COMPUTER AND INFORMATION ETHICS

By: Richard Ramos

Effects of Technology In countries through out the world, the “information revolution” has altered many aspects of life significantly.

Examples: Employment, medicine, security, transportation and entertainment.

Consequently it has also affected society in bad ways also.

Examples: Human relationships, careers, family life, values and many more.

After world War II, the world would undergo “a second industrial revolution” — an “automatic age” with “enormous potential for good and for evil” that would generate a staggering number of new ethical challenges and opportunities.

A quote from Norbert Wiener

Computer Ethics is a branch of philosophy which deals with how people that use computers should make decision regarding professional and social conduct.

What is Computer Ethics

The Goods Computers in the

Workplace Looking at a

computer As a “universal tool” that can perform almost any task.

computers don't require sleep, they don't get tired, they don’t ask for raises, they don’t ask for vacation, they don't go home ill or take time off for rest and relaxation and at the same time, computers are often far more efficient than humans in performing many tasks

The Bad

computers obviously pose a threat to jobs.

They also have an effect to human health, security, happiness, freedom, knowledge, opportunities, de-skilling workers.

Computers also need repairs which at times can cost a lot of money.

The Ethics •It is possible, for example, that such workers will feel stressed trying to keep up with high-speed computerized devices •or they may be injured by repeating the same physical movement over and over again•or their health may be threatened by radiation emanating from computer monitors. These are a few of the ethical issues that arise when information technology is introduced into the workplace.

•It is possible, for example, that such workers will feel stressed trying to keep up with high-speed computerized devices •or they may be injured by repeating the same physical movement over and over again•or their health may be threatened by radiation emanating from computer monitors. These are a few of the ethical issues that arise when information technology is introduced into the workplace.

A typical problem in computer ethics arises because there is a policy vacuum about how computer technology should be used. Computers provide us with new capabilities and these in turn give us new choices for action.The employment outlook, however, is not all bad. Consider, for example, the fact that the computer industry already has generated a wide variety of new jobs: hardware engineers, software engineers, systems analysts, webmasters, information technology teachers, computer sales clerks, and so on.

The Ethics Cont. In this era of computer “viruses”

and international spying by “hackers” who are thousands of miles away, it is clear that computer security is a topic of concern in the field of Computer Ethics

New Forms of danger exist as a consequence of new forms of technology

One of the more controversial areas of computer ethics concerns the intellectual property rights connected with software ownership.

computers and security, computers and unemployment, responsibilities of computer professionals, computers for persons with disabilities, computers and religion, information networks and globalization, virtual communities, teleworking, merging of human bodies with machines, robot ethics, artificial intelligence

Conclusion

In 1991 a task Force of the ACM and IEEE adopted a set of guidelines (“Curriculum 1991”) for college programs in computer science. The guidelines say that a significant component of computer ethics (in the broad sense) should be included in undergraduate education in computer science [Turner, 1991].

The Accreditation Board for Engineering Technologies (ABET) has long required an ethics component in the computer engineering curriculum

Computer ethics today is rapidly evolving into a broader and even more important field.