Overview

Geoethics is a relatively new field promoting the ethical behavior among geoscientists.  This field has extensive ties to both traditional ethical principles and the responsible conduct of research that we have been studying. 

As scientists, we have a responsibility to society.  Not all members of the class are in the Geo or Earth Sciences but we are all scientists and we are all citizens of this Earth, our island home.  We need to focus on both the issues of acting ethically with respect to our fellow citizens and with respect to the Earth, focusing on sustainability for all.

Our responsibility as ethical scientists includes the need to develop AI that is both ethical in its use and ethical in its development (for example, AI can be energy intensive to train!  We will discuss this also!)

Our main Geoethics reading will come from a book called “Scientific Integrity and Ethics with Applications to the Geosciences” (linked below).  We will also be making use of some of the case studies in the book (see assignments below).

In addition to reading, we will use another Ethics Unwrapped video and a journal article about responsible use of AI for climate research.

Caring for Our Earth

 Image from What is Geoethics