The decreasing marginal value of evaluation network size
ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society
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Ethical design is often seen as an enemy of system management or optimal design. There are multiple interacting components that undergird that perception. First, there is a concern that ethical design requires working with technologically naïve participants who may demand the infeasible. Secondly, there is the idea that privacy is the inherent enemy of security, due to conflicts inherent in logging and system oversight. Third, there is a perception that either security or usability must be the primary design goal, and that the other must be bolted on or worked around the primary goal. In a series of case studies, I illustrate that ethical design simplifies management and mitigates conflict between privacy and security. Ethical design clearly identifies and mitigates risk while minimizing data requirements, thus aligning security with privacy. First, I examine the question, "What is ethical design?"—that is to say, how does it relate to value-sensitive design, and what typifies it? I then detail a series of applied cases, which move from analysis of existing systems to construction of a working prototype. I examine a class of systems (DRM) under this design heuristic, concluding they are unethical and ultimately harm the consumer and the producers. I illustrate how ethical design succeeds (The Portal Monitor) and contrast that with the current state of the field (other elder care systems). I explore my attempt to design a network study according to ethical principles, highlighting my success and failure at doing so. I use the data from that study to quantify the principle of homophily, and discuss how ethical social trust systems can be successful. Finally, I conclude that in the proper domains, ethical systems can be more secure systems, in addition to more respectful of users' privacy, and that my design heuristic for ethical design is thus a valuable tool for system design and appraisal.