In this talk, we will discuss the meaning of wicked problems and current strategies to approach them, since reductionism and solutionism paradigms do not work. We will discuss ethics and how it brings a crucial set of principles that help us navigate complexity. What are the main ethical issues (on tensions?) that technologists need to be particularly aware of, as they are already generating unintended results in the context of complex global wicked problems. This discussion leads us to a call to action, when we will take a look in some of the current initiatives that support technologists to deal with wicked problems in a more ethical way. For instance, EthicalOS and Ethical Design. Our goal is to understand what are the things we can learn (and unlearn) and start (and stop) doing to be better equipped on this journey. Not only as technologists, but as entrepreneurs, leaders of organizations, and society members.

1. OOP'2020
06/Feb/2020
ETHICAL DECISIONS IN A WICKED WORLD:
THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGISTS,
ENTREPRENEURS, AND ORGANIZATIONS
Dr. Claudia Melo
@claudia_melo
www.claudiamelo.org

2. 2
I’m Claudia Melo
Technologist since 1997
I have worked as [CTO, Agile
Coach, Researcher, Professor,
Programmer, Coordinator, Project
Manager, Consultant]
Currently working with an
International Organization &
Advisory Board Member at
Mulheres na Tecnologia
WHO AM I?
www.claudiamelo.org

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STORY CHAPTER 1:
REALIZING THE ISSUE

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REVELATIONS 7 YEARS AGO

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Mass surveillance Digital Colonialism
Knowledge privatization
Monopoly
Economic and Political
Control
Infrastructure Control
INTERNET IS
BROKEN

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Ethics is a system of moral principles […]
covers the following dilemmas:
how to live a good life;
our rights and responsibilities;
the language of right and wrong;
moral decisions - what is good and bad?
http:/
/www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml
h7ps:/
/www.merriam-webster.com/dic:onary/ethic

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Well-being of others
Non-suffering/harm
Autonomy
Equality
My own well-being
Character Excellence/Virtue
Trust
UNDERLYING VALUES BEHIND
ETHICAL THEORIES

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You care about the well-being of people

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CIVIL RIGHTS FRAMEWORK
FOR THE INTERNET
A Multi-lateral
arrangement is better
than Multi-
stakeholder
The Filter Bubble is part
of the personalisation of
recommendation systems
We need to pass a bill
of rights!

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Ethics
Law &
Policies
Higher bar,
Principles
Moral
minimum,
moves
slower ,
Territorial
Accountability
Regulation
Responsibility for one's
actions, decisions and
their consequences
Rules issued by the
government,
force of law,
participatory process

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ETHICS, HUMAN RIGHTS, TECHNOLOGY,
POLICY, REGULATION…

12. 12

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'Everyone wants to do
better, but we heard
feedback when we were
speaking to VCs and tech
co-founders that they
didn't know how. They
didn't know what to do.'
RAINA KUMRA, TECH AND SOCIETY
SOLUTIONS LAB
https://www.wired.com/story/ethical-os/
The central challenge ethics owners are
grappling with is nego1a1ng between
external pressures to respond to ethical
crises at the same 1me that they must be
responsive to the internal logics of their
companies and the industry.
h7ps:/
/hbr.org/2019/11/the-ethical-dilemma-at-the-heart-of-big-tech-companies
THE BOTTOM LINE WINS

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There is no way to approach
ethics & tech
without questioning
money, power, progress, and
unconstrained/exponential
growth
http:/
/imgur.com/zXuVYA7

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“The idea that we exist for the sake of progress,
and that progress requires
unconstrained and exponen8al growth,
is the whip that lashes us.”
https://jods.mitpress.mit.edu/pub/resisting-reduction

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STORY CHAPTER 2:
EMPOWERING PEOPLE TO
UNDERSTAND AND MAKE
DECISIONS

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https:/
/sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

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SW ENGINEERING CURRICULUM
ACM/IEEE Curriculum
Guidelines for Undergraduate
Degree Programs in Software
Engineering units
SW ENGINEERING
CURRICULUM
ETHICS-
RELATED
UNITS/COURSES
Potential
coverage
(from our
mapping)
1.3%
(6h out 467h)
66.8% of the
total content
Claudia Melo and Thiago Sousa. 2017. Reflections on cyberethics education for millennial software engineers. In Proc. of the 1st International Workshop on
Software Engineering Curricula for Millennials (SECM '17). IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 40-46

20. Claudia
Melo
and
Thiago
Sousa.
2017.
Reflections
on
cyberethics
education
for
millennial
software
engineers.
In
Proc.
of
the
1st
International
Workshop
on
Software
Engineering
Curricula
for
Millennials
(SECM
'17).
IEEE
Press,
Piscataway,
NJ,
USA,
40-46

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(2009-2011)
h7ps:/
/ec.europa.eu/research/swafs/pdf/pub_archive/bernd-carsten-stahl_en.pdf
h7p:/
/www.e:ca-project.eu/home
1. Anticipatory ethical approaches:
Plausible or Possible Futures, Risk Assessment, Precautionary Principle

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1. Anticipatory ethical approaches:
Plausible or Possible Futures, Risk Assessment, Precautionary Principle
https://www.doteveryone.org.uk/project/consequence-scanning/
https://ethicalos.org/

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1. Anticipatory ethical approaches:
Plausible or Possible Futures, Risk Assessment, Precautionary Principle
https://ethicalos.org/

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2. Participatory/Deliberative ethical approaches: Adaptive
learning process, Responsible Experimentation

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3. Code of Conduct
1.GENERAL ETHICAL
PRINCIPLES
2.PROFESSIONAL
RESPONSIBILITIES
3.PROFESSIONAL
LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES
4.COMPLIANCE WITH THE
CODE
h7ps:/
/www.acm.org/code-of-ethics

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1. Anticipatory ethical approaches:
Plausible or Possible Futures, Risk Assessment, Precautionary
Principle
2. Participatory/Deliberative ethical approaches: Adaptive
learning process, Responsible Experimentation
3.
Code
of
Conduct

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ETHICAL
APPROACHES FOR
ORGANIZATIONS/
ENTREPRENEURS

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ORGANIZATIONS
• Financial risk (regulatory fines, reputation,
unsustainable).
• Responsible for complying and demonstrate it.
1. Redesign governance, policies and mechanisms to be ethical
by design (anticipatory and responsive ethical assessment)
2. Build Ethical Capabilities (Learn by doing, by case analysis, by labs)
3. Diverse, inclusive, multi-disciplinary teams

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ENTREPRENEURS
• Risk evaluation
• Responsible for complying and demonstrate it
It is time to create new sustainable business models,
lead the way

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TECHNOLOGISTS,
HOW DO YOU SEE YOUR ROLE?

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EMBODYING ETHICS > BE AWARE OF ETHICS
TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY =
TO BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE
AND DO WHAT IS GOOD
FOR HUMAN WELL-BEING
&
MONITOR AND RESPOND
TO (UNINTENDED) CONSEQUENCES
OF ACTIONS.

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QUESTIONS?
THANK YOU!
@claudia_melo
claudiamelo.org
claudia.melo.prof@gmail.com

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https:/
/insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/2018/

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Explainable AI in Industry (KDD 2019 Tutorial)
https://www.slideshare.net/KrishnaramKenthapadi/explainable-ai-in-industry-kdd-2019-tutorial
“BLACK-BOX” AI CREATES CONFUSION AND
RISKS

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DEBATE (NOT CONSENSUS) ON HOW TO
ACHIEVE RESPONSIBLE AI
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1566253519308103

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2. Participatory/Deliberative ethical approaches: Adaptive
learning process, Responsible Experimentation
Algorithm
bias

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EXAMPLES OF CYBERTECH CONTROVERSIES
Innovation is a result of the combination and evolution of complementary
technologies.
CYBERTECHNOLOGIES CONTROVERSIAL PRACTICES/FEATURES, FROM A MORAL PERSPECTIVE
Data Science Discoveries in data mining, propensity and group privacy.
Cloud Compu:ng Consumer privacy, reliability of services, data ownership, and technology neutrality.
Algorithms
Misguided evidence leading to bias; Unfair outcomes leading to discrimina:on,
transforma:on effects leading to challenges for autonomy, and traceability leading to
moral responsibility.
Digital Business Models Intellectual property rights, economic market impact and customer rela:onship.
Internet; IoT; Mobile;
Social
Individual privacy preferences, access controls, emergent social conven:ons and
infrastructures for government surveillance.
So[ware and Society;
Cyberlaw
Cryptocurrency, net neutrality, proprietary code and content and freedom of speech.
Secure So[ware
Engineering
Purposeful human errors injec:on, so[ware piracy and so[ware development for
espionage, extor:on, vandalism and the[.
Ar:ficial Intelligence;
Robo:cs
Machine learning, bias in natural language processing and robots as sexual partners,
caregivers, and servants.
Claudia de O. Melo and Thiago C. de Sousa. 2017. Reflections on cyberethics education for millennial software engineers. In Proceedings of the 1st
International Workshop on Software Engineering Curricula for Millennials (SECM '17). IEEE Press, Piscataway, NJ, USA, 40-46