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Computer Ethics: A Necessarily Brief Introduction

This document provides an introduction to computer ethics. It discusses that computer ethics examines ethical issues related to computer technology, including problems exacerbated by computers, new problems created by computers, and applying ethics to new domains. It notes computer ethics is concerned with policy vacuums and conceptual issues regarding social and ethical use of technology. It also discusses identifying and analyzing the impact of information technology on values like privacy, security, and more. The document outlines some key aspects of computer ethics including professional ethics for computing professionals and levels of justification for studying computer ethics.

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Maria Ch
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46 views

Computer Ethics: A Necessarily Brief Introduction

This document provides an introduction to computer ethics. It discusses that computer ethics examines ethical issues related to computer technology, including problems exacerbated by computers, new problems created by computers, and applying ethics to new domains. It notes computer ethics is concerned with policy vacuums and conceptual issues regarding social and ethical use of technology. It also discusses identifying and analyzing the impact of information technology on values like privacy, security, and more. The document outlines some key aspects of computer ethics including professional ethics for computing professionals and levels of justification for studying computer ethics.

Uploaded by

Maria Ch
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Computer Ethics

A Necessarily Brief Introduction


What is Computer Ethics?
•Ethical problems aggravated, transformed or
created by computer technology. (Maner)
– Old ethical problems made worse by computers
– e.g. data security/privacy
– others came into existence because of
computer technology – e.g. data loss due to
malware, online hacking of bank accounts
•Pose new versions of standards moral problems
and moral dilemmas, exacerbating old problems &
forcing to apply ordinary moral norms in uncharted
realms. (Johnson)
What is Computer Ethics? (contd.)
•Computer ethics concerns with
– policy vacuum & conceptual muddle
– regarding social & ethical use of computer
technology (Moor)
•Policy vacuum:
– how computer technology should be used.
– Often existing policies are inadequate for new
capabilities/choice of actions
– e.g. making Facebook profile picture public
without user’s authorization
Conceptual muddle:

A complex situation in which it becomes absolutely


difficult to figure out right vs. wrong
What is Computer Ethics? (contd.)
•Computer Ethics identifies & analyzes the
impact of I.T on such social & human values
– as health, wealth, work, knowledge,
opportunity, freedom, democracy, privacy,
security etc. (Bynum)
•Professional ethics – guide the day to day
activities of computing professional,
whoever involved in design & development
of computer artifacts. (Gotterbarn)
e.g. break into bank accounts

e.g. rumors

e.g. hacking
Copying programs

Is program harmful to society?

Don’t be rude
Levels of justification to study
Computer Ethics
•We should study computer ethics because;
– will make us behave like responsible
professionals.
– will teach us how to avoid computer abuse &
catastrophes
– the advance of computing technology will
continue to create temporary policy vacuums
Levels of justification to study
Computer Ethics (contd.)
•……because;
– use of computing technology permanently
transforms certain ethical issues to the degree that
their alternatives require independent study
– use of computing technology creates, and will
continue to create, novel ethical issues that require
special study
– set of novel & transformed issues is large enough &
coherent enough to define a new field
Cyberethics and cybertechnology
Definitions.
Cyberethics is the field of applied ethics
that examines moral, legal, and social issues
in the development and use of
cybertechnology.
Cybertechnology refers to a broad range
of technologies from stand-alone computers
to the cluster of networked computing,
information and communication technologies.
Internet ethics and information ethics.
•Ethical Decision Making
•Why Ethical Models / Theories?
– No formula to solve Ethical Problems
– Ethics helps us not only in distinguishing
between right and wrong, but also in knowing
why and on what grounds our judgment of
human actions is justified
– Ethical theories help:
• How to decide what is right, what is wrong
• To identify important principles or guidelines
• You as a computer professional must
consider trade-offs and make a decision!
•Ethical Theories:
– For centuries in different societies, human
actions have been judged good or bad, right or
wrong, based on theories or systems of justice
developed, tested, revised, and debated by
philosophers and/or elders in that society
– Such theories are commonly known as
– Ethical Theories
– Codes of ethics have then been drawn-up
based on these ethical theories
– The processes of reasoning, explanation, and
justification used in ethics are based on these
theories.
Decision making in Islam
Based on Quran & Sunnah which describes Islamic law: Fiqah
Decisions are made according to Fiqah, if a new or novel situation
appears, Islam directs to do Ijtehad, Ijma and Qiyas
Ijtehad: means that knowledgeable people gathers to explore the
validity of a given decision in accordance to Fiqah
e.g. A conference was conducted in K.S.A, to determine whether
donating organs to save human life is right or not w.r.t Fiqah

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