AWARE

a live, public display to guide early developers through morally responsible product development

How can engineering and technology students develop a moral foundation for their impact as creators?

Senior Project in Digital Media
NYU Tandon School of Engineering
Spring 2018

Beginning in NYU ITP's Educate the Future class, this project originated from a challenge to study current issues in higher education and to develop viable solutions. In expanding this idea, I explored the effects of “creators” and developers on consumer-facing products. The associated research focused on the need for "efficient innovation" throughout the technology industry. I define it as the advanced use of technology to solve societal problems, for a designated audience, in the most efficient way. This involves a dedication to considering contexts such as accessibility, cultural relevance, and social impact through the development process.

My work goes on to develop methods of teaching ethics and moral literacy for young developers and product designers through exercises in awareness, perspective and design thinking before they enter the industry. Thus, the first problem statement became, "How can engineering students develop a moral foundation for their lasting impact on society?" 

In pushing the boundaries of bias awareness towards productivity, this interactive installation is a dynamic display built to guide creative and technical developers through morally responsible product development. Through the series of questions displayed, each includes a collection of relevant sources that can be used to expand their current projects. This resource is meant to be web-accessible, in real-time across various devices (i.e. wall projection, desktop, mobile) in production environments (e.g. universities, coworking studios).