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Ethical Issues in Computer Science

CSCI 328, Fall 2013Note set 1

Introduction to Computer Ethics

Course webpage:http://mathcs.holycross.edu/~croyden/csci328

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What is meant by "Ethics"?

What does "Ethics" mean?(We will answer in class)

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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, particularly as a computer scientist, 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).

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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)

Ethical Questions:(We will consider these in class)

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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.

Example:What is a computer program?

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?

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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.