Computer Ethics Overview Gordon College

Introduction  Computer ethics is growing and changing as computers are growing and changing growing and changinggrowing and changing  Narrow view: apply traditional ethical to issues regarding the use of computer technology  Very Broad view: Also include: standards of professional practice, codes of conduct, aspects of computer law, public policy, corporate ethics

History of Computer Ethics  MIT professor Norbert Wiener WWII (early 1940s) “second industrial revolution “ the integration of computer technology into society will eventually constitute the remaking of society

History of Computer Ethics Mid 1960s, Donn Parker of SRI “when people entered the computer center they left their ethics at the door” Late 1960s, Joseph Weizenbaum (MIT) inspired many thinkers and projects in computer ethics Mid 1970s, Walter Maner inquiry dealing with ethical problems aggravated, transformed or created by computer technology inquiry dealing with ethical problems aggravated, transformed or created by computer technology

History of Computer Ethics By the 1980s, a number of social and ethical consequences of IT going public:  computer-enabled crime  disasters caused by computer failures  invasions of privacy via computer databases  major law suits regarding software ownership

History of Computer Ethics Mid 80’s James Moor (Dartmouth College) published influential article "What Is Computer Ethics?" Deborah Johnson published Computer Ethics, the first textbook

History of Computer Ethics 1990’s new university courses, research centers, conferences, journals, articles and textbooks appeared, and a wide diversity of additional scholars and topics became involved. Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility Electronic Frontier Foundation Electronic Frontier Foundation

What is Ethics? The study of moral, legal, and social issues…

What is Computer Ethics? New Twist to Old Ethical Issues: “ethical problems aggravated, transformed or created by computer technology” Maner “pose new versions of standard moral problems and moral dilemmas, exacerbating the old problems, and forcing us to apply ordinary moral norms in uncharted realms “ Johnson

What is Computer Ethics? Best available definition: a field concerned with "policy vacuums" and "conceptual muddles" regarding the social and ethical use of information technology Moor policy vacuum – Computers provide us with new capabilities and these in turn give us new choices for action conceptual muddle - a problem in computer ethics may seem clear initially, a little reflection reveals a conceptual muddle

What is Computer Ethics? 1990’s Gotterbarn a branch of professional ethics, which is concerned primarily with standards of practice and codes of conduct of computing professionals

Computer Ethics Topics  Computers in the Workplace  Computer Crime  Privacy and Anonymity  Intellectual Property  Professional Responsibility  Globalization  The Metaethics of Computer Ethics

Computers in the Workplace  LOST JOBS: Economic incentives to replace humans with computerized devices are very high  NEW JOBS: Computer industry already has generated a wide variety of new jobs  ALTERED JOBS: –“de-skilling” –New skilled jobs

Computer Crime  Privacy and confidentiality  Integrity -- assuring that data and programs are not modified without proper authority  Unimpaired service  Consistency -- ensuring that the data and behavior we see today will be the same tomorrow  Controlling access to resources $50 million identity theft $50 million identity theft

Privacy and Anonymity  Mid-1960s the American government already had created large databases of information about private citizens - census data, tax records, military service records, welfare records, and so on. BIG-BROTHER PLAN ID number for every citizen in database PUBLIC OUTCRY Plan aborted … USA Privacy laws passed

Intellectual Property  Free Software Foundation - software ownership should not be allowed at all. Free Software Foundation Free Software Foundation  One can own the following aspects of a program: –source code –object code –algorithm –look and feel

Professional Responsibility  Computer professionals find themselves in a variety of professional relationships with other people  Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), have established codes of ethics, curriculum guidelines and accreditation requirements Association for Computing MachineryInstitute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Association for Computing MachineryInstitute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

Globalization “Computer ethics” evolving into “global information ethics”  Global Laws  Global Cyberbusiness  Global Education  Information Rich and Information Poor

The Metaethics of Computer Ethics  Computer technology would be absorbed into the fabric of life, and computer ethics would thus be effectively absorbed into ordinary ethics [Johnson]

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