Computer Ethics

Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Chapter 1 Introduction to Sociotechnical Computer Ethics
	Chapter Outline
	Scenarios
	1.1 A Virtual Rape
	1.2 Surprises About Social Networking
	1.3 RFID and Caring for the Elderly
	Introduction: Why Computer Ethics?
	The Standard Account
	New Possibilities, a Vacuum of Policies, Conceptual Muddles
	An Update to the Standard Account
	The Sociotechnical Systems Perspective
	Reject Technological Determinism/Think Coshaping
	Reject Technology as Material Objects/Think Sociotechnical Systems
	Reject Technology as Neutral/Think Technology Infused with Value
	Sociotechnical Computer Ethics
	Micro- and Macro-Level Analysis
	Return to the “Why Computer Ethics?” Question
	Conclusion
	Study Questions
Chapter 2 Ethics and Information Technology
	Chapter Outline
	Introduction: “Doing” Ethics
	Descriptive/Normative
	The Dialectic Method
	“Ethics is Relative”
	Ethical Theories and Concepts
	Utilitarianism
	Intrinsic and Instrumental Value
	Acts versus Rules
	Critique of Utilitarianism
	Case Illustration
	Deontological Theory
	Case Illustration
	Rights
	Rights and Social Contract Theory
	Virtue Ethics
	Analogical Reasoning in Computer Ethics
	Conclusion
	Study Questions
Chapter 3 Ethics in IT-Configured Societies
	Chapter Outline
	Scenarios
	3.1 Google in China: “Don’t Be Evil”
	3.2 Turing Doesn’t Need to Know
	3.3 Turnitin Dot Com
	Introduction: IT-Configured Societies
	Technology as the Instrumentation of Human Action
	Cyborgs, Robots, and Humans
	Three Features of IT-Configured Activities
	Global, Many-to-Many Scope
	Distinctive Identity Conditions
	Reproducibility
	IT-Configured Domains of Life
	Virtuality, Avatars, and Role-Playing Games
	Friendship and Social Networking
	Education and Plagiarism Detection
	Democracy and the Internet
	What Is Democracy?
	The Arguments
	Is the Internet a Democratic Technology?
	Conclusion
	Study Questions
Chapter 4 Information Flow, Privacy, and Surveillance
	Chapter Outline
	Scenarios
	4.1 Email Privacy and Advertising
	4.2 Workplace Spying: The Lidl Case
	4.3 Data Mining and e-Business
	Introduction: Information Flow With and Without Information Technology
	Why Care About Privacy?
	“No Need to Worry”
	The Importance of Privacy
	Privacy as an Individual Good
	Privacy as Contextual Integrity
	Privacy as a Social Good Essential for Democracy
	Autonomy, Democracy, and the Panoptic Gaze
	Data Mining, Social Sorting, and Discrimination
	Crude Categories
	Summary of the Arguments for Privacy and Against Surveillance
	Is Privacy Over? Strategies for Shaping Personal Information Flow
	Fair Information Practices
	Transparency
	Opt-In versus Opt-Out
	Design and Computer Professionals
	Personal Steps for All IT Users
	A Note on Privacy and Globalization
	Conclusion
	Study Questions
Chapter 5 Digital Intellectual Property
	Chapter Outline
	Scenarios
	5.1 Obtaining Pirated Software Abroad
	5.2 Free Software that Follows Proprietary Software
	5.3 Using Public Domain Software in Proprietary Software
	Introduction: The Complexities of Digital Property
	Definitions
	Setting the Stage
	Protecting Property Rights in Software
	Copyright
	Trade Secrecy
	Patent Protection
	Free and Open Source Software
	The Philosophical Basis of Property
	Natural Rights Arguments
	Critique of the Natural Rights Argument
	A Natural Rights Argument Against Software Ownership
	PS Versus FOSS
	Is it Wrong to Copy Proprietary Software?
	Breaking Rules, No Rules, and New Rules
	Conclusion
	Study Questions
Chapter 6 Digital Order
	Chapter Outline
	Scenarios
	6.1 Bot Roast
	6.2 Wiki Warfare
	6.3 Yahoo and Nazi Memorabilia
	Introduction: Law and Order on the Internet
	Sociotechnical Order
	Online Crime
	Hackers and the Hacker Ethic
	Sociotechnical Security
	Who Is to Blame in Security Breaches?
	Trade-Offs in Security
	Wikipedia: A New Order of Knowledge Production
	Freedom of Expression and Censorship
	John Stuart Mill and Freedom of Expression
	Conclusion
	Study Questions
Chapter 7 Professional Ethics in Computing
	Chapter Outline
	Scenarios
	7.1 Software Safety
	7.2 Security in a Custom Database
	7.3 Conflict of Interest
	Introduction: Why Professional Ethics?
	Therac-25 and Malfunction 54
	The Paradigm of Professions
	Characteristics of Professions
	Sorting Out Computing and its Status as a Profession
	Mastery of Knowledge
	Formal Organization
	Autonomy
	Codes of Ethics
	The Culture of Computing
	Software Engineering
	Professional Relationships
	Employer–Employee
	Client–Professional
	Other Stakeholders–Professional
	Professional–Professional
	Conflicting Responsibilities
	A Legal Perspective on Professionalism in Computing
	Licensing
	Selling Software
	Selling–Buying and the Categorical Imperative
	Torts
	Negligence
	A Final Look at the State of the Profession
	Guns-for-Hire or Professionals
	Efficacy, Public Trust, and the Social Contract
	Conclusion
	Study Questions
Websites
References
Index