Integrating ethical, societal and environmental issues into algorithm design courses

Abstract

This document, intended for computer science teachers, describes a case study that puts into practice a questioning of ethical, societal and environmental issues when designing or implementing a decision support system. This study is based on a very popular application, namely road navigation software that informs users of real-time traffic conditions and suggests routes between a starting point and a destination, taking these conditions into account (such as Waze). The approach proposes to intertwine technical considerations (optimal path algorithms, data needed for location, etc.) with a broader view of the ethical, environmental and societal issues raised by the tools studied. Based on the authors' experience conducting sessions with students over several years, this document discusses the context of such a study, suggests teaching resources for implementing it, describes ways to structure discussions, and shares scenarios in different teaching contexts