COURSE SYLLABUS

On completion of the course the student shall:

• show familiarity with the content of ethical discourse about digital technologies
• display a broad knowledge of relevant legal frameworks
• demonstrate comprehension of decision-making in the context of ethics and privacy

• demonstrate skills in explaining methods for the development of digital technologies that are respectful of individuals and society
• demonstrate the ability to identify manipulative practices embedded in digital technologies
• demonstrate the ability to plan how to apply privacy by design in a professional setting

• demonstrate the ability to criticize and motivate privacy-protective strategies
• demonstrate an ability to evaluate digital technologies considering the critique-based approaches to values and ethics

This course aims to provide an overview of topics related to ethics and privacy in the context of digital technologies. The course focuses on societal aspects of digital technologies, including, but not limited to, topics such as human values, vulnerabilities, or intersectionality. To gain an in-depth comprehension of these topics, the course outlines the psychological underpinnings of decision-making in digital space. The course encourages students to reflect critically on ethical and privacy tradeoffs when designing, developing, and using digital technologies. Moreover, participation in seminars and debates prepares students for polemical discussions around ethics they might encounter in professional settings.

The course considers legal frameworks as one way to tackle ethical and privacy issues that digital technologies incite. Select best practices enabling privacy by design are discussed, which students can apply in professional settings as technology designers, developers, consultants, or privacy and security experts. Additionally, the course presents an overview of critique-based approaches to values and ethics that could be utilized to identify potential ethical, privacy, and security risks.

The course includes the following elements:

• Ethics and values: theoretical approaches
• Relevant legal frameworks (including but not limited to GDPR, NIS, European Commission Digital Strategy, and intellectual propriety rights)
• Privacy: definitions, theories, and frameworks (e.g., privacy by design, privacy impact assessment)
• Human factors and decision-making in the digital context
• Ethical and privacy risks in the context of the technology design and development processes (e.g., testing, experimentation)
• Ethical and privacy concerns within digital products (e.g., personalization, manipulation, dark patterns, fingerprinting)

Lectures, seminars, and student debates.

Language of instruction is English.

Articles will be handed out during the course.