Responsible design, implementation and use of smart technologies lies at the heart of the European approach to digital innovation. It is aptly illustrated by the EC Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI as well as the Regulatory framework proposal on artificial intelligence (AI Act). Nonetheless the values, principles and requirements included in these documents are only the first step to operationalize technology’s governance. For ethical and legal requirements to be effectively put to work, further practical steps are necessary.

Ethics by Design (EbD) is a complex approach that allows systemic translation of high-level principles and requirements into concrete actions aligned with every module of the design process. As such, it is an indispensable component of both tech ethicists’ and tech designers’ toolboxes.

However, the term itself can also be used as a synecdoche and describe more generally technology ethics in its applied form. This broader understanding is the one we refer to in the conference title indicating that technology ethics to be operationable needs to be perceived in its applied context, i.e. as Ethics by Design.

The need to responsibly navigate technology’s development and use in the ever more complex governance landscape can be a serious challenge for organisations but also a chance to become more innovative and have higher valuation while meeting rigorous ethical standards. To this aim however, tech ethics must not be perceived in isolation.

One of the most promising ways to foster the broader adoption of Ethics by Design is framing it in the context of sustainable investing and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) reporting. Both trends are becoming increasingly popular and the technological factor is to play an ever more important role in the ESG mix. This will only become more apparent once the EU AI regulation comes into force.

ESG  as a concept dates back to the beginning of the 21st century. Since then, it has given rise to a number of interconnected terms such as the circular economy, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) or Regenerative Value Creation (RVC). Nonetheless, regardless of the used nomenclature and the differences between the various concepts – ESG is the idea that companies should not only be concerned about economic interest, but also consider their impact on the environment, local communities and ethical issues.

This call for papers is directed to established researchers connected with research and development fields, ethics, bioethics, philosophy, economics and Horizon Europe programme. We also invite students and junior researchers that just start their work within selected fields and wish to present their findings and ideas. The Organizing Committee has selected a few topics that might be viewed by participants as interesting or stimulating to drafting their own presentation.

Topic areas of conference:

Environmental:

• CleanTech – ethical approach to create sustainable water and energy solutions,
• The ethics of green and digital twin transitions

Social:

• Addressing the importance of “S” component in ESG
• Design and implementation of ethics in solutions based on AI – “ethics by design” approach across various industries e.g. medical, financial, insurance, HR. Human centric design in relation to sustainability

Governance:

• Ethics management and leadership in times of uncertainty – considering “ethics by design” approach in areas such as supply chain management, governance structure and engagement or policies design
• ESG analyses as tools for ethics-based AI auditing
• The contribution of AI in the ESG

Together with the conference partners, we would like to emphasise that we are open to cooperation with national and international scientists and organisations also in our research projects. Acting in accordance with the Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) concept, we wish to participate in the transformation of the European research and innovation system, targeted at the grand challenges of our time (science for society) where deliberation and reflection are followed by action (science with society). Łukasiewicz – ORGMASZ, as an analytical unit of Łukasiewicz Research Network, specialises in socio-economic research conducted in the field of STI (Science, Technology, Innovation). We are open to cooperation in a broad context with researchers and organisations sharing similar principles. More information about our institute can be found here.