Ethical Readiness Check

Features:

Duration: Hours

Difficulty: Straightforward

People: Individually

Intro:

The ethical readiness check is an accessible method to stimulate reflection on the ethical impact of an innovation. By answering the two main- and several sub-questions, you are triggered to think about the goal and means of your innovation. Emerging ethical concerns can be evaluated and taken into account during the innovation process. Therefore, you get an idea of the ethical readiness of your innovation.

Steps:

Often, technology is seen as means to solve a (greater) problem. However, questioning the means can help to critically reflect on the actual purpose of the innovation and to unravel ethical concerns. In some cases, the intended purpose may have side effects or is linked to conflicting values.
1. Answer the questions of the ethical readiness check critically and honestly.
2. It helps if you discuss the questions with someone, e.g., a project partner, one of the relevant stakeholders, or an ethicist.
After answering the questions, did you get a different perspective on the means and purpose of the innovation? Have ethical concerns emerged? Critically assess your answers and their impact on your innovation. How can you implement these insights in the innovation process?

Tip! To better understand the impact of the ethical concerns emerging from the check you can apply additional tools to further assess your innovation.

Example:

You can find examples of the ethical readiness check here.

Links