HDT_Discourse Data Ethics (DDE)
The project pioneers a discourse-ethical approach to balancing ethics and business in the digital economy. In this approach, “ethics as principles” is transformed into “ethics as process”—a continuous practice of discussion.
Factsheet
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Schools involved
School of Engineering and Computer Science
Business School - Institute(s) Institute for Data Applications and Security (IDAS)
- Research unit(s) IDAS / Identity and Access Management (IAM)
- Strategic thematic field Thematic field "Humane Digital Transformation"
- Funding organisation BFH
- Duration 01.01.2026 - 22.01.2026
- Head of project Olena Yatsenko
- Project staff Olena Yatsenko
Situation
The project is based on a mixed qualitative–participatory design aimed at integrating the principles of discourse ethics into business practices. The first stage involves conducting semi-structured problem-framing interviews (n≈7–10) with a diverse group of stakeholders (companies using data for profit in Switzerland and in Ukraine) to identify key factors underlying the tensions between ethical principles and economic models in data use. Following Habermas’ ideas, and more presice in discourse analysis s validity-claim coding and Q-methodology will be applied to map and quantify stakeholder value perspectives. For partner companies, Ethics-as-a-Service (EaaS) prototypes will be offered as consulting solutions for balancing ethical principles with profit-driven interests. The business viability of these proposed solutions will be evaluated using indicators such as cycle time, rework avoided, incident cost avoided (proxy ROI), and trust/retention lift among users.
