Ethical Considerations: A Key to Technological Advancement - IEEE TechEthics Virtual Panel

About the Video: From research to deployment to reclamation, the technology development process is a complex landscape. This panel considers why ethics conversations are a critical component of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. 

About the Speakers: 

Dominik Boesl serves as Chair of the IEEE TechEthics Ad Hoc Committee. He has been responsible for Innovation and Technology Management at KUKA since he first joined KUKA Laboratories as Head of Corporate Strategy and Member of the Board in 2011. In 2012, he became Corporate Innovation Manager at KUKA AG, directly reporting to the Management Board. Since January 2017 he acts as Vice President Consumer Driven Robotics and Senior Corporate Innovation Manager. His responsibility for innovation and evangelism efforts spans the entire KUKA group. In addition to his career, Dominik has constantly been lecturing at different universities and is an author of technical and scientific publications. At Munich Technical University School of Education, he is researching “Technology & Robotic Governance“: the ethical, moral, socio-cultural, -political and -economic implications of technologies such as robotics, automation and artificial intelligence on humankind.

Louise De Tremerie is a Focal Point for the Science-Policy Interface Platform (urban sustainability) of the UN Major Group for Children & Youth (UN MGCY). She is currently pursuing a PhD degree at the University of Leeds (UK, Institute of Transport Studies & Choice Modelling Centre). She obtained an MSc degree in Economics from the University of Ghent (Belgium) in 2013 and achieved a complementary MSc degree in Sustainability studies at the University of Leeds (UK) in 2014. Her research focusses on decision-making in freight transport in the context of a modal shift towards more sustainable modes. Key interests are choice modelling, freight transport and mixed methods. In addition, she participated in the urban sustainability track at the first “UNLEASH” edition in Denmark, which is an innovation lab bringing together 1000 young individuals to co-create solutions to reach the SDG agenda. 

Ryan Jenkins is an assistant professor of philosophy and a senior fellow at the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. He studies the ethics of emerging technologies, especially automation, cyber war, autonomous weapons, and driverless cars. His work has appeared in journals such as Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, and the Journal of Military Ethics, as well as public fora including the Washington Post, Slate and Forbes. Ryan is a member of the IEEE TechEthics Ad Hoc Committee. 

Mark A. Vasquez (moderator) is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with over 25 years of experience in association management at IEEE. He currently serves as the program manager for IEEE TechEthics (techethics.ieee.org), a program that drives conversations about the ethical and societal impacts of technology. In this capacity, he works to develop relationships with others in the technology ethics community, produces events, convenes thought leaders, and more. Mark is an engineering graduate of The Cooper Union.

Recorded on 11 December 2018 as part of the IEEE TechEthics Conversations Series. This session was made possible in part by a grant from the IEEE Foundation.