Why value sensitive design needs ethical commitments

Currently, value sensitive design (VSD) does not commit to a particular ethical theory. Critiques contend that without such an explicit commitment, VSD lacks a methodology for distinguishing genuine moral values from mere stakeholders-preferences and runs the risk of attending to a set of values that is unprincipled or unbounded. We argue that VSD practitioners need to complement it with an ethical theory. We argue in favour of a mid-level ethical theory to fulfil this role.

Automated summary

Value sensitive design (VSD) currently lacks a specific ethical theory, leading to the risk of attending to unprincipled or unbounded values. Complementing VSD with a mid-level ethical theory is advocated to distinguish moral values effectively.