Facing the Computer Ethics Dilemma
C. Dianne Martin and David H. Martin
Ethics in the Context of a Profession
Other sciences and professions that have had hundreds of years to develop ethical
concepts continue to wrestle with new and troublesome ethical problems raised
by technological advances. Therefore, it is not surprising that a comparatively
new field of knowledge, such as computer science, will experience problems in
developing ethical concepts and practices. For example, medicine and law are
well-defined professions with limited membership. Although they both contain
several highly visible public issues, ethical decisions involving their practitioners
are made out of the public view for the most part. Some would argue that this
process takes place in a self protective manner for the good of the profession.
The computer field, on the other hand, involves many more people and professions
from widely diverse situations. The application of computer ethics is made more
complicated because there are computer users at all levels throughout our society.
Twenty years ago computers were not nearly so numerous or networked together
as they are today. Individuals who controlled computers functioned strictly
as computer professionals or computer scientists serving other people by providing
them with computer output. Now, because of the widespread use of computers,
distinguishing between specialists who work only with computers and those who
use them as tools for other disciplines lacks significance. “Computers
have become as commonplace as telephones. The related ethical issues have thus
become more democratically defined. More people have more to say about computer
ethics simply because so many… people are computer-literate… the diffuseness
of the impacts and the wide distribution of the technology mean that recognizing
impacts, let alone solving an ethical dilemma, is much more difficult…
Ethical principles applied to millions of computer users effectively become
the equivalent of common law (Parker, et al., 1988. p. 3).” For this reason
Parker et al has identified four computer specific ethical issues related to
new ways of viewing information processing, assets, instruments of acts and
symbols of intimidation that need to be addressed in computer ethics codes.
These issues are described in Table 9.
An example of a code of ethics that is both computer and profession specific
is the Code of Ethics of the International Society for Technology in Education
(ISTE), the society that represents over 12,000 computer-using educators at
all levels of education. The ISTE Code of Ethical Conduct is based upon principles
in nine areas related to use of computers in education and provides rules of
conduct in each area. The preamble to the Code of Ethics shown in part in Table
8 reiterates the “importance of people” theme: “Educators should
believe in the essential importance of knowledge, morality, skill, and understanding
to the dignity and worth of human beings, individually and collectively. As
an educator using computers… I will use computers… only in ways that
promote the dignity and worth of the learners (ISTE, 1987, p. 51).”
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