ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

ITB002 - IT PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

Week 6Ethics and Technology

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Definition & Planning

Analysis

Design

Build

Implementation

Where are we?

Weeks 1, 2 & 3

Weeks 4, 5, 6 & 7

Weeks 8 & 9

Weeks 10 & 11

Weeks 12 & 13

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Lecture Topics

Cyber ethics The moral system Cyber ethics issues Role of Professional Associations

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Terminologies

• Computer Ethics

Described a field that examined moral issues related to computing and information technology

• Internet Ethics

Commonly used for ethical issues involving the internet

Computing Technologies and Communication Technologies have converged in recent years, resulting in networked systems.

Hence the term “Cyber ethics” is more suitable as it covers a wide range of moral issues involving cybertechnology.

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Ethics Definitions

• A system of moral principles, by which human actions and proposals may be judged good or bad or right or wrong (Macquarie Dictionary) ;

• . . . rules of practice in respect to a single class of human actions; as, political or social ethics; medical ethics (Webster’s Dictionary)

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Components of a Moral System

There is no universally agreed upon definition of “morality” among

ethicists and philosophers.

So we could say that morality is a system of rules for guiding human

conduct and principles for evaluating those rules. The key words are:

• System• Conduct and Principles

We will discuss these terms later on in this lecture…..

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Moral System

Rules for guiding

the actions of

Individuals (micro level ethical rules)

Rules forestablishing

socialpolicies (macrolevel ethical

rules)

Rules of Conduct

(Action guiding rules)

Principles of Evaluation

E.g. principles such as

social utility and Justice as fairness

E.g. ’Do not harm others’ and ‘Do not

Steal’

E.g. ‘Softwareshould be

Protected’ and ‘Privacy

should be respected’

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

What do you think?

•Copying Software you purchased and making copies for your friends

•Making an extra copy of your purchased software just in case your installed version and original gets corrupted

•Giving out the email addresses of your classmates to a marketer without asking their explicit permission

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Some Cyber Ethics Issues

• Privacy and Cyberspace• Security in Cyberspace• Intellectual Property disputes in Cyberspace• Regulating commerce and speech in Cyberspace

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Privacy and Cyberspace

Case Illustration• In 2005 the US govt demanded that Google turn over a list of all

queries entered into its search engine in a given week. In addition, they sought 1 million randomly selected Web addresses from various Google databases. Google refused to comply on the grounds that the privacy rights of its users would be violated.

Discussion• The Govt claimed that it had the authority to seek electronic

information to fight the war on terror• Critics saw this as a threat to civil liberty and thought that the govt

was overreaching its authority to “sneak and peak” on its citizens.

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Security in Cyberspace

Case Illustration

• In 2001 internet users were attacked by a potentially dangerous computer worm – Code Red Worm. The worm was designed to infect systems during the first eighteen days of a given month and then activate on the nineteenth day, when infected computes would flood a target site with bogus data.

• Hackers - “ A hacker is anyone who accesses a computer system or network without authorisation from the owner” (Simpson, 2006)

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Intellectual Property Disputes in Cyberspace

Case Illustration

•In 1999, the Recording Industry Association on America sued the owners and operators of Napster website for distributing copyrighted music on the Internet. The recording industry accused Napster of illegally distributing copyrighted information through its centralized server.

Discussion•The courts ruled against Napster•Similar case for sharing copyrighted movies

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Regulating Commerce and Speech in Cyberspace

Case Illustration• As a service to its employees, Microsoft included a link from its Web

site directly to a page on the Ticketmaster website that listed both cultural events and enable users to purchase tickets for them. Ticketmaster objected to Microsoft's use of this direct link to their sub page, arguing that it should have a right to determine how information on its site is viewed. Ticketmaster was also worried about losing revenue from its advertisers, if the site’s visitors bypassed its top-level page, which contained various advertising banners.

• SPAM – forms of email that is unsolicited, promotional, and sent in bulk to multiple users.

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Role of Professional Associations

Understanding the role of professional associations in setting & monitoring ethical standards for professionals

with thanks to Professor Alan Underwood

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Typical Characteristics of a Profession

• Standard educational curriculum e.g. Body of Knowledge

• Requirement for a tertiary qualification

• An acceptance of personal liability

• Commitment to ongoing professional development

• Code of Ethics

• A certificate or license to practice

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Australian Council of Professions

• Australian Medical Association• Institution of Engineers• Royal Australian Institute of Architects• Australian Dental Association• Australian Veterinary Association• Australian Society of CPA’s• Institute of Chartered Accountants• Institution of Surveyors• Institute of Actuaries• Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors• Australian Physiotherapy Association• Australian Audiological Society• Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

ACP definition of a Profession

• “A disciplined group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards and hold themselves to, and are accepted by the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognized body of learning derived from research, education and training at a high level, and who are prepared to exercise this knowledge and these skills in the interests of others.”

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Role of a Code of Ethics

Professionals have obligations to:• Society, employers, clients, co-professionals and other professional

organizations.ore a Code of Ethics acts to: • Provide community or society with a set of expectations of

professional conduct• Provide practitioners with guidelines on how to behave / handle

difficult situations• Enable professional societies to monitor professionalism or

behaviour

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Potential Problems

• Ethical Q’s are frequently not subject to black & white answers• Aspects of codes may conflict with each other, and need resolution

“on balance”• There may be alternative ethical behaviors with none being

objectively better than others• Limited legislation exists to protect personal security and privacy

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Australian Computer Society

• On 1 January 2000, the ACS was admitted into the Australian Council of Professions

• ACS is the first IT society in the world to achieve full professional status in its own right.

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

ACS Code of Ethics

• “I will act with professional responsibility and integrity in my dealings with clients, employers, employees, students and the community generally...”

• Values– Priorities– Competence– Honesty– Social Implications– Professional development– Computing Profession

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Values

• Priorities: – I must place the interests of the

community above those of personal or sectional interests.

• Competence: – I must work competently and

diligently for my clients and employers.

• Honesty– I must be honest in my

representations of skills, knowledge, services and products.

• Social Implications: – I must strive to enhance the

quality of life of those affected by my work.

• Professional Development: – I must enhance my own

professional development, and that of my colleagues, employees and students.

• Advance the Information Technology Profession:

– I must enhance the integrity of the information technology profession and the respect of its members for each other.

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

Conclusion

Self Test - Is it Ethical?

• Is it honorable?• Is it honest?• Does it avoid any possibility of conflict of interest?• Is it within your competence?• Is it fair?• Is it considerate (i.e. not wasteful of time & resources)

– John McLeod, Ethical Conflicts

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

References

• http://www.cityu.edu.hk/is/ethics/ethics.htm#define

– What is Professional Ethics? Issues

– Advantages & Disadvantages

– Codes of Professional Ethics

– Ethics Education

– Ethics Resources

– Ethics Articles

– Cultural Perspectives

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

References

• Computer Ethics http://library.thinkquest.org/26658/• Computer Professionals for Social responsibility http://www.cpsr.org/• Tavani, Herman T., “Ethics and Technology”, Wiley, 2007

ITB 002 – IT Professional Studies

What’s next?

Definition & Planning

Analysis

Design

Build

Implementation

Weeks 1, 2 & 3

Weeks 4, 5, 6 & 7

Weeks 8 & 9

Weeks 10, 11 & 12

Week 13

Week 7:Project Checkpoint

focus on:Analysis Report &Team Performance