ASSIGNMENT ON

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM 107

COURSE INSTRUCTOR: MOHAMMAD YASEER NAZEER

SUBMITTED BY:
FULL NAME: MOHAMMAD TAHMIDUR RAHMAN
NSU ID: 2131499630
SEMESTER: FALL 2021
EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected]
Q1. What is unique about computers as far as ethical issues?

Ethics refers to a set of rules that govern an individual or a body of individuals. Like any ethical
question, ethical issues in IT must be addressed in a logical and rational manner. The uniqueness
of ethical issues regarding computers arises when it is considered a new object, where the
previous rules of ethics, which are decisions made about an action being morally wrong or right,
don’t apply. James Moor (1985) discusses computer ethics in his book “What is computer
ethics”, and he presents the idea that the rapid advancement and purposefulness of computers
raises many ethical dilemmas.

James Moor (1985) discusses the uniqueness of computer ethics in his aforementioned book.
Moor (1985) believes ethics regarding computers are unique for 3 primary reasons:

1. The invisibility factor

2. The computer’s impact on society
3. The logical malleability of computers

1 THE INVISIBILITY FACTOR:

The invisibility factor (Moor 1985) refers to the fact that most computer operations are invisible.
A computer processor can process billions of operations (cycles) in a single second. Hence, it is
almost impossible to monitor all the operations going on at a time. It is also tedious to do so.
This can lead to selective errors during processing if one or more operations go wrong. Left
unnoticed, they can return incorrect results. Take for example, the Pentium FDIV bug affecting
older Intel Pentium CPUs; When dividing numbers, there is a 1 in 9 billion chance of the 9th or
10th decimal digit being inaccurate, which leads to a less precise answer.
In a similar fashion, since computers can be considered as “black boxes” where the inputs and
operations are invisible, it allows for invisible programming values and invisible abuse. A
famous case of this is exemplified by a programmer who can steal excess interest from a bank. A
fraction of a cent is sometimes left over after calculating interest. The programmer can simply
write the program to transfer the fraction of a cent from all interest calculations to his own bank
account, thus embezzling money. Although this is a traditional case of stealing, due to the
method it is considered when dealing with computer ethics.
In a similar fashion, there are many ways in which computers can be used for unethical purposes,
such as computerized employee monitoring; where computers can monitor a task an employee is
performing much better and more discreetly than a human manager, for example. Invisible
programming also leads to

2 THE COMPUTER’S IMPACT ON SOCIETY:

As computer technology moves on and improves at a fast pace, it has an increasing effect on
society. Moor believes computers are changing our basic establishments and practices, and that
in the future many more aspects of our daily life will be automated by computers, which may
raise questions to the nature of the tasks performed.
3 THE LOGICAL MALLEABILITY OF COMPUTERS:
James Moor (1985) discusses the logical malleability of computers being their most
distinguished aspect in terms of other machines, logical malleability meaning that computers can
be programmed to do anything in regards to inputs, outputs, and the operations that are processed
in between. Computers can be uniquely characterized for a certain task, be it small or large.
Thus, a computer’s function can be changed by simply changing the input, or the software and
hardware respectively. Since computers are so universal, it allows a programmer to change the
function of a certain program so it can carry out other tasks in the background. The question
being, are the tasks ethical or not.

In conclusion, as we can see, it is clear that the case regarding ethical issues in computer science
and IT is quite unique in its own regard. Computers are so universal that it allows them to do
almost anything, especially, changing their purpose from one to another. Ultimately, it is up to
the people who program these machines to understand what is ethical and what is not, and it is as
important for us to set proper rules considering what should and should not be done.

Q2. How do policy vacuums (computer ethics) come about?

When dealing with computer ethics, usually, a problem arises as there exists a policy vacuum
about how computers should be used. Moor (1985) explains that a “policy vacuum” refers to a
lack of standard protocols that govern the ethics in the use of computer technology. Moor also
states that either no standard policies exist, or the pre-existing policies are inadequate and
incomplete. Computer ethics determine what the correct course of action should be in cases like
this, for example, to formulate a new policy to guide how a new computer technology should be
used in an ethical way. Computer ethics governs the use of computer technology and the impact
it has on our society.

On paper, creating new or augmenting older policies seems like a good plan, however, it is not
that practical. Often, when dealing with a policy vacuum, there exists a conceptual vacuum. An
issue when dealing with computer ethics might seem simple but often, a deeper analysis is
required to cover all bases. In this case, a conceptual framework is needed to help formulate a
policy for action. Most of the work related to computer ethics is proposing new concept-based
frameworks to help better understand computer ethics. Without an effective analogy relating a
case to another, we cannot practically evaluate an issue regarding computer ethics.

Policy vacuums occur mainly because the way computers are improving and the technology is
changing outpaces our ability to keep up with the rules and protocols. Computer ethics cannot be
a fixed set of rules like other forms of ethics, because computers are unique. It forces us to renew
most of our computer policies.

Moor (1985) provides an example to make things more concise. He provides a case where a new
policy needs to be formulated for protecting computer programs. It may be similar to protecting
an intellectual property or (IP). However, it can be difficult to define what a computer program is
or what it does, being a computer program can be very universal. Can a computer program be
owned by somebody? Is the owner the programmer? What if the programmer uses concepts and
algorithms made by another programmer? Can the program be protected by copyright? Does the
program do something new and unique, and if so, can it be patented? As such, there needs to be a
framework for evaluating questions that arise when dealing with computer ethics. Sometimes it
becomes a gray area; for example, if a person steals a piece of computer software, does it fall
under general ethics and law, or does it fall under computer ethics? What would be the difference
in each case? Questions like this arise often when dealing with computer ethics, which makes it
difficult to solve these issues.

Walter Maner, who coined the term ‘Computer Ethics’ and performed research on it, details
many ways in which computer ethics is unique; computers are uniquely fast, uniquely complex,
uniquely malleable, etc. Maner goes into detail on each aspect, however, we can summarize it
briefly; Computers store data in a unique and discrete way, which is why a small error or shift in
values can lead to a large shift in results. Computers generate data on a big scale at a really fast
pace, which makes it hard for humans to monitor. This adds to the issue of computers being
uniquely complex.

Computers and computer technology creates a near infinite number of opportunities in what can
be accomplished. Therefore, we have to make the decision of whether or not to pursue those
opportunities. It is up to us to properly adjust policies and align them with computer ethics, and
fix the lack of computer ethics policies. The complexity of this dilemma keeps increasing as
computers keep getting smaller, faster, and more complex. Our frameworks for evaluating the
purpose of computers should be scaled up accordingly.

Q3. How should the ethical problems presented by Computer Technology, Information
Technology, Information Networks and the Internet be approached?

Similar to any other ethical problem, ethical problems presented by computer technology and IT
must be approached with an open and diverse mind. Having a distinct mindset allows us to
consider all the possibilities regarding an issue. The development in computer technology and
recent growth has been an important factor in the interpretation and handling of computer ethics.
There are already a lot of frameworks for tackling ethical issues. We can use analogies to help us
in solving ethical problems related to computer technology.

The main gripe with today’s problems regarding computer ethics is that to identify or label
something, we need to question it. That leads to another question, which leads to another, and the
cycle continues. Thus, we find ourselves in a never-ending loop of questioning, which makes it
much more difficult when trying to make new policies for computer ethics. There are a few
primary issues concerning ethical problems presented by IT and computer technology:

1. Personal/Corporate data theft

2. Use of computer software

PERSONAL/CORPORATE DATA THEFT:

In this ever-growing computer industry, the most common issue is personal and non-personal
data theft. With the rise of computers and the fact that more and more services and industries are
adopting computer technology, it leads to higher crime, as sensitive data related to projects or
individuals are stolen. Take for example a programmer who writes a new piece of software for a
company. The program deals with sending sensitive information between the computers in an
office. As such, it is a closed loop. The programmer can put in values in the background, so that
the information is also being sent to his email. Thus, a data leak can occur. There are other ways
of stealing corporate data like this. Data breaches like this can often cost companies hundreds of
thousands of dollars. As such, proper steps must be taken to formulate policies to deal with,
when handling cases like this. All the employees can be questioned, the program’s source code
can be examined, data should be examined properly in this case.

USE OF COMPUTER SOFTWARE:

With the ever-growing tech industry, computers are becoming smaller, more complex, and faster.
The use cases of computers are becoming more universal and more widespread. Incorrect usage
of computer technology leads to misuse cases, and ethical dilemmas which arise when handling
these cases. Computer ethics can be defined as a divergent and dynamic field consisting of facts,
values, programs, designs and frameworks in a rapidly developing industry. Computer ethics
forces us to delve back into older policies and its values. The proper use of computer software,
and what is wrong and what is right regarding this use should be taught to kids at a young age.
Since a majority of kids in this generation are given various pieces of computer technology, be it
a smartphone or a tablet, it is important for us to monitor what they do using these machines.
Curiosity, if piqued, can lead to a breach of privacy. For example, a teenager may be curious as
to what kind of videos his friend watches, and may take his phone without his permission to
check it. This is a privacy breach, and it can be avoided by teaching them the core concepts and
values of privacy and freedom, especially in the field of computers and technology. Moreover, as
more and more information is being accessible these days on the internet, there exists a growing
concern as to what sort of unethical things can be done with this information. For example,
anyone can look up how to make a small-scale plastic explosive using household ingredients,
and that can obviously lead to some unethical actions.

Ultimately, it is up to us to decide what is right and what is wrong, when dealing with computer
ethics. It is important for us to formulate policies for everything and spread the information and
etiquette of computer technology, for the better of our society.

Sources:
https://www.cs.uct.ac.za/mit_notes/ethics/htmls/ch01s04.html
https://www2.units.it/etica/1999_2/moor.html
https://www.cs.earlham.edu/~dusko/cs63/fdiv.html
https://web.cs.ucdavis.edu/~rogaway/classes/188/spring06/papers/moor.html
http://ijcem.in/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Impacts_of_Computers_on_Todays_Society.pdf
https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/socialsciences/ppecorino/ciseshv_text/Chapter-2-Computers-and-
Ethics/Questions.html
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED505944.pdf
https://www.computing.dcu.ie/~renaat/ca613/9706ethics.pdf