At the outset of the SHARESPACE ethics work, the approach followed established best practices in ethics by design in order to meet the stated aims and objectives. The ethics by design literature commonly adopts a checklist-based method, and this pattern initially guided the development of a SHARESPACE-specific checklist. More than 20 categories were identified, including deception, privacy, personhood, attachment, reality, and human–machine interactions (see Deliverable 1.4 of the SHARESPACE project for the full list). Although the checklist approach offers valuable critical insight for technology development, the large number of categories results in an unmanageable volume of issues that cannot realistically be addressed within the scope of typical EU-funded projects, which generally run for only three to four years.
Good Enough Ethics (GEE) by contrast is a relational model inspired by Good Enough Parenting. The parenting philosophy, developed by paediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott in the 1950s, prioritises familial relationships rather than parental perfectionism.
GEE works with technologists to draw on their experiences and intuitions. It is not a top-down approach, but one developed dialogically in collaboration. It aims to prioritise the role of relationships in ethical technology development.
Below are the 6 principles of GEE:
Policy Document
To find out more information about GEE, read our policy document or contact the DMU team (Professor Kathleen Richardson, Dr Kathleen Bryson and Dr Jessica Sutherland).
Book Publication
The results of the Good Enough Ethics framework will be published in 2026 under the title: Good Enough Ethics by Design: AI and Alternative Digital Realities. The book explores the social ethics of AI, XR, and what it means to be “human enough” in our digital future, to be published by Palgrave Macmillan.
Keynote talks
Prof. Kathleen Richardson and Dr. Kathleen Bryson have presented their Good Enough Ethics framework at the Ars Electronica Festival 2024 & 2025. These talks can be viewed down below.
References:
Boddington, P. (2023). AI Ethics: A Textbook. New York, New York, USA: Springer
