Catherine Flick

Senior Lecturer in Computing and Social Responsibility

De Montfort University

Biography

Hi, I’m Catherine Flick! I’m a senior lecturer in Computing and Social Responsibility in the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University.

I’m very excited about the social and ethical impact of technologies, and how we can make sure that development of a new technology creates a positive impact.

I am (or have been) a part of several European Commission-funded projects on responsible innovation in technology, computer ethics, and related topics.

I research video games and ethics, and anonymous technologies such as Tor and the Darknet, in my university-funded research time.

I’ve given talks all over the world, on a variety of social/ethical impact of technology topics, for all kinds of audiences. I also write papers, and have a video games-centred blog and podcast site Not Just a Game. I’m on the ACM’s Committee of Professional Ethics where we are currently rewriting the ACM’s Code of Ethics.

I teach computer ethics, research methods, and give occasional guest lectures on responsible innovation, video games, fanfic, and other social impact of technology topics.

Why “liedra.net”? I’ve had this domain for a very long time and it’s become intertwined with my academic life. So here you get a bit of academia, a bit of me, and some of the fun things I get up to outside of my teaching.

Interests

Responsible Research and Innovation
Technology Ethics
Video Games and Ethics
Anonymous Technologies
Professional Ethics

Education

Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, 2014

De Montfort University
PhD in Computer Ethics, 2009

Charles Sturt University
BSc (Hons I) in History and Philosophy of Science and Computer Science, 2005

University of Sydney

Selected Publications

Chickens in Video Games: Archaeology and ethics inform upon complex relationships

This article describes the results of a qualitative analysis of the presence and portrayals of chickens in video games. It examines the relationships between chickens as digital beings and human players, as well as the context of chickens within different game environments. This study uses archaeological and historical evidence to demonstrate the complexity inherent in human-chicken relationships over time and the tensions between temporally-contingent welfare expectations and those present in video games, as well as highlighting problematic ways in which chickens are depicted. It employs an applied ethics approach to identifying key issues of concern and suggesting alternative ways of portraying and interacting with chickens in video games.

Fothergill, B. T., Flick, C.

In: Mol, A.A.A., Ariese-Vandemeulebroucke, C.E., Boom, K.H.J., Politopoulos, A. (Eds.), The Interactive Past: Archaeology, Heritage, and Video Games. Sidestone Press, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Details PDF

Ethics of Emerging Information and Communication Technologies: On the implementation of responsible research and innovation.

Research and innovation in emerging technologies can have great benefits but also raise ethical and social concerns. The current discourse on Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a novel attempt to come to conceptual and practical ways of dealing with such concerns. In order to effectively understand and address possible ethical and social issues, stakeholders need to have an understanding of what such issues might be. This paper explores ethical issues related to the field of emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs). Based on a foresight study of ICT that led to the identification of eleven emerging technologies, we outline the field of ethical and social issues of these technologies. This overview of possible problems can serve as an important sensitising device to these issues. We describe how such awareness can contribute to the successful deployment of responsible practice in research and innovation.

Stahl, B. C., Flick, C., Timmermans, J.

In Sci Public Policy 2016 scw069.

Details PDF

Recent Publications

Chickens in Video Games: Archaeology and ethics inform upon complex relationships
Details PDF
Ethics of Emerging Information and Communication Technologies: On the implementation of responsible research and innovation.
Details PDF

Recent & Upcoming Talks

Exploring simulated game worlds: Ethics in the No Man’s Sky Archaeological Survey
Mon, Jun 5, 2017, ETHICOMP 2017
Feeling Feels: What strong emotional connections with video games mean for morally relevant gameplay
Mon, Jun 5, 2017, ETHICOMP 2017
Clucks and Clicks: Archaeology & Ethics of Chickens in Games
Sat, Mar 11, 2017, PAX East 2017

Projects

3D Tune-In

Creation of digital games and an audio toolkit to raise awareness of hearing loss and simulation of hearing loss and hearing aids.

ACM Code of Ethics Refresh

This is a project looking to refresh the ACM’s Code of Ethics - which hasn’t been done since 1992.

COMPASS

This project, the successor to Responsible-Industry, looks at integration of responsible innovation practices in the cyber security, nanotechnology and biomedicine industry sectors.

New Psychoactive Substances on the Darknet

This interdisciplinary project looks at the sale and composition of new psychoactive substances (synthetic cannabinoids) on the Darknet.

Orbit

A responsible innovation hub that brings together multiple projects including the FRRIICT project.

Pokémon Go and Mental Health

This project looks at the perceived benefits of Pokémon Go on mental health.

Responsible-Industry

This project looks at implementing responsible innovation in the ICT for health and ageing industry sector.

Social Impact of Video Games

This large scale, longitudinal project looks at the social and ethical impact of video games through players’ experiences.

Teaching

These are the classes I teach (or have taught in the past) at De Montfort University to Business Computing and Informatics students. I use innovative practice where possible such as transformative reflective learning, constructive alignment, and methods such as peer marking and creative learning:

IMAT2704: Introduction to Research and Ethics
IMAT3103: Research Methods
IMAT3901: Computer Ethics (Computer Science students)
IMAT3902: Computer Ethics

I also have taught the following postgraduate courses for PhD students:

REST7525: Ethics
REST7050: Information Systems Doctoral Training Programme

I supervise Final Year Projects. You can find my project proposals here.

Research Students

Current:

Michelle Brown (representation of women in video games)
George Ogoh (responsible innovation in 3D printing)

Completed:

Job Timmermans (responsible research and innovation in research projects)
Candace Grant (teaching ethics to computer science students using positive psychology)
Eric Agyei-Bekoe (e-government in Ghana)
Yahya Al-Ahareth (e-learning for women in Saudi Arabia)

Walks

Leicestershire Round - 100 miles around Leicestershire.

Raising money for LOROS - Leicestershire and Rutland Hospice.

Walk 1: Newtown Linford – Mountsorrel

Walk 2: Mountsorrel - Frisby-on-the-Wreake

Walk 3: Frisby-on-the-Wreake – Somerby

Contact

cflick@dmu.ac.uk
@liedra on Keybase.
Faculty of Technology, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester LE1 9BH, United Kingdom
In term time by appointment only: http://liedra.net/appointments/