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The rapid accelerated development of next-generation emerging technologies outpaces the abilities of business and society to absorb them in a meaningful and, most importantly, ethical manner. This course is a review of the most recently-implemented technologies and those technologies on the horizon of implementation and the ethical issues they pose for modern business and society. The topic of technology and ethics will be investigated from a broad spectrum of perspectives, primarily: philosophical, commercial, social, legal, scholarly, and scientific. Ethical frameworks and value systems will be applied to the development, implementation, adoption, and use of modern emerging technologies with the purpose of equipping students with the intellectual tools that are necessary to exercise sound ethical judgment in 21st-century business and society.
The objectives of the course are: 1. Integrate advanced ethical frameworks and socio-economic considerations to generate original insights into the implications of modern and emerging technologies on 21st-century organisations and societies. 2. Justify the need for sound, research-informed ethical reasoning in the application of advanced emerging technologies in modern organisations, financial institutions, government systems, and wider societal contexts; and critically analyse the ethical frameworks guiding their responsible use. 3. Evaluate advanced ethical concepts and theories, particularly in relation to their application in the development, implementation, adoption, and use of emerging technologies in business and society. 4. Propose evidence-based ethical solutions for complex situations in business and society related to the development, implementation, adoption, and use of modern emerging technologies, and make informed recommendations in dynamic environments with rapid change and emerging challenges.
60 points from level 6
Some prior knowledge of philosophy and ethics will be helpful, but not necessary
Students must attend one activity from each section.
Tue. 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm – Rutherford 460 Lectures for this course are recorded using the ECHO360 lecture recording system.
Stephen Wingreen
Elizabeth Stewart
To pass this course you must not only achieve a final grade of 50% or higher, but also achieve a weighted average grade of at least 45% across all invigilated assessments. Inductive Teaching and Learning Methods Inductive teaching and learning methods will be the primary pedagogical approach in this course. Inductive teaching and learning begins with specific problems and issues, and proceeds to generalize to higher-level concepts. In this course, this will be accomplished by the analysis of case studies, technological news reports, and current events that involve the use of modern advanced emerging technologies, with special interest in their ethical implications. Within the inductive teaching and learning paradigm, a case may be “about” a number of things, and it is the analyst’s responsibility to determine what those things are, and how the case is “about” them. For example, is a case about a company that uses cloud computing to support its operations “about” infrastructure, risk management, strategic alignment, encryption and cryptography, security and personnel issues, or all of those things (and other things too)?Inductive teaching and learning stands in contrast to the “traditional” deductive university pedagogy, since deductive methods begin with the higher-level concepts, and proceed by explaining the concepts, and finally applying them to specific problems or solutions. Since most people naturally learn things inductively, that is, by experience first, followed by contemplation about the meaning of the experience, most people find inductive learning to be more effective than deductive learning, once they become accustomed to the change in pedagogy. Inductive teaching and learning is also more flexible, since the analyst has broad discretion to interpret any given case, whereas deductive methods tend to force a case into a predetermined solution. In this course, although we will try to interpret cases according to the topic-of-the-week, interpretations are not restricted to any one topic. For example, a case that accompanies the “biotechnology” topic may also be interpreted as a “privacy” case, or any other topic, as long as the analyst is able to justify the interpretation. Opportunity: Contribute Cases to Textbook Project Students will have the opportunity to submit their research cases and case portfolios to a textbook project currently in progress, on the topic of “technology and ethics in business, culture, and society”. Class time will be devoted to consultation about how to prepare textbook cases, if you are interested. The case portfolio and research cases are required for all students, though whether to submit them to the textbook is optional. I’ll leave it to your discretion, and there is no pressure to submit your cases to the textbook, but for my part, I think it would look pretty good on your cv to have a little section for the textbook cases you’ve published. Please see below for details and instructions about how to write cases for this course, whether or not you intend to submit your cases to the textbook. On the use of artificial intelligence for coursework The use of artificial intelligence is not restricted in this course. By now, we’ve all tried to make AI write our papers for us, and we’ve seen the results. You may use it at your own risk. In any case, MBIS students should know better. If you’re good enough to get an AI to write your assignments for you [competently], then you deserve an “A”.Consultation Students with questions or problems are invited to see the course lecturer immediately preceding or following a class, or at other times by appointment. Email is the most efficient way of making an appointment. An email address and/or a day/evening telephone number should be left to enable return contact.
Recommended readings may be assigned from the following: Robson, G. J., & Tsou, J. Y. (2023). Technology ethics: A philosophical introduction and readings. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003189466 (UC library: https://libcat.canterbury.ac.nz/Record/in1468279) Shannon Vallor, Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics Cicero, On Duty Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Ethics
Domestic fee $1,214.00
International Postgraduate fees
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Department of Accounting and Information Systems on the departments and faculties page .