Technology holds great promise for enhancing human well-being, improving health, safety, connection, and comfort, yet it can also create new forms of stress, inequality, and harm. This intensive PhD course explores the complex relationship between technology and human well-being.
What you will explore
What does human well-being entail?
How do technologies promote or undermine it?
Who gets to design technologies that shape our well-being?
What values are embedded, prioritized, or neglected in these designs?
Topics Covered
Technology and values — Historical overview of values in philosophy of technology
Embedding values in technology — Key theories and philosophical accounts
Design for Values — Value Sensitive Design, participatory design, value conflicts and change
Understanding well-being — Different conceptualizations and theories
Well-being and technology — How technology can enhance or undermine flourishing
Designing for well-being — Practical approaches, examples, and case studies (including AI and digital health)
Learning Outcomes
After completing this course, you will be able to:
Understand the relation between technology, values, and human well-being
Argue why technology can or cannot embody values
Differentiate main approaches to designing for human well-being
Evaluate technology in terms of its impact on human well-being
Lecturers
Steffen Steinert (TU Delft)
Ibo van de Poel (TU Delft)
Pieter Desmet (TU Delft)
Naomi Jacobs (University of Twente)
Matthew J. Dennis (TU Eindhoven)
Iulia Lefter (TU Delft)
and guest lecturers
Practical Details
Dates: 9–13 February 2026 Location: TU Delft Campus Credits: 5 ECTS Target group: PhD students (ReMa students welcome if places available) Registration deadline: 27 January 2026
Costs
Free — Members of 4TU Ethics, OZSW, or another Dutch research school in the Humanities (LOGOS)
€300 — All others
Assessment
Active participation required. Participants must complete required readings before each session and write a blog post as final assignment.
