It is widely recognized that new technologies raise moral ethical questions and confront us with ethical dilemmas. That is why several of our courses are devoted to the acquisition of ethical competence in the technological aspects of contemporary social issues. In order to recognize this competence officially, the School of Ethics, Social Justice and Public Service offers an option in New Tech Ethics.

Program requirements

Compulsory Courses (9 units)

PHI2121 Ethics and New Biotechnologies (3u)
PHI3129 Ethics, AI and Big Data (3u)
PHI4119 Ethics, War and Terrorism (3u)

Optional Courses

6 units from:

INS3113 New Technologies and Social Innovation (3u)
ISC1308 History of Communication (3u)
ISC2306 Media and Ethics (3u)

Courses

PHI2121 Ethics and New Biotechnologies (3u)

Impact of robotics and new technologies on the patient-healthcare practitioner relationship, medical interventions, the manner in which we perceive our own bodies, and transhumanism.

PHI3129 Ethics, AI and Big Data (3u)

Study of emerging ethical issues and dilemmas prompted by the Internet and related technologies. Range of topics that could include privacy, cyber-bullying, algorithms governance, control society, accessibility issues, and the monetization of data. Foundations of artificial intelligence, and ethical and public policy issues linked to emerging and possible artificial intelligence technologies.

PHI4119 Ethics, War and Terrorism (3u)

Analysis of ethical, political, and public policy dimensions of armed conflict in a global era: just war theory, humanitarian intervention, war and diplomacy, emerging military technologies, torture, detainment, state of exception, and human rights.

INS3113 New Technologies and Social Innovation (3u)

ISC1308 History of Communication (3u)

Historical and critical survey of communication medium (oral, print and digital cultures). Examination of social, economic, geographic, political and cultural forces shaping communication throughout time. The course addresses multiple trajectories in the history of communication, situating Western histories alongside non-Western, Indigenous, and Global South perspectives.

ISC2306 Media and Ethics (3u)

Constitutive elements of ethical behavior. Basic ethical criteria in media communication. Rights in communication situations. Deontology codes in use in several institutions. Case analysis in media praxis: persuasion communication and fiction.