter

21. Johann, Albert, Clara

22. Johann, Albert, Clara
(and Leo)

23. Clara

24. Clara
1983 - 2018

25. • It’s not just “1” and “0”
• Or right and wrong
• Or “yes” and “no”
• Or “black” and “white”
The world is grey and difficult. Learn to live with it.
The world isn’t binary

26. “Do no evil”
“Make money”

28. “Make money”
“Do no evil”

30. “Make money”
“Keep the government off our back”

32. Eric, stop bashing Google!

34. Sister Dorothy and the Vatican

40. Internal External

41. • Privacy
• Security
• Intellectual property rights
plus
• Diversity
• Inclusion
• Harassment
Key ethical issues today

42. • Is this right?
• Is this respectful?
• Is this responsible?
• Is this fair?
• Is this legal?
Questions we need to ask

44. Small compromises can add up to big problems!

45. 1. Manipulating the research
2. Faking the content
3. Promoting addiction
4. Dark patterns
5. Teamwork trauma
6. Offensive AI
7. UX theatre
Seven deadly sins

46. Manipulating the research
Lies, damned lies, and statistics

47. • Asking “loaded” questions
• Manipulating the results
• Hiding the results
• Not actually doing the research
Four problems

48. • Asking “loaded” questions
• Manipulating the results
• Hiding the results
• Not actually doing the research
Four problems

50. Interpreting interrelated questions
1. Was the product information sufficient and
relevant?
6/10
2. Was the transaction cost of the products
appropriate?
1/10
3. Were you satisfied with the website
experience?
5/10

51. Four problems
• Asking “loaded” questions
• Manipulating the results
• Hiding the results
• Not actually doing the research

55. • Asking “loaded” questions
• Manipulating the results
• Hiding the results
• Not actually doing the research
Four problems

57. • Asking “loaded” questions
• Manipulating the results
• Hiding the results
• Not actually doing the research
Four problems

58. District heating plants in Poland

59. “Return on Investment is based on historic
data. It is a backward-looking metric that
yields no insights into how to improve
business results in the future.”
www.maxi-pedia.com

60. • Examine the research sources
• Ask relevant follow-up questions
• Don’t trust client research. Verify it.
• Watch out for personal or political agendas
• Call bullshit when you see it (diplomatically)
What you can do

61. • Being principled is challenging
• There are consequences to your actions
• Be gentle if you can
• The greater the ethical violation, the harder
you need to push
• Sometimes, it’s good to get fired
Some thoughts on “calling bullshit”

62. Faking the content
Hits and bruises

63. • Fake testimonials
• Fake photos
• Misleading metadata
• Fake referral sites
• Clueless social-media managers
What to look out for

64. Products
Green Blue Red
Specifications Specifications Specifications
Applications Applications
References
Testimonials
Applications
References
Testimonials
References
Testimonials

65. Danske Bank

68. • Ask yourself if the content is honest
• Ask yourself if this is really in the user’s best
interests
• Ask yourself if this is in the business’s best
interests
• Don’t force content providers to publish
information they cannot provide
What you can do

69. Promoting addiction
Digital drugs

70. • Bait-and-switch techniques
– Online casinos
• Peer pressure techniques
– Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook
• Ludomania disguised as entertainment
What to look out for

71. “100 free spins…”

73. What you can do
• There really is only one question you need to
ask yourself:
– Would I want my children to use this site or app?

74. Dark patterns
Asterisks and after-risks

75. • Sites that trick you to:
– Opt in to something you do not want
– Buy something you do not want
• Sites that require information they are not
entitled to:
– Telephone number
– Personal details (e.g. gender)
What to look out for

77. • People do not read very carefully
• People will often accept that they have been
tricked because it takes too long to put things
right again
Some sad facts

78. • Bait-and-switch
• Disguised ads
• Forced continuity
• Friend spam
• Hidden costs
• Misdirection
• Price comparison prevention
• Private Zuckering
• Roach motel
• Sneak into basket
• Trick questions
Some patterns to watch out for

79. https://darkpatterns.org/

80. Frequently bought together…

81. Scarcity
Social validation
Fear of loss

82. Sneaky terms and conditions

85. An exception to the rule

87. • Make sure the behaviour of your design is not
misleading people
• Do not trick or cheat people
• Keep the user’s needs in focus
What you can do

88. Teamwork trauma
Design thinking or design terror?

89. • Designs that are “flavour of the month”
– WordPress
– Flat design
• Colleagues who do not meet their obligations
• Clients and employers who are asking you to
bend your personal code of ethics
What to look out for

91. The Czech brothel project

92. Clive K. Lavery | “Being a Digital Do-gooder”| 27 September, 2016

93. Clive K. Lavery | “Being a Digital Do-gooder”| 27 September, 2016

94. • If you are a manager, give your team members
and opportunity to opt out
• If you are a team member, let your manager
know if the projects makes you uncomfortable
• Respect any NDAs you have signed
• If you make a promise, keep it!
What you can do

95. Offensive AI
Tay, Siri, Alexa, and Bixby

97. • Validate your assumptions
• Test your prototypes, apps, and existing sites
with real users
• Mine the existing data for genuine insights
• Check for cultural bias
– Racist, religious, and sexist discrimination
• Train your algorithm with unbiased data
• Monitor your AI bot regularly
What you can do

99. UX theatre
Brainstorming and bullshit

101. https://twitter.com/i/moments/955234060
951048192

102. • So-called UX projects where no one has
actually ever talked to a user
• Fake personas
• Projects where assumptions are given the
same weight as actual research
• Team members who exhibit strong cognitive
bias
• Civil servants and mediocre managers who
just want an impressive report, but do not
actually want to improve UX
What to look out for

103. The Copenhagen Letter
Taking a moral stand

104. Highland Park High School Math Club
1969

105. Highland Park High School Math Club
1969

106. "There is no reason for
any individual to have
a computer in his home."
Ken Olsen
Founder, Digital Equipment Corp.
1977

107. TRS-80
1977

108. Apple II
1977

109. IBM PC
1981

111. Apple Macintosh
1984

112. "There is no reason for
any individual to have
a computer in his home."
Ken Olsen
Founder, Digital Equipment Corp.
1977
But that was then…

117. With power comes responsibility…

118. The Copenhagen Letter
Today, over 4,400 people have signed.
These aren’t merely Facebook likes.
These signatures represent a commitment.

123. https://copenhagenletter.org/
Join us!

124. A few parting comments about “tribalism”

127. commons.wikimedia.org

131. “In fascism, the idea is that we’re not
individual human beings who have
thoughts and reflect before we speak, the
idea is that we are tribes. And the politics
begin with deciding who the enemy is.”
Timothy Snyder
Historian, Author “The Road to Unfreedom”

132. “Lock her up!”
“Build the wall!”
“Fake news!”

133. “Mobile first!”
“Build the app!”
“Sprint! Sprint! Sprint! Sprint!”

135. Tribes exclude.
Communities welcome.
We live in dangerous times.
We can make a difference.
The IxDA must remain inclusive!

136. Bonus material

137. We didn’t invent this discipline
Give credit where credit is due

138. 50-year-old wearable

139. 90-year-old A/B test

140. 150-year-old infographic

141. 170-year-old sitemap

142. 220-year-old SEO project

143. 250-year-old knowledge map

144. 300-year-old taxonomy

145. A 400-year-old content inventory

146. 650-year-old personas

147. 5000-year-old wireframe

148. 15000-year-old storyboard

149. Gestural interfaces - 1935
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kuCSRJcTgY

150. • You are unique!
• You hold incredible power!
• You can change the world!
Some of you will…and thank goodness for that!
A few parting words

151. Danke!

152. The FatDUX Group ApS
Strandøre 15
2100 Copenhagen
Denmark
Office: (+45) 39 29 07 07
Mobil: (+45) 20 12 88 44
Twitter: @elreiss
er@fatdux.com
www.fatdux.com
Eric Reiss can (usually) be found at: