From concerns to action: A Techno-Anthropological study into responsibility for the development of Virtual Reality in relation to ethical concerns
Author
King, Riikka Anniina
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2021
Submitted on
2021-06-04
Pages
71
Abstract
This thesis maps the main ethical issues in virtual reality (VR), explains why they matter, and examines who should take responsibility for addressing them. It offers a techno-anthropological contribution to ethics and responsibility in VR design and development, motivated by the IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Extended Reality (2021), which calls for moving XR from "perilous to purposeful." Through a review of existing research, the thesis identifies four categories of ethical concern: privacy and data use, risks of physical harm, risks of psychological harm, and a lack of transparency. Using ethnographic methods, it explores how different stakeholders view these issues. The analysis considers designers’ responsibilities through theories of technological mediation (postphenomenology) and instrumentalization (CTT), which explore how technologies shape human experience and how tools are developed and used. It also discusses shared or "collective" responsibility using the Problem of Many Hands, where accountability is spread across many actors. The thesis concludes that responsibility for acting on ethical concerns should be located at the collective level—such as within companies—and it proposes principles to guide this work. It further finds that legal authorities have responsibilities at the level of social governance, and that interdisciplinary collaboration with industry can support the ethical development of VR.
Dette speciale kortlægger de vigtigste etiske spørgsmål ved virtual reality (VR), forklarer hvorfor de er vigtige, og undersøger hvem der bør tage ansvar for at håndtere dem. Det giver et tekno-antropologisk bidrag til etik og ansvar i design og udvikling af VR, motiveret af IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Extended Reality (2021), som opfordrer til at flytte XR fra "perilous to purposeful". Gennem et litteraturstudie identificerer specialet fire kategorier af etiske bekymringer: privatliv og dataanvendelse, risiko for fysisk skade, risiko for psykisk skade og manglende transparens. Ved hjælp af etnografiske metoder undersøges, hvordan forskellige interessenter ser på disse spørgsmål. Analysen belyser designeres ansvar gennem teorier om teknologisk mediation (postfænomenologi) og instrumentalisering (CTT), som undersøger hvordan teknologier former menneskelig erfaring, og hvordan redskaber udvikles og bruges. Derudover diskuteres delt eller "kollektivt" ansvar med udgangspunkt i The Problem of Many Hands, hvor ansvar fordeles mellem mange aktører. Specialet konkluderer, at ansvaret for at handle på etiske bekymringer bør placeres på et kollektivt niveau—f.eks. i virksomheder—og fremlægger principper til at styre dette arbejde. Det peger også på, at myndigheder har ansvar på samfundsniveau, og at tværfagligt samarbejde med industrien kan understøtte en etisk udvikling af VR.
[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]
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