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Track Report:
Teaching Computer Ethics
Keith Miller
Members: Bob Barnes (Philosophy, Lehigh University), Tim Bergin (CS, American University), Fran Grodzinsky (CS, Sacred Heart University, Bruce Jawer (IBM), Penelope Karovsky (CSSCR, University of Washington), Ed Lowry (DEC), Jim Novitzki (North Central College), Dave Nuesse (CS, University of Wisconsis-Eau Claire), Mary Ann Pellerin (Ed Tech & Media, Central CT State University), Helen Wolfe (Teikyo Post University).
The divisions of opinions in this group are reflected in a series of comments that came from the wide ranging discussions:
Students need intellectual tools for reasoned debate and discussion. Resource: “Understanding Moral Theories” by Claude Harris. Instill in students the ability to make choices. What’s really important is discovering that there are choices and questions about those choices.
Moral theory’s two pitfalls: paralysis of analysis and a series of cases that do not converge. How do we make the theoretical real? Can we transfer gut level experience to the classroom. Resource: Tom Snyder productions has a media simulation about ethics. Students can put together a code of ethics and try it out on cases. Classroom discussions can generate productive conflict.
Stealing software is stealing… isn’t it? There are already policies. Software as idea and as product. But technology shakes up traditional definitions like property. Copyright law destroys the “softness” of software. Are we witnessing the death of the software industry? Libraries of software can be a public good. Different strategies of paying for software development: pay up front and then allow copying.
How are software standards related to computer ethics? Who bears responsibility for the impact of computer product development? What responsibilities are attached to the designation “computer professional”?
Don’t kill the poets! Over-restriction can stifle creativity. Has technology outstripped our ability to manage it? Is there a difference between computer ethics and engineering ethics?
Political and economic forces underpin “moral” issues; these issues are also political and economic issues. Are we examining problems of moral choices or problems of legal definition? Challenge students to agree on definitions to enable productive debate about the underlying issues. The intersections of legal and ethical questions are of particular interest.
A “guardian angel” cannot be automated. But codes, laws, and norms can act as a guardian, if not an angel. “Do you obey the current law?” is one way to pose questions; another way is to explore the grey areas, where ideas are nebulous and ill-defined. The grey area is intellectually challenging.
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