CSEM03

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CSEM03

• Ethics in Computing

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At the end of this session you should be able to

• Describe an overview of ethical theories
• Apply workable ethical principles
• Describe some examples of ethical issues in
  research
• Describe some examples of ethical issues in
  computing

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Ethics map(Ethics in Computing site
http//ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/)
This map highlights many of the ethical issues
ininformation technology facing society
We will be looking mainly at the basics according
to this map but many of above areas could form
the basis of a review paper for Assignment 1
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Ethical theories(from Quinn, M. (2005) Ethics
for the Information Age)

• The formal study of ethics goes back at least
  2,400 years to the Greek philosopher Socrates
• Ethical theories are frameworks for moral
  decision-making
• The workable theories are those that make it
  possible to for a person to present a persuasive,
  logical argument to a diverse audience

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Ethical theories Subjective Relativism

• Relativism
• There are no universal moral norms of right or
  wrong
• Subjective relativism
• Each person decides right and wrong for himself
  or herself (Whats right for you more not be
  right for me)
• Pros well-meaning and intelligent people can
  have totally opposite opinions about moral issues
• Cons no moral distinction is made between the
  actions of different people
• E.g. Mother Theresa and Adolf Hitler probably
  both thought that they were doing the right
  thing-do we give them the same credit for living
  good lives?
• To sum up not a workable theory

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Kantianism

• Kant believed that peoples actions ought to be
  guided by moral laws
• And that these laws were universal
• The only thing in the world that can be called
  good without qualification is good will
• Our sense of what we ought to do is called
  dutifulness

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Universalize the moral rule

• To evaluate this we universalize it what would
  happen if everybody in extreme circumstances made
  false promises?

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Kants second formulation of the categorical
imperative

• This is different from a hypothetical imperative
  which is an order to do something if you want a
  particular result
• eg Ayres gives the example dont eat too much
  if you dont want to get fat
• But a categorical imperative is absolute - there
  are no conditions attached
• People find this one more useful
• Act so you always treat both yourself and other
  people as ends in themselves and not as a means
  to an end

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Duty

• The categorical imperative goes hand in hand with
  a strong sense of duty and is similar to ethical
  principles found in many religions Do unto
  others as they would unto you

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Arguments for and against Kantianism (Quinn, 2003)

• For
• Rational Based on the premise that beings can
  use logic to explain the why behind the
  solutions
• It produces universal guidelines
• All persons are treated as moral equals
• Against
• Sometimes no single rule fully explains a
  situation
• There is no way to resolve conflict between rules

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Scenario (from Quinn)

• Carla is a single mother who has a full-time job
  and is studying 2 evening courses per semester
  and is under pressure to graduate at the end of
  the year but also wants to spend time with her
  child.
• One professor requires 4 assignments for the
  course (far more than is usual)-she has As for
  the first 3 assignments but she does not have
  time to study and produce the final report. She
  purchases an essay from an online company and
  passes it off as her own
• Is Carlas action morally justifiable?

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Utilitarianism

• The purpose of morality is to make the world a
  better place.
• Morality is about producing good consequences,
  not having good intentions
• We should do whatever will bring the most benefit
  (i.e., intrinsic value) to all of humanity.

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What is the purpose of morality?

• The utilitarian has a very simple answer to the
  question of why morality exists at all
• The purpose of morality is to guide peoples
  actions in such a way as to produce a better
  world.
• Consequently, the emphasis in utilitarianism is
  on consequences, not intentions.

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The fundamental imperative

• The fundamental imperative of utilitarianism is
• Always act in the way that will produce the
  greatest overall amount of good in the world.
• The emphasis is clearly on consequences, not
  intentions.

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Assessment of utilitarianism

• Utilitarianism is a morally demanding position
  for two reasons
• It always asks us to do the most, to maximize
  utility, not to do the minimum.
• It asks us to set aside personal interest.

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Utility calculation

• For any given action, we must calculate
• How many people will be affected, negatively as
  well as positively
• How intensely they will be affected
• Similar calculations for all available
  alternatives
• Choose the action that produces the greatest
  overall amount of utility (positive minus
  negative)

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Jamie Olivers attempts to improve the standard
of nutrition in UK schools lunches

• Utilitarians would have to calculate
• Benefits
• Increased nutrition for x number of children
• Increased performance, greater long-range chances
  of success
• Incidental benefits to contractors, etc.
• Costs
• Cost to each taxpayer
• Contrast with other initiatives that could have
  been funded and with lower taxes (no initiative)
• Multiply each factor by
• Number of individuals affected
• Intensity of effects

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Comparing workable ethical theories

• Kantianism starts from the viewpoint of duty
  (concentrates on the individual)
• Utilitarian theories are oriented towards the
  consequences of the actions (people should do
  good)

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Ethics in research writing scientific fraud

• We are going to look at a case study of
  scientific fraud and how it was reported in the
  scientific press
• Your task is to assess the ethics of the issues
  and whether the assertions stated in the articles
  are fairly presented and unbiased (in other words
  are do they use unfair tactics to influence their
  audience)

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University of Sunderland Ethics Policies,
Procedures and Practices

• You can access the document relating to the
  University of Sunderland ethics policies at
• http//www.sunderland.ac.uk/hs0rpu/code.doc

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British Computer Society Thought Leadership
debate on Ethical Computing

• Imagine that you want to buy diesel fuel for a
  lawn mower and a popular variety of garden
  fertiliser, visiting two shops to do this. When
  you get home you're surrounded by big men in
  uniforms and flashing blue lights.
• Why? Because both products had embedded Radio
  Frequency Identification (RFID) tags - and the
  confluence of products you bought alerted the law
  enforcement agency. Maybe you're a keen gardener
  maybe you're a bomb-maker.

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We have the technology but how do we
monitor/influence how it is used?

• Some new technologies have very obvious ethical
  implications that can be considered early - for
  example the use of multi-user dimensional (MUD)
  gaming programmes. Indeed the MUD community has
  already faced the issue of dealing with
  unacceptable behaviour from users via their
  avatars.
• In 3D or virtual reality games and in some chat
  forums on the Web, your avatar is the visual
  "handle" or display appearance you use to
  represent yourself. On Worlds Chat and similar
  sites, you can be a unicorn, a bluebird, or any
  kind of creature or object that seems right.

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Summary

• This lecture covered
• an overview of ethical theories
• Some examples of ethical issues