Digital Design Ethics conference

Talks

Digital Design Ethics conference Amsterdam

• 

  Amber Case

  Amber Case believes technology should be designed not to intrude into your life but rather be available only when you need it. This might sound obvious but it is radically different from the way current technology constantly demands your attention.

• 

  Mike Monteiro

  This outspoken author and ambassador of ethics in design will give his unfiltered opinion in a keynote talk.

• 

  Cennydd Bowles

  Drawing on years of research for his new book Future Ethics, designer Cennydd Bowles will illuminate the moral challenges that lie ahead for technologists, and discuss how practitioners and companies can create more thoughtful, ethical products for future generations.

Workshops

Digital Design Ethics conference Amsterdam

• Calm Technology by Amber Case

  13:00 PM at the Waterfront

  The difference between an annoying technology and one that is helpful is how it engages our attention. Calm Technology is a framework for designing ubiquitous devices that engage our attention in an appropriate manner. The aim of Calm Technology is to provide principles that follow the human lifestyle and environment in mind, allowing technology to amplify humanness instead of taking it away.

  read more ..

  The terms calm computing and calm technology were coined in 1995 by PARC Researchers Mark Weiser and John Seely Brown in reaction to the increasing complexities that information technologies were creating. Calm technology describes a state of technological maturity where a user’s primary task is not computing, but being human. The idea behind Calm Technology is to have smarter people, not things. Technology shouldn’t require all of our attention, just some of it, and only when necessary.

  This workshop will cover how to use principles of Calm Technology to design the next generation of connected devices. We’ll look at notification styles, compressing information into other senses, and designing for the least amount of cognitive overhead.

• Dilemma-Driven Design by Deger Ozkaramanli

  13:00 PM at the Room at the Top

  Dilemma-driven design is a design approach that uses dilemmas as a starting point for human centered design processes. People often want multiple things at the same time. Because of this we face many dilemmas in everyday life. For example, we may want to embrace new technologies in everyday life, yet feel threatened when such technologies interfere with our safety or personal autonomy. How can designers tackle such dilemmas? The richness of the dilemma phenomenon and the wide variety of dilemmas people experience offer an unexplored yet promising space for human centered design.

  Bringing together design thinking and moral psychology, this workshop will help you to recognize the potential of dilemmas as an inspiring phenomenon that can be addressed through the design of products, services, and systems. The workshop will involve mini lectures and hands-on exercises followed by reflection and discussion. By the end of the workshop, you will become familiar with practical tools and techniques that can help you to recognize and address dilemmas you encounter in your professional (and possibly also personal!) life.

• Exclusive Design by Vasilis van Gemert, Irene Kamp & Larissa Klaassen

  13:00 PM at the Studio

  Inclusion and diversity in the digital design profession are hot topics today. It probably starts with inclusive and diverse digital design education. But should we include everyone, are there limits, is it desirable and viable? And what does it mean and imply? Should digital design education (and in a broader sense digital products) only be usable for everyone or should it motivate, inspire and offer a pleasurable experience as well?

  During this workshop we look into these issues and come up with concrete solutions.

• The Virtuous Designer by Charlie Mulholland & Micky van Zeijl

  13:00 PM at the Hotel Clink Noord

  “In its broadest sense, the Greek concept of virtue refers to any stable trait that allows its possessor to excel in fulfilling its distinctive function: for example, a primary virtue of a knife would be the sharpness that enables it to cut well.”
  Shannon Vallor (2016)

  In this workshop we ask the question: What is a virtuous designer? What characteristics, traits and attitudes does a designer need to flourish in practice? We do not claim to have answers, but are interested in discovering possibilities.

  If you are interested too and want to help, then join us for this highly interactive workshop.

• Privacy by Design by Anne Marleen Olthof & Job Boomgaard

  13:00 PM at the Cinema 1

  In this workshop we will work hands-on & playful, in small groups, and try to design a basic privacy-friendly system for a specific use case, according to 8 Privacy Design Strategies (Hoepman, 2018).

  The explosion of big data and digital information has transpired with little attention to ethical considerations of consent, privacy, and confidentiality. In our 00’s strive for sharing & connecting, we seem to have lost the potential quality of the private sphere, resulting in an ambiguous unlimited spreading of personal identifiable information (PII) to both governmental and commercial parties. At this moment we have no notion of the unintended consequences, algorithmic bias, nor do we know much about the troubling power of persuasive technology. Although GDPR has resulted in awareness and strategic implementation of privacy-sensitive information, we still need to look for methods & tools to implement privacy into our daily designer-development workflows, so that we can guide ourselves towards the creation of privacy-friendly systems that maintain the basic values of democracy.

• Who gets to choose? by Madelon Oude Vrielink, Stephanie Buijs & Jasper Bunschoten

  13:00 PM at the IJ lounge

  Ethical discussions often focus on high level themes rather than on design decisions about the details. Yet, these smaller design decisions add up to a product that can have a large impact on people and our society. What are the consequences of all the small (sub)conscious decisions we take as designers?

  During this workshop we will work hands-on within small groups. We will analyse, discuss and improve existing designs to learn more about our own ethical values. We strive for creating tools that help us all design in a more ethical way.

  Are you ready to find out where you draw the ethical line?

Programme

Digital Design Ethics conference Amsterdam

The programme runs from 9:00 to 18:00. The schedule includes lunch, 3 keynote talks and workshops.

Venue

Digital Design Ethics conference Amsterdam

We are hosting the Digital Design Ethics Conference in the iconic landmark called Eye. This amazing building situated in the harbour district and looking out over the IJ river hosts the national museum for film. Marvel in its unique architectural features while Amsterdam's skyline provides a stunning backdrop.

Find out how to get there

Have a look at the different rooms we'll be using