Track Report:
Teaching Computer Ethics

Keith Miller

1. Overview
2. Track Pack
3. Track Meeting Organization
4. Highlights of Group Discussion
   Group 1
   Group 2
   Group 3
   Group 4
5. Joint Presentation to the Conference
6. Coordinator’s Summary

Group 3

Members: Peg Cibes (Math, University of Hartford), Judy Edgmand (CS, Oklahoma State University), Jim Green (Northern Michigan University), Joyce Currie Little (CS, Towson State University), Michael McFarland (CS, Boston College), Bob Minicucci (Consultant), Stanley Polan (CS, Franklin Pierce College), Sylvia Pulliam (CS, Western Kentucky University), Nancy Saks (CS, Wittenberg University), Wojciech Suchon (Logic, Jagiellonian University), Carolyne Tropper (CS, Rhode Island College), Mary B. Williams (Center for Science & Culture, University of Deleware).

Sylvia Pulliam acted as moderator of this group. The group produced a series of lists, recorded by Sylvia:

WE NEED:

• Teaching Materials:
• texts: easy texts at first, then progressively more chal lenging – a text should be classified according to its intended audience: CS and non-CS students have different requirements in a text – Media: video, etc. – Monographs – proactive (positive) as well as reactive (negative) emphases needed – some materials should be packaged for those uncomfortable teaching ethics – evolution techniques – collect and distribute current writings – support for hypertext and multimedia – clipping file
• Faculty Training and Development:
• local and inexpensive – run by computer science faculty in conjunction with other faculty from more than one of the following other departments: philosophy, humanities, social sciences
• invite the press (those with some scientific expertise) to seminar as participants to broaden their perspective
• Methodology:
• case studies – discussion – oral presentations – position papers – debates: assign rules – individual or profession; trial & cross-examination – reading and writing journals: formalizing thoughts – directed discussion – interview: example, people who have had computers enter their workplace; find out how people interact with computers – professor’s personal ethical code – differentiate between solid and poor logical arguments: based on facts, accurate, well-grounded, absence of contradictions – cases: sometimes one side is clearly “right”? sometimes “right” is not so clear
• Developing process:
• determine what is ethically correct – supererogatory – above and beyond the call of duty; the better thing to do; example: whistle-blowing
• Difficult to teach.... why?
• not as factually based as programming; not as “skill-oriented” – CS students are more oriented to specific, modularized tasks – software has consequences and is human related – there is not an assumed background of agreement in ethical matters – we are trying to change attitudes and behaviors – appropriation of the material is important: make it your own – don’t have inflated expectations for this course
• Ethics is appropriate in all disciplines:
• we need this to be a focus at the university level

SOME RELEVANT ISSUES FOR SPECIFIC COMPUTER SCIENCE SUBJECT AREAS

• Operating Systems:
• case studies about security issues – Clifford Stoll’s book, The Cuckoo’s Egg – acting out a part to dramatize perspectives of developers and users – user friendliness for operating systems to reduce stress
• System Design:
• human interface – Aegis system: remember the eventual environment when designing; remember the intended environment when using (management issue)
• equal access for handicapped – assigned access to appropriate individuals
• System Management:
• access according to the need to know – policy issues: security, privacy
• Ethics Course in a Philosophy Department:
• Cornell worm – privacy – security
• Data Base:
• privacy – data integrity – access to information – security – programs accessing the data base: maintaining consistency – efficient control on access, update, and deletion – prior specification of appropriate data; examples of potentially controversial data: political views, mental health records
• Data Communications, networking, telecommunications:
• standards for accuracy – potential costs for degredation of information
• Desktop Publishing:
• altering digital data in photographs
• Separate CS ethics course: what should be included?
• ethical theory – social issues – management issues – system design and analysis involved many value decisions
• Professionalism:
• standards of professional conduct – licensing from within or from outside the profession

Go to: Group 4

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