Data ethics
The DNA dilemma
A classroom ethics simulation exploring genetic data privacy, consent, and competing responsibilities through four stakeholder perspectives.
The question
How do decisions about genetic data change when viewed from the perspective of a consumer, executive, buyer, or data scientist?
My contribution
Co-designed classroom scenarios and co-led the discussion with Tonantzin Real Rojas. The repository credits Gemini-assisted implementation of the web experience.
The approach
- Designed four stakeholder paths around a hypothetical genetic-data sale and its consequences.
- Used branching choices to surface tensions between consent, privacy, research value, and organizational obligations.
- Added reflection prompts and a personal decision recap to support classroom discussion.
What this explores
The simulation makes ethical tradeoffs tangible by asking participants to choose, revisit their assumptions, and compare how responsibility looks from another stakeholder’s perspective.
Scope & limitations
The scenarios are hypothetical teaching material inspired by real events. They are designed for ethical reflection, not as a factual reconstruction or legal analysis of the 23andMe case.
Discussion and scenario design: Ammy Lin and Tonantzin Real Rojas. Developed for IDS 704: Data Science Ethics and Policy at Duke University, with AI-assisted web implementation.
Project summary and attribution are based on the repository documentation.