DigEthix: Digital Ethics Today

This episode explores the potential motivations behind Harvard Professor Francesca Gino's data fraud. Data Colada researchers Uri Simonsohn, Leif Nelson and Joe Simmons found significant evidence of data manipulation, which was later given to Harvard. This led to the retraction of four papers and a recommendation to fire Gino. What might motivate someone to manipulate data and to commit fraud...

This episode features an interview with Dr. Jenn Lindsay and Dr. Wesley Wildman on the forthcoming documentary film, ‘Simulating Religious Violence.’ This film explores a team of researchers seeking to build the kind of computational model that I just mentioned. Dr. Lindsay directed the film. She is Professor of Sociology and Communications at John Cabot University and the CEO and head of producti...

Can you ever have so much data that it becomes unmanageable? Are there ways make the way you use data more effective? In this episode, Seth talks to Lauren Maffeo about how to design a data governance framework that will best suit your needs. Lauren is a service designer at Steampunk, a human-centered design firm serving the federal government. She is also a founding editor of Springer’s AI and Et...

When ChatGPT dropped in November 2022, it had teachers and students scrambling to figure out what to do with this new service. Seth outlines four main ways to handle ChatGPT in the classroom and notes some pitfalls of using ChatGPT uncritically. Potentially Helpful Links Vectoring Words: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQddtTdmG_8 AI Models & Language Models: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rU...

Should you use dating apps? What skills do you need to form a relationship? What role does technology play in our relationships? Ethicist Kate Ott helps us answer these questions and more. Dr. Ott is the Jerre and Mary Joy Stead Professor of Christian Ethics at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She received her PhD in Christian Social Ethics from Union Theological Seminary and her Master o...

How can parents navigate the landscape of technology? How our experience with technology differed by generation? How do we build trust across these generations. Dr. Brady has a PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fordham University and currently works as a Professor of Psychology at St. Anselm College.  She has written a forthcoming book on the topic called, Technology Touchpoints: Parenting in the Di...

How do we determine what is ethical in technology? How do we do ethical research? How do we bridge gaps in expertise? How do we discover and resolve resolve ethical problems? In this episode, Dr. Borhane Blili-Hamelin discusses the challenges of interdisciplinary research and his workshop on Twitter's bias bounty program. Bo has a PhD in philosophy from Columbia University. He founded Account...

What is digital ethics? Why should you care? In this episode, we go over some basic definitions and plans for Season 3 of the podcast. Potentially Helpful Links: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/technology-ethics/ https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250074317/automatinginequality https://ndpr.nd.edu/reviews/technology-and-the-virtues-a-philosophical-guide-to-a-future-worth-wanting/ Contact us...

What are safety technologies? How do we best utilize our resources in order to prevent tragedies? How does a crisis affect the process of consent? Ryan Mayfield is the director of strategy at Live Safe, a mobile safety application company looking to connect individuals and safety officials in order to build better communities. Ryan is an expert in safety communications and user engagement, with ex...

After Dinner Conversation is online ethics magazine and podcast. We discuss the role of stories in exploring ethical situations and how the magazine uses discussion questions to prompt discussion. How do you personally navigate situations in which you can’t tell immediately if a decision will be right or wrong? In what situations do you find yourself unsure of what choice to make? How has technolo...

Dr. Benjamin Chicka has a PhD in Religion from Claremont Graduate University.  He currently serves as a  lecturer of philosophy and religion at Curry College. He is the author of the book, Playing as Others, which will be the main topic of our conversation today. He is interested in how video games can be used as a source of positive ethical formation, leading people to eventually act more empathe...

Willys DeVoll is a professional writer and co-author of the book, Leadership is a Relationship: How to Put People First in the Digital World, with Michael S. Erwin. Willys is the founder of Will Digital, a writing and design agency. As an expert at the intersection of language and technology, he’s spoken at a wide range of industry conferences and on podcasts. Willys earned master’s and bachelor’s...

The main topic we will be discussing together is Jacob Boss’s research on transhumanism. Transhumanism is a movement of people dedicated to using technology to transform humanity and to radically change the human condition. Jacob’s specific area of research is on a group of transhumanists known as Grinders. This group is highly interested in body modification through do-it-yourself science and tec...

Seth speaks with Dr. Rubén Mancha about developing more ethical business models and about the potential for a non-profit technology company. Rubén is an assistant professor of information technology at Babson College and an advisor to entrepreneurs and organizations. Rubén researches the social impact of digital technologies and digital business models, their potential for good, and the responsibl...

Seth and Bernd Dürrwächter discuss the summer Doordash app strike and the state of the app economy. Bernd is principal at AnalyticDimensions.com, a consultancy for big data analytics & data science projects.  On July 31st, 2021, Doordashers protested decreased wages and the striking down of the app Para, which allowed drivers to see how much they would be making in tips prior to accepting an o...

Seth interviews Timothée Mathon. Timothée is a French freelance artist. He has experience working as a Concept Artist, Art Director and Illustrator for the AAA Videogame and Movie industry (Ubisoft, Quantic Dream, Netflix, and Net Ease Games). He designed a collection of Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) and heavily advocates for the independence of artists in the industry.  Samples of his work can be fo...

Seth interviews Dr. Emanuelle Burton. Emanuelle obtained her PhD in Religion and Literature from the. University of Chicago Divinity School. She teaches ethics in the Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Chicago. In collaboration with Judy Goldsmith, Nicholas Mattei, Cory Siler, and Sara Jo-Swiatek, she is developing a science fiction-based ethics curriculum for computer scien...

Seth and Bernd Dürrwächter discuss the role of CAPTCHAs and bots in our automated systems and the potential obstacle they pose to people making informed decisions. Bernd is principal at AnalyticDimensions.com, a consultancy for big data analytics & data science projects. Bernd has been advising the podcast from the beginning, using insights from his decades of industry experience. The key ques...

Seth interviews Dr. Azer Bestavros.  Azer is the Inaugural Associate Provost for Computing and Data Sciences (aka CDS) at Boston University and the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor in the Computer Science Department, which he joined in 1991 and chaired from 2000 to 2007. He is also the Founding Director of the Hariri Institute for Computing. As he will share in this interview, Azer...

We are really looking forward to starting up regular episodes again. The first episode of the second season will be released next week, on September 15th. Seth will be interviewing Azer Bestavros. Azer Bestavros is the Inaugural Associate Provost for Computing and Data Sciences at Boston University and the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor in the Computer Science Department , which...

Seth reviews the first set of episodes for the DIGETHIX podcast, talking about his experience and takeaways from this season.  He reviews the cover art for each episode, which were designed by Alex Nielsen and Nicole Smith, to discuss the range of themes that were discussed. A gallery of the described images can be found on our website here: https://digethix.org/podcast-10-season-recap-and-state-o...

Seth and Bernd Dürrwächter review the Pegasus NSO Spyware scandal. Bernd is principal at AnalyticDimensions.com, a consultancy for big data analytics & data science projects. Bernd has been advising the podcast from the beginning, using insights from his decades of industry experience. The first half of the conversation goes over the details of the Pegasus scandal and other incidents that NSO...

Seth talks to Bernd Dürrwächter, one of DIGETHIX’s advisory board members and main collaborators. Bernd is principal at AnalyticDimensions.com, a consultancy for big data analytics & data science projects. He studied computer science at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences from 1988-1992. Bernd is a seasoned practitioner in software engineering, IT architectures, business intelligence...

In this episode of the podcast, Seth interviews Dr. Noreen Herzfeld. Noreen is the Nicholas and Bernice Reuter Professor of Science and Religion at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict. She holds degrees in both Computer Science and Mathematics and has a Ph. D. in Theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.  Seth talks to Noreen about the history of artificial intell...

In this episode of the Podcast, Seth interviews Muhammad Ahmad. Muhammad is an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at University of Washington and a Research Scientist at KenSci. His research areas are machine learning in healthcare, accountability and ethics in AI. His recent work is focused on foundations of machine learning and cross-cultural perspectives on AI....