20 International Journal of Technoethics, 1(4), 20-38, October-December 2010 Copyright © 2010, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Keywords: Concepts, Emerging ICT, Ethical Analysis, Ethics, Methodology iNTroduCTioN If we knew the consequences of novel technolo- gies, then we would be in a better position to identifying the ethics of emerging information and Communication Technologies: An essay on issues, Concepts and method Bernd Carsten Stahl, De Montfort University, UK Richard Heersmink, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Philippe Goujon, Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Belgium Catherine Flick, Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Belgium Jeroen van den Hoven, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands Kutoma J. Wakunuma, De Montfort University, UK Veikko Ikonen, VTT (Technical Research Centre of Finland), Finland Michael Rader, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany AbsTrACT Ethical issues of information and communication technologies (ICTs) are important because they can have signifcant effects on human liberty, happiness, and people’s ability to lead a good life. They are also of func- tional interest because they can determine whether technologies are used and whether their positive potential can unfold. For these reasons, policy makers are interested in fnding out what these issues are and how they can be addressed. The best way of creating ICT policy that is sensitive to ethical issues pertain to being proactive in addressing such issues at an early stage of the technology life cycle. The present paper uses this position as a starting point and discusses how knowledge of ethical aspects of emerging ICTs can be gained. It develops a methodology that goes beyond established futures methodologies to cater for the diffcult nature of ethical issues. The authors outline how the description of emerging ICTs can be used for an ethical analysis. leverage or address them. Expected and unex- pected positive results could be supported and strengthened while problems could be avoided or mitigated. An important aspect of the con- sequences of technologies is related to moral perceptions and ethical norms. In the area of DOI: 10.4018/jte.2010100102