Design Ethically: From Imperative to Action

This was a keynote delivered at UX London on June 28, 2022.

Read more here: https://2022.uxlondon.com/speakers/kat-zhou/

Transcript

1. KAT ZHOU (she/her) @KatherineMZhou <DESIGN ETHICALLY>
2. CREATOR of <Design Ethically> MOM to a rescue doggo
3. www.designethically.com
4. WHY ETHICS?
5. POWER
6. The ability or official authority to decide what is best for others. The ability to decide who will have access to resources. The capacity to exercise control over others. Leaven 2003 Doing Our Own Work Visions, Inc. and the MSU Extension Multicultural Awareness Workshop
7. Leaven 2003 Doing Our Own Work Visions, Inc. and the MSU Extension Multicultural Awareness Workshop AGENTS DISCRIMINATE, 
 MARGINALIZE, EXPLOIT, DISENFRANCHISE TARGETS
8. Leaven 2003 Doing Our Own Work Visions, Inc. and the MSU Extension Multicultural Awareness Workshop AGENTS OPPRESS TARGETS
9. 2020 USC Suzanne Dworkek-Peck Diversity Toolkit IDENTITIES religion/ spirituality sexual orientation race/ ethnicity ability/ disability age gender neurodiversity class education
10. 2020 USC Suzanne Dworkek-Peck Diversity Toolkit OPPRESSION INDIVIDUAL INTERPERSONAL INSTITUTIONAL SOCIETAL/CULTURAL
11. WHY ETHICS?
12. YOU
13. WHO YOU THINK YOU INFLUENCE
15. YOUR PRIVILEGE x TECH DIFFUSION = AMPLIFIED POWER
16. DESIGNERS SHOULD DEFINE & DESIGN ETHICAL EXPERIENCES AND ENSURE THEY POSE NO SIGNIFICANT HARM.
17. DESIGNERS SHOULD DEFINE & DESIGN ETHICAL EXPERIENCES AND ENSURE THEY POSE NO SIGNIFICANT HARM. *anti-racist, sustainable, equitable, compassionate *not just for the elite, but also for the most vulnerable
18. HOW DID WE GET HERE?
19. ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer), completed in 1945 for the US Army
20. WHAT DRIVES THE TECH INDUSTRY? WHAT DRIVES THE DESIGN ORG? WHAT DRIVES THE COMPANY? WHAT DRIVES THE RACIAL CAPITALIST SYSTEM? WHAT DRIVES THE PRODUCT TEAM? WHAT DRIVES THE LOCALE?
23. IN ORDER TO SURVIVE IN THE TECH INDUSTRY, COMPANIES MUST RUTHLESSLY DESIGN FOR GROWTH.
24. OPPRESSIVE 
 DESIGN
25. PRODUCT CYCLE Quarterly objectives and key results (OKRs) are chosen Designers + engineers tweak product to achieve OKRs
26. Oftentimes, employee performance is tied to how they were able to impact OKR achievement Employees have an incentive (direct or indirect) to fulfill their OKRs EMPLOYEE PERSPECTIVE
28. DECEPTIVE DESIGN PATTERN: 
 A USER INTERFACE THAT HAS BEEN CRAFTED TO TRICK USERS INTO PERFORMING ACTIONS THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE INTENDED TO PERFORM
29. https://twitter.com/SimonGabriel/status/1409483750296145921/photo/1
30. https://twitter.com/martylafl/status/1366361890201489408/photo/1
32. https://twitter.com/darkpatterns/status/1363426620653117440
33. DECEPTIVE DESIGN 
 END GOALS Get users to share more data Get users to spend more money Get users to engage more time
34. Deceptive design can pose as a threat to our autonomy WHY DECEPTIVE DESIGN IS UNJUST At best, they are a nuisance to most…at worst, they can hurt the most marginalised in our communities
35. ETHICS FOR DESIGNERS
36. ETHICS ISN’T ALWAYS…. Law Religion Social norms
37. WHAT’S GOOD? WHAT’S BAD? WHAT’S BOTH?
38. VIRTUE ETHICS vertu (“moral excellence” in French) Habitually-established way of living life according to excellent character traits tracing back to Confucius and Aristotle Habitually-established
39. SAFETY TRANSPARENCY AUTONOMY
40. TRANSPARENCY SAFETY AUTONOMY
41. TRANSPARENCY SAFETY AUTONOMY
42. RELATIONAL AUTONOMY relatio (“recount” in Latin) + al (“like” in Latin) + autos (“self” in Greek) + nemein (“just deal out” in Greek) Socially-embedded framework for autonomy was pioneered by Catriona Mackenzie and Marina Oshana, among others Socially-embedded
43. “BEING OPPRESSED MEANS THE ABSENCE OF CHOICES.” BELL HOOKS author, activist, feminist
44. REDESIGNING THE DESIGN PROCESS
45. DEONTOLOGY déon (“duty” in Greek) + logos (“knowledge” in Greek) Intents-based ethical framework that is most commonly associated with Immanuel Kant’s philosophies Intents-based
46. CONSEQUENTIALISM consequentia (“effect” in Latin) + ism (“system” in Latin) Results-based ethical framework that is often associated with Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill Results-based
47. INTENTS RESULTS Is this problem a worthy problem to solve? What consequences does our solution have?
48. INTENTS RESULTS EMPATHIZE DEFINE IDEATE PROTOTYPE TEST EVALUATE FORECAST MONITOR ship! ^
49. INTENTS RESULTS EMPATHIZE DEFINE IDEATE PROTOTYPE TEST EVALUATE FORECAST MONITOR ship! ^ Is the problem statement we defined even ethically worthy of being addressed?
50. RESULTS Can any ethical violations occur if we implement this idea? What are they? EMPATHIZE DEFINE IDEATE PROTOTYPE TEST EVALUATE FORECAST MONITOR ship! ^ INTENTS
51. RESULTS Are there any new ethical issues occurring? How can we design around them? EMPATHIZE DEFINE IDEATE PROTOTYPE TEST EVALUATE FORECAST MONITOR ship! ^ INTENTS
52. RESULTS EMPATHIZE DEFINE IDEATE PROTOTYPE TEST EVALUATE FORECAST MONITOR INTENTS CAN WE MAKE A HABIT OUT OF THIS?
53. RESULTS EMPATHIZE DEFINE IDEATE PROTOTYPE TEST EVALUATE FORECAST MONITOR INTENTS CAN WE ENSURE WE STAY SOCIALLY- EMBEDDED IN OUR PRACTICE?
55. FORECASTED CONSEQUENCES OFTEN ARE DESIGN PROBLEMS.
56. LOOKING AHEAD
58. WE HAVE UNPRECEDENTED POWER TODAY…
59. HOW DO WE SCALE AND MATURE THE DESIGN ETHICS MOVEMENT?
60. TECH SOLUTIONISM IS NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER.
61. …AS AN INDUSTRY Overhaul our metrics we use to gauge our performance Create a new pipeline for a diverse and inclusive workforce Equip designers with more than just design skills
62. …AS A COMPANY Encourage a culture of transparency & openness Grant amnesty to workers Stop ethics-washing
63. Be okay with saying ‘no’ Learn and unlearn Define your values …AS AN INDIVIDUAL
64. “IN ORDER TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD, WE MUST TRANSFORM OURSELVES.” GRACE LEE BOGGS philosopher, activist, author
65. IT’S HARD. REALLY, REALLY, REALLLLLY HARD.
66. NOBODY IS NEUTRAL AND DOING NOTHING IS NOT NEUTRAL.
67. THANK YOU