Teaching ethical reflexivity in information systems

Abstract

Teaching ethics to students of information systems (IS) raises a number of conceptual and content-related issues. The present paper starts out by developing a conceptual framework of moral and ethical issues that distinguishes between moral intuition, explicit morality, ethical theory and meta-ethical reflection. This conceptual framework demonstrates the complexity of the field and can be used to categorise different concerns and discourses. The paper then proceeds to discuss ethical issues that can be expected to arise from novel developments in information and communication technologies. These give rise to a set of recommendations, which are aimed at policy makers as well as ICT industry and professionals. The paper concludes by suggesting that the task of IS education is to develop ethical reflexivity in students. Such reflexivity will be required to provide the conceptual complexity and intellectual openness that will be needed to react appropriately to novel challenges.