Georgia Institute of Technology School of Public Policy

Overview

Interests

Courses

• PHIL-3105: Ethical Theories
• PHIL-3109: Engineering Ethics
• PHIL-6000: Responsible Conduct-Res
• PHIL-6010: Biotech Research Ethics
• PHIL-6710: Ethics Biotech Research
• PST-3105: Ethical Theories
• PST-3109: Ethics&Tech Profession
• PST-3127: Sci,Tech & Human Values
• PST-8000: Responsible Condut-Res
• PUBP-8801: Special Topics
• PUBP-8811: Special Topics

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

• The Ugly Truth About Ourselves and Our Robot Creations: The Problem of Bias and Social Inequity
     In: Science and Engineering Ethics [Peer Reviewed]

  2017
• Self-Driving Cars: Ethical Responsibilities of Design Engineers
     In: IEEE Technology and Society Magazine [Peer Reviewed]

  2017
• Nudging for Good: Robots and the Ethical Appropriateness of Nurturing Empathy and Charitable Behavior
     In: AI & Society [Peer Reviewed]

  2016
• Robotic Nudges: The Ethics of Engineering a More Socially Just Human Being
     In: Science and Engineering Ethics [Peer Reviewed]

  2016
• Rethinking Authorship in the Era of Collaborative Research
     In: Accountability in Research [Peer Reviewed]

  2015

  © , Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.The size and complexity of research teams continues to grow, especially within the realms of science and engineering. This has intensified already existing concerns about relying on traditional authorship schemes as the way to allocate credit for a contribution to a research project. In this paper, we examine current authorship problems plaguing research communities and provide suggestions for how those problems could potentially be mitigated. We recommend that research communities, especially those involved in large scale collaborations, revisit the contributor model and embrace it as means for allocating credit more authentically and transparently.

• Creating "companions" for children: The ethics of designing esthetic features for robots
     In: AI and Society [Peer Reviewed]

  2014

  Taking the term "companion" in a broad sense to include robot caregivers, playmates, assistive devices, and toys, we examine ethical issues that emerge from designing companion robots for children. We focus on the relative importance and potential ethical implications of creating robots with certain types of esthetic features. We include an examination of whether robots ought to be made to appear or act humanlike, and whether robots should be gendered. In our estimation, this line of ethical inquiry may even provide insight into the nature and appropriateness of existing institutions and widely accepted interactions among human beings. © 2012 Springer-Verlag London Limited.

• The Intervention of Robot Caregivers and the Cultivation of Children's Capability to Play
     In: Science and Engineering Ethics [Peer Reviewed]

  March 2013

  In this article, the authors examine whether and how robot caregivers can contribute to the welfare of children with various cognitive and physical impairments by expanding recreational opportunities for these children. The capabilities approach is used as a basis for informing the relevant discussion. Though important in its own right, having the opportunity to play is essential to the development of other capabilities central to human flourishing. Drawing from empirical studies, the authors show that the use of various types of robots has already helped some children with impairments. Recognizing the potential ethical pitfalls of robot caregiver intervention, however, the authors examine these concerns and conclude that an appropriately designed robot caregiver has the potential to contribute positively to the development of the capability to play while also enhancing the ability of human caregivers to understand and interact with care recipients. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

• Contentious Problems in Bioscience and Biotechnology: A Pilot Study of an Approach to Ethics Education
     In: Science and Engineering Ethics

  2013
• International Governance of Autonomous Military Robots
     In: Columbia Science and Technology Law Review [Peer Reviewed]

  2011
• Responsible Authorship in Engineering Fields: An Overview of Current Ethical Challenges
     In: Science and Engineering Ethics

  2011
• Robot Caregivers: Harbingers of Expanded Freedom for All?

  2010

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

• The Ugly Truth About Ourselves and Our Robot Creations: The Problem of Bias and Social Inequity
     In: Science and Engineering Ethics [Peer Reviewed]

  2017
• Self-Driving Cars: Ethical Responsibilities of Design Engineers
     In: IEEE Technology and Society Magazine [Peer Reviewed]

  2017