Description

A DEO must possess a strong foundational knowledge of the digital technologies landscape and be able to refer to distinct technological processes and requirements when communicating observed ethical, social, and legal concerns. Likewise, technical knowledge is needed to comprehensively assess and judge a system’s (de-)merits. This module provides DEO candidates with an extensive digital vocabulary and a foundational understanding of the capabilities and limitations of digital technology. It prepares the ground for the next modules where we explore how these capabilities and limitations relate to ethical, legal, and societal impact.

Covered Content

• Taxonomy of Key Technical Terms
• Overview of the Digital Technology Landscape
• Foundations of Assessing Digital Technology

• Taxonomy of Key Technical Terms
• Overview of AI Technologies
• Understanding Data in AI
• Limitations and Risks of AI Technologies

Description

A DEO must possess a strong command of digital ethics to navigate this complex landscape and be able to provide necessary guidance. Findings from the needs and gaps analysis indicated an overall lack of understanding of the ethical issues related to digitalization, the role ethics plays when assessing a digital tool’s impact, and a corresponding desire for these issues to be better addressed by a qualified official. This module provides participants with a strong foundational understanding of relevant ethical theories and (EU) ethics frameworks, provides guidance on identifying and evaluating a case’s ethical merits, and offers tools for bridging the gap between theory and practice. The module incorporates core theoretical debates related to issues in digital ethics and illustrates how these issues manifest in a PA setting.

Covered Content

• Overview of EU Digital Ethics Frameworks
• Common Themes and Theories in Digital Ethics
• Critical Digital Ethics

Description

Digital Technology does not operate in a lawless vacuum. Indeed, there is an extensive legal landscape regulating technology in accordance with fundamental human rights that comprise the foundation of the EU. A DEO must possess sound knowledge of this legal landscape to ensure compliance with existing regulations. The needs and gaps analysis indicated a lack of knowledge of the multitude of laws and unclarities as to the scope and applicability of the law. This module provides students with a strong foundational understanding of the EU digital law landscape, the boundaries set by relevant regulations, and how various frameworks intersect with each other. Particular attention is paid to regulations regarding the digitalization of public administration. Moreover, candidates are familiarized with notions of accountability and responsibility of PAs in relation to the law and the delicate power imbalances they must navigate as intermediates between governments and the citizenry.

Covered Content

• Role of legal knowledge for the DEO position
• Imbalanced power relations between governments and private individuals
• EU declarations and legal frameworks regarding the Digitalisation of Public Administration in the European Union
• Overview of relevant EU Digital Law

Description

A DEO must possess a strong command of the impact of digital technologies on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. This module provides participants with a strong foundational understanding of the implications of different digital applications for human rights, various relevant human rights frameworks and how these intersect with each other. Moreover, participants will gain critical understanding of the democratic and rule of law implications of the use of digital technologies in PA.

Covered Content

• Human / Fundamental Rights in the Digital Age
• The Effect of Technology on Human / Fundamental rights
• The Effects of Technology on Democracy and Democratic Structures

Description

Integrating digital systems in public administration has far-reaching consequences for human deployers and users interacting with the new digital technology. Findings from the needs and gaps analysis suggest that PAs struggle to determine how much autonomy and discretion humans (should) have when using digital systems and how to value a system’s output. The issue becomes particularly pertinent when the use of a digital system results in adverse or harmful outcomes. In this module, DEO participants learn strategies to cultivate a healthy working culture that allows for human error while emphasizing the importance of human autonomy, discretion, and accountability in interactions with digital systems.

Covered Content

• Foundations of Error Theory
• Human Error and Digitalization
• Human Discretion and Autonomy in Digital Processes

Description

The 7-steps towards Trustworthy AI approach has been crafted by a team of seasoned experts encompassing legal, technical, and ethical disciplines. It is based on the “Seven-step guide to ethical decision-making” by Michael Davis ((1999) Ethics and the university, New York: Routledge, p. 166-167). Using this guide, the experts formulated a comprehensive technology deliberation and assessment methodology that merges the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI and critical considerations such as potential harm, societal impact, reputational damage, and public acceptance, to aid in the final decision-making process. Within this module, participants will receive theoretical instruction elucidating the underpinnings of this approach. Building on the theoretical foundations provided during the previous modules, participants will be equipped with a practical tool to apply theoretical knowledge to real life situations.

Covered Content

• In-depth explanation of each of the 7-step methodology
• Applying ALTAI and EGTAI within the 7-step methodology