Technology is developed to solve a problem and make life easier. The problems that technology resolves are entirely dependent upon the engineers that develop them. Thus, the problem does not lie within the technology but rather the people who designed these products. In both articles, the technology mentioned operated to its ability. However, additional problems […]

In my opinion, body scanners are an issue of very unethical design. They do not take into consideration all people of context; especially now that people are becoming more aware of different gender/sexual orientations, the TSA security’s official guidelines must adapt to this reality as well in the development of its products. Although I do […]

The TSA has a reputation for being inefficient and excessive.  People complain and share their stories about that one time or another that TSA inconvenienced them, including me, but those negative experiences are magnified greatly and can turn dangerous for people of color, Muslims, transgender people, and those who are gender nonconforming.  In the article, […]

  To some extent, the Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) body scanner is an issue of unethical design because the criteria of what it is testing for cannot be applied to trans or butch lesbian people. Yet at the same time, it is extremely difficult and tricky to be adjusted. This is because if the software […]

These articles approach ideas of how inclusion can change a product and people’s experiences with a product. The article about butch lesbians’ experiences with airport security is a prime example of how not considering diverse groups when designing a product hurts the business and consumer. Many people who identify as gender non-conforming related to feeling […]

It seems that the ethical issues that many products have stem from the lack diversity in the steps of the design process. Without people who could understand why a particular product design might not be ideal for some minorities, there is no one to account for that in the design. For instance, in the case […]

Let’s face it. Nobody wants to fly. The seats are always cramped, the circulated air invariably makes you sick, and the TSA is sure to take every excuse to invade privacy. Some of this can be avoided if you drop a couple thousand dollars on first class but flying in general sucks. This was not […]

The issue of whether the use of body scanners in airport security is ethical to transgender and androgynous-looking passengers has arisen in recent years because security workers often misgender them, causing the scanners to go off and the passenger to go through additional inspection. The body scanners themselves are not unethical; they simply scan the […]

In the TSA article, the assumption of LGBTQ people’s gender was summarized and how it was a new upcoming problem in modern society as awareness for LGBTQ has risen in modern days. While it’s not a necessarily a fault in technology, since the blame could be shifted onto the individual TSA agents who made the […]

I never really thought about ethics in design until reading the three articles/ webpages that we were assigned. However the soap detector example in the “What are ethics in design?” article resounded heavily with me as I often encounter the same problem of the soap dispenser or hand dryer not detecting my hand. I never […]