Digital Ethics Dissertation Titles
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Digital Ethics Dissertation Titles

Info: 1557 words(1 pages) Digital Ethics Dissertation Titles
Published: 2nd December 2025 in Digital Ethics Dissertation Titles

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Introduction

The field of digital ethics looks at how the rapid changes in the digital landscape impact our psychological experiences. The rapid development of artificial intelligence, virtual reality and emerging technologies creates a diverse and fully-fledged set of psychological and ethical issues around concepts such as trust, bias, accountability, identity change, and how personalised digital environments affect our ability to understand each other. Through this work, the suggested dissertation titles demonstrate the gaps in our understanding of human behaviour and thinking, and help create new opportunities for interdisciplinary research connecting the psychology of humans with the latest digital technology.

Digital Ethics Dissertation Titles

1. Strengthening Global Identity Infrastructure: Developing Scalable Public–Private Partnership Models for Cross-Border Digital Identity Systems

Even though there has been an advancement in digital identity innovation, states as well as private companies have a hard time creating identity systems that are both secure and workable on an international basis. On the other hand, there is a great lack of comprehension regarding how Public–Private Partnership (PPP) models can harmonise technology, governance, and trust globally.

Problem Statement:  
The existing literature does not cover the full spectrum of PPP models that, in fact, can face the technical, legal, and organisational challenges of the cross-boundary digital identity systems, and thus, it is through this that the non-interoperable and fragmented solutions come into being.

Research Question:
What might be the characteristics of a scalable and secure Public–Private Partnership that would allow governing, sustaining, and implementing digital identity systems across different political and geographical locations?

Outcome:
The result will be a framework for governance and implementation based on PPP and customised for the digital identity ecosystems of cross-border, including the growth routes, structures of accountability, and the mechanisms of coordination among the stakeholders.

Reference:

Supangkat, S. H., Firmansyah, H. S., Rizkia, I., & Kinanda, R. (2025). Challenges in implementing cross-border digital identity systems for global public infrastructure: A comprehensive analysis. IEEE Access, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3547373

2. Creating a Holistic Operational Blueprint: A Lifecycle Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Cross-Border Digital Identity Systems

Global adoption of digital identity systems across borders is one of the trends that is becoming increasingly common, but at the same time, there is still no universal lifecycle standard that could be applied to their planning, deployment, and assessment over the long term. Each current practice is separate from the others and tends to concentrate on certain technical actions rather than on the whole system’s evaluation and coordination.

Problem Statement:
Governments and institutions are left with no structured roadmap for long-term sustainability because there is no comprehensive lifecycle framework that integrates the planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of cross-border digital identity systems.

Research Question:
What kind of lifecycle framework can be created that would make it easier to plan, implement, and continuously evaluate the cross-border digital identity ecosystems effectively?

Outcome:
A thorough, multi-stage lifecycle model comprising governance, operational design, evaluation metrics, risk mitigation checkpoints, and feedback loops to guarantee the uninterrupted functioning of international identity systems.

Reference:

Supangkat, S. H., Firmansyah, H. S., Rizkia, I., & Kinanda, R. (2025). Challenges in implementing cross-border digital identity systems for global public infrastructure: A comprehensive analysis. IEEE Access, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3547373

3. Building Trust Beyond Borders: A Socio-Technical Framework for Public Perception, Literacy, and Adoption of Cross-Border Digital Identity

Without public trust, literacy, and equitable access, advanced digital identity systems cannot be successful. However, the societal and behavioural aspects are still largely unstudied, particularly in the case of cross-border situations, where factors such as culture, law, and politics differ greatly.

Problem Statement:
The existing literature has not been able to form a comprehensive view of trust, digital literacy, and socio-economic status as the main actors in the adoption of cross-border digital identity systems leading to limited usage and resistance in many parts of the world.

Research Question:
What is the role of trust, digital literacy, and socio-economic conditions in the public acceptance and adoption of cross-border digital identity systems?

Outcome:
A socio-technical adoption model indicating behavioural determinants, trust-building strategies, equity consideration, and user adoption-enhancing interventions for cross-border identity systems.

Reference

Supangkat, S. H., Firmansyah, H. S., Rizkia, I., & Kinanda, R. (2025). Challenges in implementing cross-border digital identity systems for global public infrastructure: A comprehensive analysis. IEEE Access, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3547373

4. Virtual Reality Beyond Symptom Reduction: Developing Therapeutic Models for Self-Identity Reconstruction

VR therapy has come a long way in treating symptoms like anxiety and phobias, but the question of its capability to heal deeper psychological problems, such as the self-concept change, inner conflict, and meaning securing, is still open and not sufficiently assessed.

Problem Statement:
Present-day VR psychotherapy techniques are primarily focused on symptom relief and do not offer a therapeutic approach for identity reconstruction. VR’s capacity to promote self-awareness and, at the same time, aid more profound psychological changes has not yet been theoretically and clinically addressed.

Research Question:
What is the proper way of structuring and applying Virtual Reality in psychotherapy to methodically aid the process of self-identity reconstruction and unravelling the internal psychological conflicts?

Outcome:
A model of VR-based therapy that comprises techniques for identity-focused interventions, clinical practice guidelines, and an evidence-supported framework that illustrates how VR can contribute to the realisation of one’s identity beyond just symptom relief.

Reference:

Garcia-Gutierrez, A., Montesano, A., & Feixas, G. (2025). Using Virtual Reality to Promote Self-Identity Reconstruction as the Main Focus of Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 81, 345–354.  https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23771

5. Measuring the Unmeasurable: Developing Conceptual and Assessment Frameworks for Identity Work in VR-Based Psychotherapy

The concept of self-identity still lacks a clear definition among the various psychological theories, and there are no universally recognised tools for assessment. As a result, the use of virtual reality for identity-related interventions is mired in conceptual confusion, and the process for assessing the impact of the therapy remains difficult.

Problem Statement:
The absence of a validated conceptual or measurement framework rules out the possibility of proper evaluation of self-identity reconstruction in VR-supported interventions, leading to inconsistent evaluations and poor comparability across studies.

Research Question:
In what way can self-identity be both conceptually defined and operationally measured so that it is consistent with VR-based psychotherapy?

Outcome:
A clarified conceptual model of self-identity that is proper for VR research, together with psychometrically validated assessment tools and a VR-integrated evaluation system incorporating behavioural, narrative, and experiential data.

Reference:

Garcia-Gutierrez, A., Montesano, A., & Feixas, G. (2025). Using Virtual Reality to Promote Self-Identity Reconstruction as the Main Focus of Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 81, 345–354.  https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23771

6. Closing the Technology–Therapy Gap: Advancing Evidence-Based Protocols for VR-Supported Identity Reconstruction

The rapid development of VR technology has left the clinical area far behind. There is a missing link between the cutting-edge technology and the application in therapy, as there are no structured protocols for the integration of VR into therapy focusing on identity.

Problem Statement:
The use of VR for the support of identity reconstruction has no standardised, evidence-based clinical protocols, and the effect on the patient’s identity by using VR in therapy has not been sufficiently studied in terms of long-term therapeutic outcomes.

Research Question:
Which clinical protocols and support systems can be implemented to effectively combine VR with identity-related psychotherapy, and how can the process of identity transformation be made stable and long-lasting?

Outcome:
A collection of evidence-based clinical protocols for VR therapy, based on platforms like EYME, along with a long-term outcome evaluation model and practical guidelines for therapists, will help in creating a link between the VR technology and clinical practice.

Reference:

Garcia-Gutierrez, A., Montesano, A., & Feixas, G. (2025). Using Virtual Reality to Promote Self-Identity Reconstruction as the Main Focus of Therapy. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 81, 345–354.   https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23771

7. Fragmented Knowledge: Investigating Epistemic Fragmentation as a Structural Source of Hermeneutical Injustice in Algorithmic Profiling Systems

People’s online environments are being increasingly algorithmically profiled and, consequently, personalised through the production of content and experiences. However, this personalisation causes epistemic fragmentation, whereby the personalities of individuals no longer overlap in the areas of experience or information.

Problem Statement:
Current scientific literature does not provide sufficient insight into how the situation in which everyone lives in an individualised, algorithmically-crafted environment hampers the development of shared hermeneutical resources in communities and thereby rendering individuals incapable of recognising, vocalising, or disputing the emergence of algorithmic harms.

Research Question:
In what way does the epistemic fragmentation caused by algorithmic profiling contribute to the hermeneutical injustice of the individuals’ ability to share, compare, and collectively understand their experiences being weakened?

Outcome:
A conceptual–analytical model that illustrates how the digital environments being fragmented lead to the emergence of hermeneutical injustice, accompanied by suggestions for making systems that ensure the preservation of collective epistemic resources.

Reference:

Milano, S., & Prunkl, C. (2025). Algorithmic profiling as a source of hermeneutical injustice. Philosophical Studies, 182(1), 185-203. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11098-023-02095-2

8. Rebuilding Epistemic Infrastructure: Examining Communication Systems and Structural Conditions that Enable (or Prevent) Collective Understanding of Algorithmic Harms

Algorithmic profiling tends to subject individuals to personalised digital bubbles, which, in turn, suppress the communication channels that enable collective sense-making. The existing literature draws attention to the issues of opacity and alienation, but it does not consider the lack of an epistemic infrastructure that can help the shared recognition of algorithmic harms.

Problem Statement:
The research that investigates communication infrastructures and digital environments’ structural features as hindrances to the development of shared conceptual tools for the identification and response to algorithmic injustices is still very scarce.

Research Question:
What are the structural and communicative conditions that are required for the adequate epistemic infrastructure in algorithmically mediated environments, and how do their breakdowns lead to hermeneutical injustice?

Outcome:
A framework for the design principles and structural conditions that will enable digital platforms to provide communal hermeneutical resources, thus minimising the risk of being affected by new algorithmic harms.

Reference:

Milano, S., & Prunkl, C. (2025). Algorithmic profiling as a source of hermeneutical injustice. Philosophical Studies, 182(1), 185-203. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11098-023-02095-2

9. Enhancing Reliability in AI-Driven Forensics: Addressing Technical and Deterministic Limitations of Large Language Models in Digital Investigations

Due to the processing of natural language and the possibility of evidence analysis, LLMs are coming to be used in digital forensic investigations at a fast pace. At the same time, the current ones have very serious drawbacks, among which are: poor handling of non-textual forensic artefacts, non-deterministic behaviour, and inability to deal with and high demand for computational resources, which all together make the models highly unreliable in legal and evidential contexts.

Problem Statement:

Digital forensics requires much higher standards of reliability and predictability than current LLM architectures can provide. Their non-deterministic nature, lack of specialised forensic capabilities, and multimedia data support put up huge hurdles for both admissibility and reliability of investigation.

Research Question:
What are the ways to overcome the technical shortcomings of LLMs—non-textual data processing, determinism, linguistic complexity handling, and scalability?

Outcome:
A technical reliability framework proposing architectural improvements, determinism-enhancing methods, multimodal integration strategies, and resource optimisation pathways to improve LLM suitability for forensic workflows.

Reference:

Mahar, M. A., Raza, A., uddin Shaikh, Z., Burdi, A., Shabbir, M., & Iftikhar, M. (2025). Transformative Role of LLMs in Digital Forensic Investigation: Exploring Tools, Challenges, and Emerging Opportunities. VAWKUM Transactions on Computer Sciences, 13(1), 217-229. https://www.vfast.org/journals/index.php/VTCS/article/view/2127

10. Accountability in AI-Assisted Forensics: Developing Ethical, Legal, and Interpretability Frameworks for LLM Integration in Digital Investigations

The application of LLMs in digital forensics has stirred up numerous ethical and legal questions. AI-assisted forensic results are almost certainly going to be endangered and even rejected because of the mentioned issues, such as the algorithm bias, the unfairness of the process, violation of data privacy, absence of responsibility, and low interpretability.

Problem Statement:
The introduction of LLMs in digital forensic investigations has created a pressing need for ethical and legal governance frameworks that are complete in pinpointing responsibility, promoting interpretability, and tackling bias as well as ensuring compliance with privacy regulations (e.g., GDPR).

Research Question:
What are the necessary ethical, legal, and interpretability safeguards to ensure accountability, fairness, and regulatory compliance in the implementation of LLMs in the digital forensic investigation process?

Outcome:
A governance and accountability model will be built containing the following elements: ethical standards, bias-mitigation techniques, explainability requirements, legal compliance protocols, and delineation of human-AI responsibility for forensic professionals.

Reference:

Mahar, M. A., Raza, A., uddin Shaikh, Z., Burdi, A., Shabbir, M., & Iftikhar, M. (2025). Transformative Role of LLMs in Digital Forensic Investigation: Exploring Tools, Challenges, and Emerging Opportunities. VAWKUM Transactions on Computer Sciences, 13(1), 217-229. https://www.vfast.org/journals/index.php/VTCS/article/view/2127

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