Accounting for Values in Design

Abstract

One of the more notable technologies to enter and affect everyday life is information and communication technology (ICT). Since the twentieth century, ICTs have had a considerable impact on many aspects of everyday life. This impact on individuals and society is rarely neutral; ICTs can have both desirable and undesirable consequences — ethical implications. One field of computing in particular envisions computing technology permeating everyday life. This field, known as Ubiquitous Computing or Pervasive Computing, aims to integrate computing technology seamlessly into the physical world and everyday life. This pervasiveness has the potential to amplify pervasive computing’s ethical implications. Human values such as social well-being, privacy, trust, accountability and responsibility lie at the heart of these ethical implications. With a technology already so deeply intertwined with so many aspects of everyday life, it is increasingly important to consider the human values at stake.