Introduction to the Ethics of Emerging Technologies

Introduction to Ethics of Emerging Technologies offers a set of lecture and seminar course materials for teaching ethics of emerging technologies. It covers the field in a comprehensive and accessible manner, emphasizing storytelling and examples, practical approaches and tools, and interactive assignments. The book addresses historical and current discourses, both academic and practical, related to the ethics of emerging technologies. This includes a basic introduction to normative ethics and applied ethics of technology, an accessible entry point to theories of technology and normativity, particular technological themes (engineering ethics, ethics of AI, and ethics of biotechnologies), as well as societal contexts in which emerging technologies play a pivotal role (citizenship, sustainability, and global inequality).

This book is a must-read for science and engineering students who want to engage with the ethical impacts of their future work and research; for philosophy students who want to know more about emerging technologies; for researchers and educators interested in developing technology ethics curricula; and for general readers interested in the topic.

Mark Coeckelbergh is full Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the University of Vienna, ERA Chair at Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and former President of the Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT). He is also member of various entities that support policy development concerning AI Ethics. He is the author of numerous books including AI Ethics and Why AI Undermines Democracy.

Mark Thomas Young is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo. His research covers two fields; the Philosophy of Technology, where he focuses on practices of maintenance and the use of automating technologies and the History and Philosophy of Science, where he explores instruments, craft practices and tacit knowledge in the early modern period.

Wessel Reijers is a postdoctoral researcher at Paderborn University and holds visiting positions at the Technion and the European University Institute. His research focuses on the philosophy and ethics of technology, notably on the development of a critical hermeneutical approach to technology and the investigation of the role of emerging technologies in the shaping of citizenship.