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Ethics

We are living in an exceptionally exciting time in history, witnessing and participating in radical changes in societies, closely connected to major advancements of emergent technologies. The drivers of the development are in the first place intelligent and cognitive technologies, but equally important: information technology, nanotechnology, biotechnology, automatic/autonomous transportation, robotics, radically new medical technologies, new educational technologies - the list goes on, and fields overlap and are mutually dependent.

All those emergent technologies are based on and closely related to information processing/computational advances and are thus part of the informatics field. They promise huge social benefits, but at the same time, they bring risks and challenges for individuals and societies.

As professionals within Informatics/Computing/Computer Sciences and related fields, we are best equipped to help create a deep understanding of emergent technologies, mechanisms of their functioning as well as their potential for impacting society with their ethical aspects. It is also our professional duty to help society and especially decision-makers to lead the process of social development based on the best professional expertise.

Some highlights of Informatics Europe's contribution to ethics include:

Permanent Working Group on Ethics in Informatics

In 2022, a permanent working group on ethics in informatics is launched to bring together experts affiliated with Informatics Europe members to discuss and work on a common Ethics agenda for Informatics Research and Education in Europe. Visit the working group website here to read their long and short term objectives, as well as the activities the group is currently working on.

If you are interested in contributing to this working group, please register here or contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

the Erasmus+ Project "Ethics4EU" - Ethical Computer Science Education for Europe

Informatics Europe was a partner in the Erasmus+ Project Ethics4 EU - Ethical Computer Science Education for Europe, running from 2019 to 2022. Having received a near half-million Euros funding, the Ethics4EU Erasmus+ transnational project aimed to develop new curricula, best practices and learning resources on digital ethics for computer science students. It followed a ‘train the trainer’ model for up-skilling computer science lecturers across Europe.
Led by TU Dublin, Ethics4EU’s project partners were Mälardalen University, Institut Mines-Telecom/Télécom SudParis, Informatics Europe, and DLEARN. Informatics Europe supported the project with general dissemination and communication activities, and a particular emphasis on building an online community of practice, initiated by a working group of Informatics Europe members.
To learn more about this project, visit the Ethics4EU website, the project's Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

EU Commission Expert Group on AI and Data in Education and Training

From July 2021 to October 2022, Prof. Viola Schiaffonati (Politecnico di Milano), served as Informatics Europe representative at the EU Commission Expert Group on AI and Data in Education and Training. The group assisted the Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sports, and Culture with the preparation of practical guidelines for primary and secondary school educators, with concrete practices on the ethical implications of AI and data use in education and training.  Besides supporting the cooperation and the exchange of information, expertise, and best practices between the Commission and relevant stakeholders, the members of this group also helped to raise awareness within the education and training sectors about the opportunities and risks of the use of AI and data. As a result of this work, on October 25, the European Commission released the Ethical guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence and data in teaching and learning for educators. Informatics Europe is proud to have initiated this important work! You can find more details under the EU commission press corner page, the article on europa.eu, and the article on DEAP website.

“Ethical/Social Impact of Informatics as a Study Subject in Informatics University Degree Programs” Task Force

In 2019, a group of experts was convened with the goal of re-thinking the skills of the next generation of informatics professionals. During their training in university courses, students are provided with the basis for designing and developing modern computer systems. A question arises, if they should be trained also on ethical and societal topics, thus enabling them to conceive “good” and beneficial informatics systems for the society. The Task Force on  “Ethical/Social Impact of Informatics as a Study Subject in Informatics University Degree Programs” analysed the current state of affairs to solicit a discussion on these topics, by answering questions such as, for example:

  • Should ethical/social impact of Informatics be a study subject in informatics university degree programs, and why?
  • What are the main ethical issues arising from the application of informatics in society?
  • In which areas ethical/social impacts of informatics are more evident?
  • Which topics of study at university programs should be taught to make students skilled in ethics-aware design?

The report on “Ethical/Social Impact of Informatics as a Study Subject in Informatics University Degree Programs” (available for logged in IE members, a summary is openly accessible by following this link) summarizing the feedback and comments from the working group members on these topics has been published in October 2019.

"When Computers Decide: European Recommendations on Machine-Learned Automated Decision Making" - Joint Initiative with the ACM Europe Council and the ACM Europe Policy Committee

In 2017, Informatics Europe, in cooperation with ACM Europe, launched a task force on ethics that worked on a white paper setting out a framework and recommendations on computer-based decision systems from a social, economic, educational, ethical and legal perspective. The outcome of this work, published in February 2018, "When Computers Decide: European Recommendations on Machine-Learned Automated Decision Making" made 10 key recommendations to policy leaders and was the central topic of a discussion panel held in Brussels on March 15 where authors of the report joined key members of the European Commission for an exciting debate. The event was a joint initiative of Informatics Europe, the ACM Europe Council, and the ACM Europe Policy Committee.

Find the summarized lists of our outcomes and resources on informatics ethics at large below.