The Fundaments of an Ethical Parallel track:Building blocks for practical ethics in design processes

In the context of a practical turn in the philosophy of technology (Eggink & Dorrestijn, 2026) and in line with ethics of technology as accompaniment to technology development (Verbeek 2011) we introduced the concept of an “ethical parallel track for innovations” (Dorrestijn & Eggink, 2021; Dorrestijn et.al. 2024). Ethics can be made practical in technology development by applying a series of ethical tools for specific phases or aspects in design. Together these interventions build up to a parallel track for ethics all along a design process. The better the ethical interventions connect to the design process, the better this ethical parallel track works. Therefore, a foundational question is: parallel to what, and parallel how? What are relevant models for innovation processes, and how can ethical deliberation become connected in a parallel track? As a contribution to answering this question, we will discuss some of models for theoretical understanding and practical governance of design and innovation processes. We will identify what are fundamental elements where ethical intervention can be connected. One innovation process model are the Technological Readiness Levels. For connecting ethics it seems useful if a notion of ethical readiness (levels) becomes elaborated. In design methods there are often successive phases (such as problem statement, concepts, pilot), which prompts the question if there are specific ethical aspects in different phases. Other elements in design methods we will discuss are diverging and converging phases (Roozenburg & Eekels, 1991), the mutual development of problem and solution as the core of design thinking as described by Dorst (2011), and the iterative nature of development processes (Buijs, 2012). This theoretical exercise is in support of a practical ethics, which will be made accessible by visual representations of the design models and ethical track.