professional issues in computing: virtual worlds morality
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Professional Issues in Computing: Virtual Worlds Morality . Kevin Macnish (IDEA CETL). Plan. Online Interactions Hurt, harm, benefit, kindness to others Proxy personae Virtual “Crime” Habbo Hotel Second Life Real-World / Virtual-World Interactions Sony vs. Manchester Cathedral - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Professional Issues in Computing:
Virtual Worlds Morality Kevin Macnish (IDEA CETL)
Plan• Online Interactions
– Hurt, harm, benefit, kindness to others– Proxy personae
• Virtual “Crime”– Habbo Hotel– Second Life
• Real-World / Virtual-World Interactions– Sony vs. Manchester Cathedral– Medal of Honor
ONLINE INTERACTIONS“It doesn’t really matter – it’s only online”
Online Interactions• Can people be hurt, harmed, benefitted,
treated kindly, etc. through what is done online?
• Online behaviour: different rules?– E.g. forums, chat rooms, blogs, IM, etc.
• Is flaming less wrong than face-to-face insults?
Proxy Personae• Usernames/Avatars - disguise real identity
– “It’s ok for ‘me’ (my avatar) to insult ‘her’ (her avatar) because it’s not really her being insulted and it’s not really me doing the insulting.”
How convincing is this as a justification?What are the similarities and differences between
online interactions between proxy “identities” and, say, fiction?
VIRTUAL “CRIME”
Habbo Hotel: Virtual Theft
Habbo Hotel: Virtual Theft• Property here is a metaphor
– Representative of “real” property– Costs “real” money– Would the situation be different had it not
involved “real money”?• It’s the real-world harms that matter
– “Virtual harm” does not matter• Deception has taken place here
– Deception widely seen as wrong
Virtual Paedophilia on Second Life
Virtual Paedophilia on Second Life• Is this wrong? Why?• Encourages likelihood of “real-world”
paedophilia• The expression of a vice
– A morally bad trait of character• Do these arguments apply to novels?
– Nabukov’s Lolita?– Graphic novels?
REAL-WORLD/VIRTUAL-WORLD INTERACTIONS
Sony & Manchester Cathedral
Sony & Manchester Cathedral• Part of what is valuable about certain places is
their associations – These can be destroyed/corrupted by fiction– E.g. Notre Dame and Quasimodo
• Issue of consent– How public is a cathedral? Does this matter?
• Do violent games contribute to gun crime?– If so then a reason not to perpetuate violent games
• The building itself has not been touched– Violation charge seems unconvincing
Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor• Real ongoing conflict• Real people being portrayed
– Desensitizes us to war?– Prepares us for war?– Fails to honour dead?
• Ability to play either side– Unpatriotic?– Breed contempt for own soldiers?
• MoH continues to be controversial:
Medal of Honour: Warfighter
Proposed Conclusion• Only real-world morality matters
• How we behave on computers is part of the real-world– Includes online and virtual activities– Such activities therefore subject to moral
consideration– Acceptance that real people affected
Recap• Online Interactions
– Hurt, harm, benefit, kindness to others– Proxy personae
• Virtual “Crime”– Habbo Hotel– Second Life
• Real-World / Virtual-World Interactions– Sony vs. Manchester Cathedral– Medal of Honor