Ethics explained
Ethics has always mattered. AI makes it more urgent, and a designer's must-have.
How to use it
A bearing, not a checklist
A north star
Each principle represents the best outcome to aim for. The goal is to use it to drive direction, rather than to produce universal answers.
A test of priority & value
It covers all possible areas of ethics, but not all of them apply at any one time or to any one problem. The Bearing forces you to consider which values matter more — some conflict with each other, even on the same problem.
The Framework
Ethically this means
Asking questions around the quality of impact (i.e. is it good or bad), how it affects people, and at what scale.
What this doesn’t consider
Focusing on impact and scale can mean we miss considering the how we get there and who misses out. But we can balance this out by also considering Positive Value.
Design examples: value, use, purpose
Quick questions to ask
How would you qualify the impact, and to who? What is the balance between means and ends?
Ethically this means
Asking questions around the rights and agency of the individual, justice and moral action. Good isn’t in the consequences; there’s an obvious good and obvious bad.
What this doesn’t consider
The idea of ‘good’ and ‘right’ is hard to apply universally to different contexts even when it’s the goal. Instead, we can balance the best of Positive, with the best of Impact, by adding a For All lens.
Design examples: compliance, governance, safety, trust, rights & fairness
Quick questions to ask
Are we creating positive value or harm? Does it protect the needs, rights and agency of the individuals?
Ethically this means
Prioritising value of equity, care and obligation to community, where our duty is in service to others.
What this doesn’t consider
Majority rules is focused on difference rather than similarity; over-indexing obligation to others over the self can create moral imbalance, but this can be balanced by acting in good conduct.
Design examples: accessibility, dignity, safety, equity
Quick questions to ask
Is the solution equitable? Who benefits, and who doesn’t? What is my duty or obligation to others?
Ethically this means
‘Good’ is measured and dependent on the individual’s actions and behaviours, like courage, justice, wisdom, temperance, integrity and authenticity.
What this doesn’t consider
While dependency on an individual can increase personal responsibility and difference in result, external notions of good and right (see previous three principles) must work with our internal moral sense as well.
Design examples: standards, education, leadership, conflict mitigation
Quick questions to ask
What is my role as an ethical agent? How can my actions and behaviour address ethical considerations?
Example in practice
The Bearing on a live client project
Problem: Limited design impact due to scope and budget, with high team and standards misalignment.
Solution: Use the In Good Conduct and For All principles to reduce harm risk — naming team misalignment as a conduct problem and accessibility as a For All risk, rather than treating either as a preference.
Impact: A more accessible solution was built, vendor standards changed, and the client raised interest in additional work.
Which principles applied
In Good Conduct: Team misalignment
For All: Accessibility risk
- $500k Saved annually
- <300% User effort reduction
- 85% Net positive rating
Practitioners
What you can do from today
-
Determine your effort
Make a commitment to building this skill as part of your work, even if it starts as just thinking.
-
Know where this fits
Understand where the opportunities are to make a deciding difference.
-
Work closely with dev and data
Enforcement of ethics has to occur in code — even more so with AI.