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SFB 627: Nexus |
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Project D3:
Reflection and Evaluation |
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Prof. Dr. phil. habil. Christoph Hubig
University of Stuttgart
Institute of Philosophy
Seidenstraße 36
70174 Stuttgart
Tel. +49 (0)711 685 - 82491
Fax +49 (0)711 685 - 72492
http://www.philo.uni-stuttgart.de
sekretariat(at)philo.uni-stuttgart.de
Overview
Reflection and Evaluation - Criteria of Relevance, Trust, Business Ethics
To guarantee the acceptability of Nexus applications the philosophical project analyses whether the Nexus applications fit into everyday life
and routine of the users and develops criteria for adequate terms of use. The development of mobile context-aware applications is part of the
wider research agenda of an all-embracing, omnipresent implementation of information and communication technology (ICT) systems in society. In
so far the research project also deals with the technology assessment of Ubiquitous and Pervasive Computing or, as it is called in the EU:
Ambient Intelligence. The following topics of research are of special interest:
1.) For an adequate functioning of context-aware systems and for a successful human-computer interaction (HCI) criteria of relevance and
prioritisation for the modelling of situations (ontology and semantics) have to be developed. Not do only the conditions of communication change
by the given environment, but also by the given individual, social and cultural schemes of interpretation of certain contexts and situations.
Therefore an adaptation to these factors is a crucial point for proper operation of context-aware ICT system, which has to be assured and
theoretically conceived.
2.) Criteria for the assurance of trust, of reputation evaluation, the division of accountability as well as system transparency for risk
management (parallel communication on system communication). Questions of safety, security, acceptability as well as aspects of introduction
of the systems in the markets or society in general are part of the research agenda of many subprojects in the Nexus centre of excellence. The
miscellaneous requirements for safety and security of context-aware applications have to be meat in well-balanced way. Thus in an
interdisciplinary cooperation and research a comprehensive and economically sustainable safety and security architecture has to be developed,
in which the different constraints of the systems as well as the various claims for safety and security of the different participants and
stakeholders are identified, integrated and balanced against each other. In contrast to the mainly empirical analyses of the social sciences
and law, the philosophical work focuses on normative questions of acceptability (i.e. the question of desirability of technical innovations
concerning specific ethical normative values and their justification). Crucial for a reflected philosophical thinking and technology assessment
is therefore the distinction between acceptance and acceptability. The factual acceptance of a loss of privacy is contrasted by the ethical
perspective of acceptability, which tries to justify privacy as a needed basic value of human beings.
3.) Criteria for justification of new operator and business models. In a basic analysis, different aspect of business ethics concerning
consumer oriented usage of Nexus applications as well as sustainability and acceptability should be discussed. Mainly different aspects of
automatic payment mechanism such as silent commerce should be evaluated and their impacts anticipated.
Institute
People
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