Learning The Importance
of Computer Ethics
Key Terms and Concepts: e-mail, worms, Trojan
Horse, alias, information technology, ethics, computer ethics,
spamming, chat rooms, privacy, property, appropriate use.
10 Questions to Ask Yourself
1. Do you ever connect your computer to a telephone
or otherwise use a network? Do you use e-mail? Do you use a modem?
2. Do you legitimately own all of the software, games, and programs you have
or use? Where are the manuals, boxes, and license agreements for these programs?
3. Where did the contents of your homework come from? If you copied text and
images from another source, did you get permission?
4. Do you ever use other people's computers or look at or copy their files
without their knowledge or permission?
5. Do you use the telephone, video, cable TV, computer networks, bulletin boards,
or other network services without paying for them?
6. Do you have any newsletters, plans, guidelines, or "how-to" files or documents
about making bombs, breaking into systems, stealing computer access, or stealing
passwords?
7. Do you have any prank programs, computer viruses, worms, Trojan horse programs,
or other malicious software? Do you use bulletin boards or systems that contain
these things, or do you have friends or acquaintances who do?
8. Who do you associate with when you use the net?
9. Do you have any computer graphics files that you would be embarrassed about?
Are they things you would be comfortable showing me? Showing your grandmother?
10. Do you ever use an assumed name, a handle, or an alias instead of your
real name? What are you trying to hide by not using your real name? Are you
trying to pretend to be something or someone you're not?
All of the above questions deal with computer and internet use. All fall in
the category of “Computer Ethics”. Below is a useable definition
for “computer ethics”.
Computer ethics, better labeled "information technology ethics," deal
with the proper use of a wide range of telecommunication and data storage
devices. Ethics is the branch of philosophy that deals with moral judgments,
issues of right and wrong, and determining what behaviors are humane and inhumane.
Most codes of ethical behavior describe actions as "ethical" that do
one or more of the following:
- Promote the general health of society
- Maintain or increase individual rights and freedoms
- Protect individuals from harm
- Treat all human beings as having an inherent value and accord those beings
respect
- Uphold religious, social, cultural, and government laws and norms
A simple way of saying this is that an "ethical
action" then, is one that does not have a damaging impact on oneself,
on other individuals, or on society.
Why do technology ethics then deserve special attention?
There are a variety of reasons.
Using technology to communicate and operate in a "virtual world," one that
only exists within computers and computer networks, is a new phenomenon that
is not always well understood by many adults who received their formal education
prior to its existence. Both fear and romance usually accompany new technologies.
Our mass media has produced movies like War Games, The Net, and Mission Impossible
that capitalize on the unfamiliarity many adults have of communications technologies.
Movies, bestsellers and television programs often make questionably ethical
actions such as breaking into secure computer systems seem heroic or sympathetic.
Our new technological capabilities also may require
new ethical considerations.
1. The ability to send unsolicited commercial
messages to millions of Internet email users (spamming) was not possible
before there was email or the Internet. Does the fact that the financial
burden of unsolicited advertisements now falls on the recipient rather
than the sender create the need for new rules?
2. Organizations collect and use data about individuals
to do "target marketing." When does the knowledge of an individual's
tastes and interests help organizations provide customized services
and when does that knowledge help them manipulate the user?
3. Digital photography has made the manipulation
of images undetectable, an impossible feat with chemical photography.
4. Intellectual property in digital format
can now be duplicated with incredible ease. Do we need clearer definitions
of property?
5. Computer viruses, hackers, and chat rooms
filled with invisible strangers have been a factor in most our lives
for less than ten years.
6. One of the most significant reasons that computer ethics deserve special
attention is because of our rather human ability to view one's actions in the
intangible, virtual online world as being less serious than one's actions in
the real world.
Johnson's 3 P's of Technology Ethics
1. Privacy - I will protect my privacy and respect the privacy
of others.
2. Property - I will protect my property and respect the
property of others.
3. appropriate Use - I will use technology in constructive ways and
in ways which do not break the rules of my family, church, school, or government.
Questions to Think About?
How is ethical use by parents, teachers and other adults the same or different
from that of children and young adults?
Does the school or government have a role in assuring its citizens' data privacy?
What
is Computer Ethics http://www.southernct.edu/organizations/rccs/resources/teaching/teaching_mono/moor/moor_definition.html#definition
Computer
ethics: are students concerned? http://216.239.53.100/search?q=cache:RXbcqeFvTz4C:www.math.luc.edu/ethics96/papers/sackson.doc+importance+of+computer+ethics&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Computer
Learning Foundation Emphasizes Responsible Use of Technology http://www.computerlearning.org/articles/respmyth.htm
