Document Type

Contribution to Book

Disciplines

Information Literacy | Library and Information Science

Abstract

When the social critic Paul Goodman wrote that "technology is a branch of moral philosophy, not of science,” he meant that shaping the world through technology involved moral choices, concerned with how we ought to live. Our library UX work is no different. Our user research methods are moral choices that affect our users; The data we collect not only helps us, it is likely being stockpiled by vendors and advertisers to better understand our users. Our design decisions have ethical implications, too; By working to change our users' behavior, we prioritize our own version of what is 'right.' But by examining our work through an ethical lens, we can create even better experiences for our users, even if they don’t see the direct impact of our decisions.

Comments

Original Citation:

Reidsma, M., Evans, M., Borg, M., Potter, N., Fowler, V., Friberg, A., … Gallimore, V. (2017). Keynote1: Ethical UX. In A. Priestner (Ed.), User Experience in Libraries Yearbook 2017: stories, techniques, insights (pp. 9–22). Cambridge: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Share

COinS