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Ethics of Computing MONT 113G, Spring 2012

Session 16Introduction to Computer Ethics

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Goals

• To learn how to think about ethical issues surrounding use of computers in terms of philosophical theories.

• To gain a fuller understanding of the social and ethical issues affected by computers.

• To prepare ourselves to make good ethical decisions in a computerized world.

• To improve presentation, debating and writing skills.

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What is meant by "Ethics"?

What does "Ethics" mean?• "Moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior."• "The branch of knowledge that deals with moral principles."(From the Macintosh dictionary).

•When faced with a difficult choice or decision, how do we decide on a good/moral course of action?

• When society creates rules/laws, how do we decide on rules that produce good/moral outcomes or behavior?

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Why Study Computer Ethics?

1. It will improve one's ability to reason (make decisions or critique other's decisions) about right and wrong.

2. If one has ever made an ethical decision that one regrets...

3. Because ethical dilemmas will arise in your career and you will be judged by your peers and others on the "quality" of your decision.

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Why not just study Ethics?•Aren't the issues the same as before but in a new context?

•E.g. There have always been debates about privacy, hidden camera's, wiretapping, etc.

•How do computers and technology change things? (We will discuss in class).

•Computers have brought about the creation of new entities and a new scale.

•New technologies are not always purely good. They need to be evaluated. (E.g. Biological weapons)

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The Standard AccountJames Moore (1985) provided an account for why it is necessary

to study computer ethics.

a) Computers create new possibilities.b) The new possibilities create policy vacuums.c) Filling the vacuums often requires sorting out conceptual

muddles.

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Computers Create New Possibilities

Examples: (Class suggestions)Virtual worlds, such as "Second Life".Facebook interactions.

Ethical Questions:Should we pursue the new possibility?How should we pursue it?Who will gain?Who will lose?

Ethical analysis considers whether a new technology should be adopted.

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New Possibilities create Policy Vacuums

When new technologies arise there are often no laws or rules suitable for resolving questions that arise from them.

Example: Computer file access.Are Hackers accessing files doing something wrong?

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Conceptual Muddles

New technology often introduces conceptual muddles that must be sorted out for policies to be formed.

What is a computer program? (Question for class)A product? (patent law)A service?An expression of an idea? (copyright law)A series of mental steps? (patent and copyright do not apply)

The conceptual muddle must be sorted out in order for companies to own and sell software.

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Problems with Standard Account

What are the problems with the standard account? (Class discussion)

1) Not specific to computers/IT

2) Emphasis on newness of technology ignores maturing technology.

3) It ignores the social context of technology.

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The Sociotechnical Systems Perspective

The Sociotechnical systems perspective can be summarized by three rules.

1. Reject technological determinism--Think coshaping.

2. Reject technology as material objects--Think sociotechnical systems.

3. Reject Technology as neutral--Think Technology infused with values.

Sociotechnical systems provide a framework for examining ethical issues associated with computer technology.

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Why Computer Ethics?

•Technology is part of society and affects the way we act.

•Technology affects the courses of action available to us and the decisions we make.

•The better we understand how technology affects us and society, the better our decisions will be.