Ethics Lab Student Fellows contribute to development of new major and minor in Tech, Ethics, & Society
In mid-November, the Student Fellows gathered in Ethics Lab for their second “Bad Idea Lounge”—a creative and playful environment for generating and testing new ideas related to the work of Ethics Lab and its Fellows.
This session, planned and led by Ethics Lab Director Maggie Little, Assistant Director Jonathan Healey, Assistant Research Professor Julie Sayo, and Postdoctoral Fellow Joel de Lara, once again produced stimulating discussion and fruitful ideas. In preparation for the Tech, Ethics, and Society major and minor that is launching in Fall 2022, the Lab team crafted a session for student input on this exciting opportunity for Georgetown.
Introducing the major and minor as the “Lounge Chair Guest,” Little first spoke about the program’s goals of seamlessly bridging the gap between disciplines like the humanities and computer science. She hoped that she could elicit some good and bad ideas from the cohort about what they want and need from this pioneering program.
Next, the Student Fellows completed a creative exercise led by Healey: What would they include in a backpack to embark on the “journey” of Tech, Ethics, and Society? What would they upload to their brains, Matrix-style? What seeds would they plant? Responses varied, but Little notes that the running theme was one of excitement in anticipation for the journey.
As the students continued to discuss their thoughts, feelings, and concerns, their diversity of expertise and experience shone through. While some commented on the new program’s necessity to embrace the fluidity and flexibility between the humanities and technical disciplines, others emphasized the importance of teaching students to produce critical work about tech and ethics in their future careers.
“I was swept away by the brilliance of the students. I learned so many things that have fundamentally changed the way I am thinking about the program’s Introduction to Tech, Ethics, & Society class.”
Little raves about her experience leading the Student Fellows in this conversation: “It was honestly an extraordinary two hours—it was mind-blowing! I came in with high expectations and was swept away by the brilliance of the students. I learned so many things that have fundamentally changed the way I am thinking about the program’s Introduction to Tech, Ethics, & Society class.”
A whiteboard prompt next to an illustration of a server connecting to someone’s mind asks, “What might you upload, #MatrixStyle?” Student responses written on the board in pink, orange, and black include ideas like “basic knowledge of ethics” and “skills and outcomes one will leave with,” as well as questions — “how much tech vs ethics? can I customize it?”