In-Action Ethics

Abstract

The emergence of 'third paradigm' Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) was driven by the short- comings of existing approaches to adequately describe and understand the ways people interact with a new breed of pervasive digital technologies in everyday life. In response, new approaches became situated, value-driven and participatory with a shift towards studying HCI in the wild. With technology reaching into every aspect of our lives, the ethical and moral responsibilities of designers and researchers have increased. However, while HCI's design and research methodology have become fluid and responsive to reflect the paradigm shift, ethics is still widely interpreted as a static, anticipatory and formalised process. In this article, we address this gap and propose In- Action Ethics as a novel framework that links anticipatory ethics with the practice of HCI research. We start by laying out the foundations for In-Action Ethics by reviewing relevant work in ethics and moral philosophy, and discuss the current state of ethical perspectives in HCI, Action Research and Responsible Science and Innovation. We provide two examples from our own work to show how situated, explorative and design-oriented HCI projects raise issues of ethical import- ance that formal ethics is struggling to manage. On the basis of our experiences and those of others, we start developing key qualities for an In-Action Ethics framework and show how those qualities can be operationalised in relation to the realities of existing structures by introducing the concept of ethos building and care.