Think of technology as a verb, not a noun. It provides the tools. Creative people provide imagination.
— Red Burns
As artists, designers, students, educators, toolmakers, technologists we are in dialogue with technology and the people it affects. We learn, play, explore, contextualize, and critique. We are responsible for making work ethically, and holding ourselves and each other accountable to ethical and equitable standards.
What follows are our guiding principles. As always dialogue and communication are essential in understanding and navigating nuance and difference of opinion. Remember that intent (why you want to make the tool or create the project) does not absolve you of impact (how the tool is used and the harm your project could cause). We also acknowledge the complexity and intersectionality that may arise when adhering to these principles. Above all, community dialogue will be our guide in these moments.
- Do not make art, tools, and projects that perpetuate hatred, stereotyping, or the subjugation of marginalized peoples. Be aware of the context in which your work exists and provide context and warnings for work that addresses or includes potentially sensitive subject matter (e.g. race, politics, sexuality, national identity, etc).
- Do not use technology to build tools that discriminate against marginalized communities.
- Discrimination includes tools that actively surpress marginalized groups as well as tools that make it easier for programs to identify members of sensitive groups. This discrimination can be direct (e.g. systematically undervaluing female-presenting job candidates) or indirect (e.g. contributing to a data feedback loop where police resources are over-allocated to minority neighborhoods, thus resulting in more arrests of the residents of those neighborhoods).
- Believe people from those demographics when they tell you about the impact or potential impact of what you are building.
- Do not build tools to disingenuously manipulate public opinion.
- We support activism and advocacy. However, do not build tools that maliciously and/or opaquely distort public opinion. This includes creating bots to maliciously distribute fake news or deep fakes to provide evidence of events that never occurred in order to improperly influence public opinion.
- Do not build tools of mass surveillance and prediction to repress the rights of people.
- Do not build weapons or tools that control weapons.
- This includes tools or projects that would do physical, mental, or emotional harm.
- This includes tools that automate the deployment, operation, and targeting of weapons.
