This article provides an account of the ethical issues that arise when digital technologies and online spaces are structured by Big Data algorithms. We show that although the uses of Big Data may be new, traditional theological and ethical categories are still applicable, including “the sins of the fathers” from hamartiology and the scholastic concept of haecceity. Using these resources, we map the overall ecosystem in which digital technologies are developed and used, identifying the relationships between the individuals and organizations involved. We show how these relationships are often characterized by various kinds of harm. We then argue for a reorientation of the tech ecosystem toward co‐liberation—and ultimately, joy.

In the Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, Kant claims that perception of force through touch is fundamental to our knowledge of substance in space. However, he also holds that perception cannot have modal content. Causation is a modal notion, so how can Kant allow perception of causal force? In response to this puzzle, I provide a new reading of Kant’s theory of touch. Touch does not involve perception of the necessity of a cause, but it does involve awareness of the activity of our body in relation to other bodies. Human embodied activity has a hitherto unrecognized central role in Kant’s accounts of empirical cognition of substance in space, the science of such a substance, and the irreducibility of its causal forces.

This chapter describes and expands upon virtue ethical and virtue theoretical approaches to moral education in and for virtual spaces. Building on existing claims that virtual spaces call for new kinds of virtues, we argue that structural constraints make risks and vices especially hard to overcome in these contexts. We organise these constraints around a three-fold approach to integrity, according to how they hinder knowledge, self-efficacy, and self-unity. We then turn to positive recommendations for removing these barriers. We outline implications for end users by exploring the need for the development of the "burdened virtues", applying ideas from Lisa Tessman (2005). We also consider what it would look like for this kind of moral development to be supported by educators, policymakers, and other leaders within the tech ecosystem. We suggest that the way forward will be to educate for and build spaces in which the online and offline worlds are drawn into closer alignment, supporting integrity in all its forms.

User experience of digital platforms and technologies tends to be quite ‘thin’, characterized by low-quality engagements such as addictive tendencies or browsing on autopilot. This paper takes an interdisciplinary approach to identifying more cognitive and active dimensions of ‘thick’ user experience, introducing a new design and UX framework which is centered around the notion of joy. In this paper, we explain how we are piloting this framework and working at developing measurements that operationalize the different dimensions of joy, through a series of case studies of different digital platforms and applications.The first part of this paper develops a conceptual framework for building for joy. We consider existing UX frameworks which focus on dimensions such as delight, happiness, satisfaction, pleasure, adoption, and retention. We explain how many harmful kinds of engagement either do not impact negatively on these kinds of assessments, or even result in higher scores. We then draw on recent work in positive psychology, which has seen a move from happiness and ‘thin’ conceptions of pleasure to ‘thicker’ notions such as joy. Although there is no one definition of joy, the kind of experience we are interested in involves an intense feeling of fulfilment and a deep alignment between some good in the world and oneself (Johnson, 2020a, 2020b). This kind of joy encompasses a range of motivations and intensities, and incorporates a cognitive profile which includes recognition of integrity and dependence on external factors, as well as normative assessments.The second part of this paper provides an overview of our case studies, which explore how design elements of digital platforms interact with the motivational, cognitive, and normative dimensions of joy identified within our conceptual framework. For these studies, we used a range of methodologies, including surveys which aimed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, structured interviews, and autoenthnography. We suggest that platforms and applications which do well within our joy-focused framework promote a deeper and healthier level of engagement with digital technologies. We end by opening up some new research directions, including how building for joy might correlate with increases in adoption, retention, task success, and financial profitability.