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Ethotechnics

Definition of Ethotechnics in the Ethotechnics glossary (Core concepts). The craft of designing systems that can behave morally. Where ethics asks “What should I do?” and system…

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Scholarly metadata

Authorship

Contact: research@ethotechnics.org

Publication details

  • Published: Dec 3, 2025
  • Last updated: Jan 9, 2026
  • Version: v1.1.0
  • DOI: Pending Zenodo deposit

License: CC BY-SA 4.0

Credit Ethotechnics Institute, include the term title + version, and link to the glossary permalink.

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Changelog

  • v1.1.0 · 2026-01-09 — Expanded scholarly metadata, operational tests, and provenance notes.
  • v1.0.0 · 2025-12-03 — Initial glossary release with stable permalinks.

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Cite this glossary entry Formats: APA, MLA, Chicago, BibTeX, RIS

Version

v1.1.0

Last updated

Jan 9, 2026

DOI

Pending Zenodo deposit

APA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. (2026). Ethotechnics. Ethotechnics glossary. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/ethotechnics

MLA

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Ethotechnics." Ethotechnics glossary, 2026, https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/ethotechnics.

Chicago

Ethotechnics Institute Research Team. "Ethotechnics." Ethotechnics glossary. Jan 9, 2026. https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/ethotechnics.

BibTeX

@misc{glossary_ethotechnics,
  title={Ethotechnics},
  author={Ethotechnics Institute Research Team},
  year={2026},
  howpublished={Ethotechnics glossary},
  url={https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/ethotechnics},
  version={v1.1.0}
}

RIS

TY  - WEB
TI  - Ethotechnics
AU  - Ethotechnics Institute Research Team
PY  - 2026
UR  - https://ethotechnics.org/glossary/ethotechnics
ER  -

Definition

The craft of designing systems that can behave morally. Where ethics asks “What should I do?” and systems theory asks “How does it behave?”, Ethotechnics asks: How can it behave well? Moral behavior is treated as an architectural capability, not a personal virtue.

Scope

A. Core concepts. These terms define the Ethotechnics discipline itself and set expectations for moral system design.

Adjacent terms

hospitals platforms governance

Operational tests

  • Evidence appears in documentation, interface cues, or governance artifacts that reflect ethotechnics.
  • Teams can point to a concrete example that demonstrates ethotechnics in practice.

Genealogy

Ethotechnics uses Ethotechnics to extend the a. core concepts vocabulary and connect governance, design, and policy teams.

Example corpus

  • A hospital release board adds Ethotechnic stop-checks before deploying triage updates to keep clinicians in control.

References