Mozilla Responsible CS Grant

Together with Georgetown’s Department of Computer Science, Ethics Lab is training the next generation of leaders to navigate complex issues at the intersection of technology, ethics, and governance.

Georgetown’s Department of Computer Science and Kennedy Institute of Ethics’ (KIE) Ethics Lab are infusing ethics into its computer science curriculum, creating what experts say could become a national model.

The project, funded by the Mozilla Responsible CS Challenge grant, is part of the University’s Initiative on Tech & Society, which is training the next generation to understand technology’s complex impact on society and develop innovative solutions at the intersection of ethics, policy and governance.

The project pairs computer science faculty with the philosophers and designers of Ethics Lab to design and run integrated engagements within three computer science courses: Introduction to Algorithms, Advanced Programming, and Introduction to Artificial Intelligence.

Highlights

Featured

Jan 31, 2022

Responsible CS exercise "Inclusive HCI" now available!

Jan 31, 2022

Developed as part of the Mozilla Responsible CS Challenge, this exercise aims to dispel the myth of the universal user and increase students’ awareness of accessibility challenges (and opportunities!) in human-computer interactions.

Jan 31, 2022

May 13, 2021

Ethics Lab advocates for an interdisciplinary approach to responsible computing curricula in new Mozilla Playbook

May 13, 2021

32 authors and contributors participating in Mozilla’s Responsible Computer Science Challenge share learnings, best practices, and resources for integrating ethics into computing education.

May 13, 2021

Mar 24, 2021

Ethics Lab & Dept. of Computer Science receive Mozilla grant to expand their work nationally

Mar 24, 2021

With renewed support from Mozilla in the second stage of the grant, the Georgetown team is partnering with faculty at other universities to further develop Ethics Lab’s approach to integrating ethics in Computer Science education.

Mar 24, 2021

Dec 20, 2020

Complicating Consent: Computer Science Students Examine Predicaments of Privacy & Public Health

Dec 20, 2020

If you were required to download a contact-tracing app in order to return to school or work, would you? What questions would you have?

Dec 20, 2020

Nov 19, 2020

New CS Activity Focuses on Accessibility in HCI

Nov 19, 2020

As one student reflected, “I’ve used Wikipedia for at least 10 years, and today was the first time I considered how a user with visual impairment would navigate the website.”

Nov 19, 2020

Oct 23, 2020

Ethics in the Details: Networked Systems

Oct 23, 2020

In the second ResponsibleCS session of the semester, students considered the ethical factors arising from their design choices as they learned about sequence diagrams.

Oct 23, 2020

Oct 9, 2020

Uncovering Ethical Concerns in Programming

Oct 9, 2020

For the first ResponsibleCS session of the semester, Ethics Lab worked with Professor Ray Essick to design an exercise examining how ethical dilemmas might materialize at any stage of software development.

Oct 9, 2020

Sep 4, 2020

Strengthening Connections Between Ethics & Computer Science at Georgetown

Sep 4, 2020

With two semesters of Mozilla-sponsored ResponsibleCS ethics engagements under their belts and the first stage of the grant substantially complete, Ethics Lab and the Computer Science Department are continuing to refine and test their approach to infusing ethics into Georgetown’s computer science curriculum.

Sep 4, 2020

Apr 27, 2020

CS Students Explore the Ethics of Contact Tracing Apps

Apr 27, 2020

During the final sessions in Professor Essick’s Advanced Programing course, the Responsible CS Team challenged students to reflect on the ethical considerations at stake in the design and implementation of a contract tracing application that might be part of a broader public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apr 27, 2020

Mar 30, 2020

Ethical Critique of Human-Computer Interfaces

Mar 30, 2020

Students consider ethical concerns of how human-computer interfaces.

Mar 30, 2020

Feb 10, 2020

Exploring Values in Computer Science

Feb 10, 2020

In this session students explored how values may be implicated in computer science due to the agency and responsibility of designers, expectations about how software and algorithms will be used, and what affects software and algorithms are likely to have on people.

Feb 10, 2020

Jan 28, 2020

Learning About Average Case Complexity

Jan 28, 2020

On January 28, Professor Cal Newport's Introduction to Algorithms class was learning about average case complexity and randomized analysis.

Jan 28, 2020

Jan 14, 2020

What Makes a Good Algorithm?

Jan 14, 2020

In our first session with Professor Cal Newport’s course, Introduction to Algorithms, Georgetown’s Responsible CS Team explored the question: what makes a good algorithm?

Jan 14, 2020