Ethical design and digital society: reflection of human activity in the modern world

Abstract

The article deals with the actual problem of the development of ethical design in the digital society. The comprehension of the specifics of human existence in the modern world and the understanding of the prospects for the development of humanity led to a significant increase in attention to the ethical component in various types of social activity. In the digital society, in the phase of surveillance capitalism, the concept of ethical design came into existence, which teaches to set ethical goals on a par with the goals of business efficiency, and to make ethical design methods part of the everyday practice of creating products and services. The purpose of the study is to analyze the principles of ethical design in the context of the triad "human being – society – environment". The study is based on the analysis of the ethical design manifesto, scientific sources on the outlined issues, and the experience of leading design practices. It is determined that design ethics, in a broad sense, refers to moral behavior and responsible choices in design. Design ethics is concerned with establishing the relationship between the product and the user in such a way that it supports responsible and moral choice. Ethical design is the identification and development of the "goodness" factor in product design aimed at benefiting the individual users, their ecosystem, and society at large. Ethical design is based on respect: for human rights, human effort and human experience. Basic principles of ethical design include usability, accessibility, privacy, transparency, respect for people's moral autonomy, user participation, and sustainability. The new design priority is to take into account the ethical component in the process of creating products and services, rethinking their social, cultural, psychological, and environmental impact. During the development of the design, it is necessary to evaluate the ethical risks and benefits of the project, to create a design that takes into account cultural differences, inclusiveness and accessibility, to support the moral autonomy and interests of people, to observe confidentiality and transparency, to critically evaluate the results, to harmonize activities with the concept of sustainable development in order to establish a balance between satisfaction modern needs of humanity and protecting the interests of future generations, in particular their needs for a safe and healthy environment.