A Design Ethicist

Howdy from Durham,

I hope you enjoyed last week’s essay on shutting down the startup.

I’ll have more info. on my immediate next steps in the coming weeks.

For now, I’m diving into what I think my career might look like in the long term.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”

If you had asked me when I was in 1st grade, I would’ve said “paleontologist.” 6 year old me wanted to dig up dinosaur bones.

If you had asked me when I was in middle school, I would’ve answered “sports broadcaster.” 12 year old me loved being on the call for basketball games.

If you had asked me when I was in high school, I don’t think I would’ve had a clue. I just had a hunch that I’d start a business one day.

In college, I flirted with a few different occupations. Financial planner. Accountant. Lawyer. Economist.

Eventually, I joined a major consulting firm’s tech practice. Not sure I’ve ever met a child that said they want to be a management consultant when they grow up (and if they do, we need to enhance their imagination).

Consulting wasn’t for me, but I am grateful to have learned about product management and product design through my experience.

This corporate experience, paired with my personal writing and startup experience, has led to what I want to be - a design ethicist.

What’s a design ethicist?

It’s someone who ensures that technology serves the user (and not the other way around).

I touched on this concept briefly in AI Philosopher King, but I want to define it with greater clarity here.

To me, a design ethicist answers 2 equally important questions:

1. Psychology - what does the data about tech’s effects on humans?

2. Philosophy - how can we make wise choices?

A psychological design ethicist: scientist who researches how technology affects people.

• Example of a psychological design ethicist: Andrew Huberman (Stanford Neurobiologist who dabbles in psychology). He performs original research on the variables that affect our neurochemicals - no philosophy, only data.

A philosophical design ethicist: philosopher who poses difficult questions around emerging technologies.

• Example of a philosophical design ethicist: Tim Keller (theologian). He used scripture to invite audiences to think differently about life in the modern age - some data, mostly theology.

Now, the concept of a design ethicist is quite new, so I don’t think Huberman or Keller have described themselves as design ethicists. I’m simply arguing that they are because their work helps people ensure that they aren’t be used by tech.

Plus, the truth is that a design ethicist is neither purely psychological nor purely philosophical.

Folks like Tristan Harris, Nita Farahany, David Brooks, and Jonathan Haidt - all people I’d consider design ethicists - use both ancient philosophy and modern psychology to convey their points.

My gut says that I will do the same (but likely lean towards the philosophy/theology side).

Alright, but what do I specifically want to do?

I want to make things with words that advance our well-being in a digital age.

Specific skills: Writing, speaking, and podcasting come to mind.

Specific subject matters: tech, philosophy, and theology.

The use of quality data is an incredible supplement to my work, but I’m not convinced that facilitating studies in a lab is my core competency.

Reading + writing about philosophy and theology with respect to tech, on the other hand? That’s a spiritual experience for me that I can’t get enough of.

It’s that simple and that profound all at the same time.

To better phrase my guiding question, I’ll lean on the words of my friend, Luke Burgis: “what does Athens [Western philosophy] have to do with Jerusalem [Western theology] have to do with Silicon Valley [tech]?”

One final note: if the failed startup taught me one thing, it’s that dollars alone do not keep me motivated.

I want to be ambitious, but I need to serve. To do so, I need to be a part of a larger mission in designing ethical tech.

Remaining Questions

These are the things that I need to take next steps on in order to become a design ethicist:

1. If I had to hone in on one competency over the other, would I want to gain experience within psychology or philosophy/theology?

2. Given the answer to #1, how can I advance my position as a design ethicist within traditional education (namely higher-ed)?

3. Given the answer to #1, how can I advance my position as a design ethicist with non-traditional education (namely online interactions)?

4. From answers #3 and #4, where can I get a greater ROI?

5. If I could collaborate with anyone in the world on design ethics, who would it be?

Thanks for reading

Each time I sit down to write, I learn something knew about myself and the world.

Thanks for being a part of that learning process,

Josh

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