Ethics in Technology

Guide to the reviewed material

The reviewed opening asks learners to notice the experiences and assumptions that shape their judgments. Weber calls these personal lenses. Recognizing a lens does not settle a dispute; it can improve the questions people ask, the perspectives they seek, and the clarity of the terms they use in discussion.

Study instructions

1. Choose a specific technology decision and describe who makes it, who uses the technology, and who may experience its consequences.
2. Write an initial judgment, then identify the assumptions and experiences that influenced it. Separate factual claims from value judgments.
3. Seek a perspective you have not represented. Formulate a question for someone affected rather than assuming you can infer their experience.
4. Revise your analysis by stating the competing considerations and the evidence still needed. Date any contemporary case material and distinguish the book’s examples from developments checked independently.

Questions for reflection

• How can two people agree about a technical capability yet disagree about its use?
• What would meaningful engagement with another person’s perspective require beyond imagining their experience?

Sources and coverage

Reviewed the title page, contents, preface (PDF pages 3–5), and selected personal-lenses discussion in Chapter 2 (PDF pages 12–15). Later case-study chapters have not been individually summarized.

Official book source; official PDF.