When we began our ethics work on SHARESPACE, we followed best practice in ethics by design aiming to achieve the above aims and objectives. We noticed that in the ethics by design literature a checklist style was the most common approach. We initially followed this pattern and created our own SHARESPACE checklist. For example, we identified over 20 categories including deception, privacy, personhood, attachment, reality and human-machine interactions (see Deliverable 1.4 of the SHARESPACE project for the full list). While a checklist style does offer valuable critique for the development of technologies, the excess of categories
produces an overwhelming amount of issues that cannot be feasibly addressed within the confines of EU-funded projects (that typically last 3 to 4 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
