Developing technology involves making design choices, and those choices often implicate human values. Value Sensitive Design, or VSD, offers a framework for identifying and grappling with these value-laden decisions. Ultimately, apps, websites, software, systems, artificial intelligence, etc. that are developed using VSD are better as a direct result of considering the values of individuals and society.
In this chapter, we discuss why it is essential to consider ethics and values when building technology, introduce the VSD framework, and define key terminology.