CAE

Peter Danielson, Ph.D.
Mary & Maurice Young Professor of Applied Ethics
[E-mail]

Peter Danielson is the Mary and Maurice Young Professor of Applied Ethics. Danielson majored in Philosophy at the University of Michigan, did graduate work at Princeton, has a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto. He is a member of UBC’s Institute for Computing, Information, and Cognitive Systems and teaches in the Cognitve Systems Program.

My theoretical interest is to use modeling methods – agent-based computational methods from cognitive science, evolutionary game theory from economics and biology – better to understand how moral and ethical agents interact with social norms to solve (and create) problems.

My applied interest is constructing better decision environments for making difficult choices about ethics and technology – especially computer technology and genomics – and the environment. Try these new methods out at http://yourviews.ubc.ca

NERD/N-Reasons

The Yourviews site  hosts innovative n-reason surveys ranging from radical life extension, through robot ethics and animal welfare. We welcome new researchers (students and faculty) into our research team.

Current projects include a location aware ethics app for Android and a redesign of the N-reasons platform to generate an ethical "radar" service. 

Data Mining Ethics

Spanning health (personalized medicine)  and the environment, the appeal of "Big Data" is constrained by its ethical challenges.

Current Grants

• COGS 300 Understanding & Designing Cognitive Systems Terms 1 & 2

• INDS 502E Ethics & Technology

Fenwick, Nicole, Danielson, Peter, and Griffen, Gilly. “Survey of Canadian Animal-Based Researchers’ Views on the Three Rs: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement.” PLoS One 6, no. 8 (2011): e22478.  

Danielson, Peter A. “N-Reasons: Computer Mediated Ethical Decision Support for Public Participation.” In Publics & Emerging Technologies: Cultures, Contexts, and Challenges, edited by E. Einsiedel, and K. O’Doherty, in press.

 Danielson, Peter. “Engaging the Public in the Ethics of Robots for War and Peace.” Philosophy & Technology 24 (2011): 239-4

Danielson, Peter. “Prototyping N-Reasons: A Computer Mediated Ethics Machine.” In Machine Ethics, edited by M Anderson, and E. Anderson, 442 - 450. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Danielson, P. “A Collaborative Platform for Experiments in Ethics and Technology.” In Philosophy and Engineering: An Emerging Agenda, edited by I. van der Poel, and D.E. Goldberg, 239-52. Berlin: Springer, 2010.

 Ahmad, Rana, Bailey, Jennifer, and Danielson, Peter. “Analysis of an Innovative Survey Platform: Comparison of the Public’s Responses to Human Health and Salmon Genomics Surveys.” Public Understanding of Science 19, no. 2 (2010): 155-65.

 Danielson, Peter. “Designing a Machine to Learn About the Ethics of Robotics: The N-Reasons Platform.” Ethics and Information Technology 12, no. 3 (2010): 251-61.

 Danielson, Peter. “Metaphors and Models for Data Mining Ethics.” In Social Implications of Data Mining and Information Privacy: Interdisciplinary Frameworks and Solutions, edited by Ephrem Eyob, 33 - 47. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2009.