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Ethics Workshop: The Impact of Digital Life on Society
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 15:40:50
Abstract
This workshop focuses on understanding and managing the ethical and social issues arising from the integration of new technologies in various aspects of daily life.
Objective
Explain relevant concepts in ethics. Evaluate the ethical dimensions of new technology uses. Identify impacted stakeholders and who is ethically responsible. Engage constructively in the public discourse relating to new technology impacts. Review tools and resources currently available that facilitate resolutions and ethical practice Work in a more ethically reflective way
Content
The workshop offers students an experience that trains their ability for critical analysis and develops awareness of responsibilities as a researcher, consumer and citizen. Learning will occur in the context of three intensive workshop days, which are highly interactive and focus on the development and application of reasoning skills. The workshop will begin with some fundamentals: the nature of ethics, of consent and big data, of AI ethics, public trust and health ethics. Students will then be introduced to key ethical concepts such as fairness, autonomy, trust, accountability, justice, as well different ways of reasoning about the ethics of digital technologies. A range of practical problems and issues in the domains of education, news media, society, social media, digital health and justice will be then considered. These six domains are represented respectively by unique and interesting case studies. Each case study has been selected not only for its timely and engaging nature, but also for its relevance. Through the analysis of these case studies key ethical questions (such as fairness, accountability, explain-ability, access etc.) will be highlighted and questions of responsibility and tools for ethical practice will be explored. Throughout, the emphasis will be on learning to make sound arguments about the ethical aspects of policy, practice and research.
General Information
- Language
- English
- Levels
- DS , DR
- Frequency
- Semesterly recurring
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Registration & Places
- Max Places
- 30
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| seminar |
Ethics Workshop: The Impact of Digital Life on Society
Block course: on the 11,12 & 25 March from 9 am- 5 pm.
|
|
24 h semesterly |
Offered In
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GESS Science in Perspective (Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "GESS Science in Perspective" courses. Further below you will find courses under the category "Type B courses Reflections about subject specific methods and content" as well as the language courses. During the Bachelor’s degree Students should acquire at least 6 ECTS and during the Master’s degree 2 ECTS. Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (Suitable for all students. Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the course again.)
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Type B: Reflection About Subject-Specific Methods and Contents (Subject-specific courses: Recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. Students who already took a course within their main study program are NOT allowed to take the same course again. All these courses are listed under the category “Typ A”, this means, every student can enroll in these courses.)
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Doctoral Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences (More Information at: )