Course offer the ability to questioning digital transformations and ethical challenges behind that

Knowledge and understanding The course will offer key theoretical tools to understand the digital world. Students will become familiar with digital ethics and theories of ethical action. Applying knowledge and understanding Students will be able to write argumentative analyses of case studies in digital ethics using ethical theories and their decision procedures. Making judgements We expect students to be able to analyze different problems in digital ethics and demonstrating an in depth, critical understanding of the scope and challenges of public policies currently in place or possible in the near future. Communications Skills This course will give the students the possibility to acquire and understand major terms and concepts in order to communicate their ideas, proposals, analysis and critical reasoning in the field of digital ethics in the most effective and appropriate way. Students will be able to verbally express their arguments in a reasonable way in the presence of other students. Learning skills This course will contribute to empower learners giving them the tools to determine why certain public policies and/or ethical frameworks are followed and others are not and to evaluate explanatory the models in an independent way.

This course explores the ethical issues inherent in our use of digital and online media. We will engage a range of current issues and topics through the application of important moral theories, attending to how new technologies often challenge what we know about ethics, politics and law. We will use the analysis of case studies to encourage reflection and discussion over contemporary issues in digital ethics. Topics to be covered include the ethics of hacking, online privacy, online shaming and deep fakes, online free speech, social media and virtue, as well as other contemporary topics dealing with digital ethics.

We read extracts from: Zuboff, S. 2019. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. Profile Books. Floridi, L. 2014. The Fourth Revolution. How the Infosphere is Reshaping Human Reality. Oxford University Press. Van Den Hoven, J. & Weckert, J. (ed.). 2008. Information Technology and Moral Philosophy. Cambridge University Press As well as additional articles and materials that will be provided to students during the course.

Lectures, class debates and presentations, ethical cases

- Performance in class (participation to the debate): 20%; - Midterm exam (writing a 500 words short essay in 1 hour): 30%; - final oral examination: 50%.

A good final grade and a preliminary discussion with the professor