New project on the ethics of digital experiments financed by Province of South-Holland

The new and rapidly growing possibilities of Data Driven Working, the use of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, and more generally the use of advanced digital technology (Internet of Things, Blockchain, Robotics, Social Media) in various Provincial policy areas, will entail their own ethical problems. The Province and Delft University of Technology are setting up a joint research project to identify core ethical issues and to arrive at usable policy considerations for implementing digital technologies in the public domain.

Important areas of application for the Province are spatial planning, housing, energy transition, circular economy and ‘smart mobility’. TU Delft PhD candidate Joost Mollen will preferably start his research in one of these domains at the Province, whereby it is desirable that the results will be applicable to all domains and also to other Provinces. This research project provides access to state of the art insights in the field of “Ethics by Design” and “Responsible Innovation” for PZH. The research helps PZH to identify and articulate core ethical issues, and to arrive at systematic, structured and insightful policy considerations based on proven methods.In this way, the question of the role of ethics, in a more general sense, in the work of the PZH can be answered concretely in provincial practice. Both in application in important concrete policy files of the province and at system level.

The PhD candidate Joost Mollen is supervised by two ‘Supervisors’ from TU Delft, one of them is Prof. Dr. Jeroen van den Hoven (TPM).

The “daily supervisor” is Dr. Michael Klenk Assistant professor specialized in value and concept change in the context of technology and digital ethics.

The Province of South Holland (PZH) wants to achieve that, now and in the future, serving public values ​​and accountability for moral considerations at all levels leads to trust among citizens and administrative partners.

Delft Design for Values ​​Institute has started a formal collaboration with the Province of South Holland (PZH). The collaboration has taken shape in the form of a four-year study and a financed PhD position. During a term of 4 years, the PhD candidate will form a bridge between TU Delft, the DDfV Institute and PZH.

This collaboration process provides knowledge and insights that can be used in government organizations and in scientific publications.