Computer ethics

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Computer ethics is a part of practical philosophy concerned with how computing professionals should make decisions regarding professional and social conduct. [1]

Contents

Margaret Anne Pierce, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Computers at Georgia Southern University has categorized the ethical decisions related to computer technology and usage into three primary influences: [2]

  1. The individual's own personal [ethical] code.
  2. Any informal code of ethical conduct that exists in the work place.
  3. Exposure to formal codes of ethics.

Foundation

Computer ethics was first coined by Walter Maner, [1] a professor at Bowling Green State University. Maner noticed ethical concerns that were brought up during his Medical Ethics course at Old Dominion University became more complex and difficult when the use of technology and computers became involved. [3] The conceptual foundations of computer ethics are investigated by information ethics, a branch of philosophical ethics promoted, among others, by Luciano Floridi. [4]

History

The concept of computer ethics originated in the 1940s with MIT professor Norbert Wiener, the American mathematician and philosopher. While working on anti-aircraft artillery during World War II, Wiener and his fellow engineers developed a system of communication between the part of a cannon that tracked a warplane, the part that performed calculations to estimate a trajectory, and the part responsible for firing. [1] Wiener termed the science of such information feedback systems, "cybernetics," and he discussed this new field with its related ethical concerns in his 1948 book, Cybernetics. [1] [5] In 1950, Wiener's second book, The Human Use of Human Beings , delved deeper into the ethical issues surrounding information technology and laid out the basic foundations of computer ethics. [5]

A bit later during the same year, the world's first computer crime was committed. A programmer was able to use a bit of computer code to stop his banking account from being flagged as overdrawn. However, there were no laws in place at that time to stop him, and as a result he was not charged. [6] [ unreliable source? ] To make sure another person did not follow suit, an ethics code for computers was needed.

In 1973, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) adopted its first code of ethics. [1] SRI International's Donn Parker, [7] an author on computer crimes, led the committee that developed the code. [1]

In 1976, medical teacher and researcher Walter Maner noticed that ethical decisions are much harder to make when computers are added. He noticed a need for a different branch of ethics for when it came to dealing with computers. The term "computer ethics" was thus invented. [1] [5]

In 1976 Joseph Weizenbaum made his second significant addition to the field of computer ethics. He published a book titled Computer Power and Human Reason , [8] which talked about how artificial intelligence is good for the world; however it should never be allowed to make the most important decisions as it does not have human qualities such as wisdom. By far the most important point he makes in the book is the distinction between choosing and deciding. He argued that deciding is a computational activity while making choices is not and thus the ability to make choices is what makes us humans.

At a later time during the same year Abbe Mowshowitz, a professor of Computer Science at the City College of New York, published an article titled "On approaches to the study of social issues in computing." This article identified and analyzed technical and non-technical biases in research on social issues present in computing.

During 1978, the Right to Financial Privacy Act was adopted by the United States Congress, drastically limiting the government's ability to search bank records. [9]

During the next year Terrell Ward Bynum, the professor of philosophy at Southern Connecticut State University as well as Director of the Research Center on Computing and Society there, developed curriculum for a university course on computer ethics. [10] Bynum was also editor of the journal Metaphilosophy. [1] In 1983 the journal held an essay contest on the topic of computer ethics and published the winning essays in its best-selling 1985 special issue, “Computers and Ethics.” [1]

In 1984, the United States Congress passed the Small Business Computer Security and Education Act, which created a Small Business Administration advisory council to focus on computer security related to small businesses. [11]

In 1985, James Moor, professor of philosophy at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, published an essay called "What is Computer Ethics?" [5] In this essay Moor states the computer ethics includes the following: "(1) identification of computer-generated policy vacuums, (2) clarification of conceptual muddles, (3) formulation of policies for the use of computer technology, and (4) ethical justification of such policies." [1]

During the same year, Deborah Johnson, professor of Applied Ethics and chair of the Department of Science, Technology, and Society in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences of the University of Virginia, got the first major computer ethics textbook published. [5] Johnson's textbook identified major issues for research in computer ethics for more than 10 years after publication of the first edition. [5]

In 1988, Robert Hauptman, a librarian at St. Cloud University, came up with "information ethics", a term that was used to describe the storage, production, access and dissemination of information. [12] Near the same time, the Computer Matching and Privacy Act was adopted and this act restricted United States government programs identifying debtors. [13]

In the year 1992, ACM adopted a new set of ethical rules called "ACM code of Ethics and Professional Conduct" [14] which consisted of 24 statements of personal responsibility.

Three years later, in 1995, Krystyna Górniak-Kocikowska, a professor of philosophy at Southern Connecticut State University, Coordinator of the Religious Studies Program, as well as a senior research associate in the Research Center on Computing and Society, came up with the idea that computer ethics will eventually become a global ethical system and soon after, computer ethics would replace ethics altogether as it would become the standard ethics of the information age. [5]

In 1999, Deborah Johnson revealed her view, which was quite contrary to Górniak-Kocikowska's belief, and stated that computer ethics will not evolve but rather be our old ethics with a slight twist. [12]

Post 20th century, as a result to much debate of ethical guidelines, many organizations such as ABET [15] offer ethical accreditation to University or College applications such as "Applied and Natural Science, Computing, Engineering and Engineering Technology at the associate, bachelor, and master levels" to try and promote quality works that follow sound ethical and moral guidelines.

In 2018 The Guardian and The New York Times reported that Facebook took data from 87 million Facebook users to sell to Cambridge Analytica. [16]

In 2019 Facebook started a fund to build an ethics center at the Technical University of Munich, located in Germany. This was the first time that Facebook funded an academic institute for matters regarding computer ethics. [17]

Concerns

Computer crime, privacy, anonymity, freedom, and intellectual property fall under topics that will be present in the future of computer ethics. [18]

Ethical considerations have been linked to the Internet of Things (IoT) with many physical devices being connected to the internet. [18]

Virtual Crypto-currencies in regards to the balance of the current purchasing relationship between the buyer and seller. [18]

Autonomous technology such as self-driving cars forced to make human decisions. There is also concern over how autonomous vehicles would behave in different countries with different culture values. [19]

Security risks have been identified with cloud-based technology with every user interaction being sent and analyzed to central computing hubs. [20] Artificial intelligence devices like the Amazon Alexa and Google Home are collecting personal data from users while at home and uploading it to the cloud. Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana smartphone assistants are collecting user information, analyzing the information, and then sending the information back to the user.

Internet privacy

Computers and information technology have caused privacy concerns surrounding collection and use of personal data. [21] For example, Google was sued in 2018 for tracking user location without permission. [22] also In July 2019, Facebook reached a $5 billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission for violating an agreement with the agency to protect user privacy. [23]

A whole industry of privacy and ethical tools has grown over time, giving people the choice to not share their data online. These are often open source software, which allows the users to ensure that their data is not saved to be used without their consent. [24]

Artificial intelligence

This section is an excerpt from Ethics of artificial intelligence.[ edit ]

The ethics of artificial intelligence is the branch of the ethics of technology specific to artificial intelligence (AI) systems. [25]

The ethics of artificial intelligence covers a broad range of topics within the field that are considered to have particular ethical stakes. This includes algorithmic biases, fairness, automated decision-making, accountability, privacy, and regulation. It also covers various emerging or potential future challenges such as machine ethics (how to make machines that behave ethically), lethal autonomous weapon systems, arms race dynamics, AI safety and alignment, technological unemployment, AI-enabled misinformation, how to treat certain AI systems if they have a moral status (AI welfare and rights), artificial superintelligence and existential risks. [25] Some application areas may also have particularly important ethical implications, like healthcare, education, or the military.

The effects of Infringing copying

The effects of infringing copying in the digital realm, particularly studied in computer software and recorded music industries, have raised significant concerns among empirically-oriented economists. While the software industry manages to thrive despite digital copying, the recorded music sector witnesses a sharp decline in revenues, especially with the rise of file-sharing of MP3 files. Establishing the impact of unpaid consumption on paid consumption is challenging due to difficulties in obtaining data on unpaid consumption and drawing causal inferences. As simple as the question seems—the extent to which unpaid consumption of recorded music cannibalizes paid consumption—the answer is rather difficult to establish empirically, for two reasons. [26] Empirical studies consistently suggest a depressing impact on paid music consumption, indicating a likely contribution to the downturn in recorded music sales. The emergence of cyberlockers and rapid technological changes further complicate the analysis of revenue impacts on content industries, highlighting the need for ongoing research and a nuanced approach to copyright policy that considers user welfare effects and rewards distribution to artists and creators.

Ethical standards

Various national and international professional societies and organizations have produced code of ethics documents to give basic behavioral guidelines to computing professionals and users. They include:

Association for Computing Machinery
ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct [14]
Australian Computer Society
ACS Code of Ethics [27]
ACS Code of Professional Conduct [28]
British Computer Society
BCS Code of Conduct [29]
Code of Good Practice (retired May 2011) [30]
German Informatics Society
Ethical Guidelines of the German Informatics Society (revised June 29, 2018) [31]
Computer Ethics Institute
Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
IEEE
IEEE Code of Ethics [32]
IEEE Code of Conduct [33]
League of Professional System Administrators
The System Administrators' Code of Ethics [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

The ethics of technology is a sub-field of ethics addressing the ethical questions specific to the Technology Age, the transitional shift in society wherein personal computers and subsequent devices provide for the quick and easy transfer of information. Technology ethics is the application of ethical thinking to the growing concerns of technology as new technologies continue to rise in prominence.

Information ethics has been defined as "the branch of ethics that focuses on the relationship between the creation, organization, dissemination, and use of information, and the ethical standards and moral codes governing human conduct in society". It examines the morality that comes from information as a resource, a product, or as a target. It provides a critical framework for considering moral issues concerning informational privacy, moral agency, new environmental issues, problems arising from the life-cycle of information. It is very vital to understand that librarians, archivists, information professionals among others, really understand the importance of knowing how to disseminate proper information as well as being responsible with their actions when addressing information.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luciano Floridi</span> Italian philosopher (born 1964)

Luciano Floridi is an Italian and British philosopher. He is the director of the Digital Ethics Center at Yale University. He is also a Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication at the University of Bologna, Department of Legal Studies, where he is the director of the Centre for Digital Ethics. Furthermore, he is adjunct professor at the Department of Economics, American University, Washington D.C. He is married to the neuroscientist Anna Christina Nobre.

The philosophy of information (PI) is a branch of philosophy that studies topics relevant to information processing, representational system and consciousness, cognitive science, computer science, information science and information technology.

The International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP) is a professional, philosophical association emerging from a history of conferences that began in 1986. Adopting its mission from these conferences, the IACAP exists in order to promote scholarly dialogue on all aspects of the computational/informational turn and the use of computers in the service of philosophy.

The K. JonBarwise Prize was established in 2002 by the American Philosophical Association (APA), in conjunction with the APA Committee on Philosophy and Computers, on the basis of a proposal from the International Association for Computing and Philosophy for significant and sustained contributions to areas relevant to philosophy and computing.

The ethics of artificial intelligence is the branch of the ethics of technology specific to artificial intelligence (AI) systems.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to ethics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyberethics</span> Ethics of online activities

Cyberethics is "a branch of ethics concerned with behavior in an online environment". In another definition, it is the "exploration of the entire range of ethical and moral issues that arise in cyberspace" while cyberspace is understood to be "the electronic worlds made visible by the Internet." For years, various governments have enacted regulations while organizations have defined policies about cyberethics.

The philosophy of computer science is concerned with the philosophical questions that arise within the study of computer science. There is still no common understanding of the content, aims, focus, or topics of the philosophy of computer science, despite some attempts to develop a philosophy of computer science like the philosophy of physics or the philosophy of mathematics. Due to the abstract nature of computer programs and the technological ambitions of computer science, many of the conceptual questions of the philosophy of computer science are also comparable to the philosophy of science, philosophy of mathematics, and the philosophy of technology.

Value sensitive design (VSD) is a theoretically grounded approach to the design of technology that accounts for human values in a principled and comprehensive manner. VSD originated within the field of information systems design and human-computer interaction to address design issues within the fields by emphasizing the ethical values of direct and indirect stakeholders. It was developed by Batya Friedman and Peter Kahn at the University of Washington starting in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Later, in 2019, Batya Friedman and David Hendry wrote a book on this topic called "Value Sensitive Design: Shaping Technology with Moral Imagination". Value Sensitive Design takes human values into account in a well-defined matter throughout the whole process. Designs are developed using an investigation consisting of three phases: conceptual, empirical and technological. These investigations are intended to be iterative, allowing the designer to modify the design continuously.

James H. Moor is the Daniel P. Stone Professor of Intellectual and Moral Philosophy at Dartmouth College. He earned his Ph.D. in 1972 from Indiana University. Moor's 1985 paper entitled "What is Computer Ethics?" established him as one of the pioneering theoreticians in the field of computer ethics. He has also written extensively on the Turing Test. His research includes study in philosophy of artificial intelligence, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and logic.

Machine ethics is a part of the ethics of artificial intelligence concerned with adding or ensuring moral behaviors of man-made machines that use artificial intelligence, otherwise known as artificial intelligent agents. Machine ethics differs from other ethical fields related to engineering and technology. It should not be confused with computer ethics, which focuses on human use of computers. It should also be distinguished from the philosophy of technology, which concerns itself with technology's grander social effects.

Terrell Ward Bynum is an American philosopher, writer and editor. Bynum is currently director of the Research Center on Computing and Society at Southern Connecticut State University, where he is also a professor of philosophy, and visiting professor in the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility in De Montfort University, Leicester, England. He is best known as a pioneer and historian in the field of computer and information ethics; for his achievements in that field, he was awarded the Barwise Prize of the American Philosophical Association, the Weizenbaum Award of the International Society for Ethics and Information Technology, and the 2011 Covey Award of the International Association for Computing and Philosophy. In addition, Bynum was the founder and longtime editor-in-chief of the philosophy journal Metaphilosophy ; a key founding figure (1974–1980) and the first executive director (1980–1982) of the American Association of Philosophy Teachers; biographer of the philosopher/ mathematician Gottlob Frege, as well as a translator of Frege's early works in logic. Bynum's most recent research and publications concern the ultimate nature of the universe and the impact of the information revolution upon philosophy.

The Covey Award was established in 2008 by the International Association for Computing and Philosophy, to recognise "accomplished innovative research, and possibly teaching that flows from that research, in the field of computing and philosophy broadly conceived".

This article gives an overview of professional ethics as applied to computer programming and software development, in particular the ethical guidelines that developers are expected to follow and apply when writing programming code, and when they are part of a programmer-customer or employee-employer relationship. These rules shape and differentiate good practices and attitudes from the wrong ones when creating software or when making decisions on a crucial or delicate issue regarding a programming project. They are also the basis for ethical decision-making skills in the conduct of professional work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Rogerson</span>

Simon Rogerson is lifetime Professor Emeritus in Computer Ethics at the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility (CCSR), De Montfort University. He was the founder and editor for 19 volumes of the Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society. He has had two careers; first as a technical software developer and then in academia as reformer. He was the founding Director of CCSR, launching it in 1995 at the first ETHICOMP conference which he conceived and co-directed until 2013. He became Europe's first Professor in Computer Ethics in 1998. His most important research focuses on providing rigorously grounded practical tools and guidance to computing practitioners. For his leadership and research achievements in the computer and information ethics interdisciplinary field he was awarded the fifth IFIP-WG9.2 Namur Award in 2000 and the SIGCAS Making a Difference Award in 2005.

Mariarosaria Taddeo is an Italian philosopher working on the ethics of digital technologies. She is Professor of Digital Ethics and Defence Technologies at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford and Dslt Ethics Fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, London.

Automated decision-making (ADM) involves the use of data, machines and algorithms to make decisions in a range of contexts, including public administration, business, health, education, law, employment, transport, media and entertainment, with varying degrees of human oversight or intervention. ADM involves large-scale data from a range of sources, such as databases, text, social media, sensors, images or speech, that is processed using various technologies including computer software, algorithms, machine learning, natural language processing, artificial intelligence, augmented intelligence and robotics. The increasing use of automated decision-making systems (ADMS) across a range of contexts presents many benefits and challenges to human society requiring consideration of the technical, legal, ethical, societal, educational, economic and health consequences.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Bynum, Terrell Ward. "A Very Short History of Computer Ethics". Southern Connecticut Wein University. Archived from the original on 2008-04-18. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  2. ↑ Pierce, Margaret Anne; Henry, John W. (April 1996). "Computer ethics: The role of personal, informal, and formal codes". Journal of Business Ethics. 15 (4): 425–437. doi:10.1007/BF00380363.(subscription required)
  3. ↑ Bynum, Terrell (2018), "Computer and Information Ethics", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2018 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2019-12-14
  4. ↑ Floridi, Luciano, ed. (2010), "Information Ethics", The Cambridge Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics, Cambridge University Press, pp. 77–100, ISBN   9780521717724
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bynum, Terrell (21 December 2014). "Computer Ethics: Basic Concepts and Historical Overview". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Center for the Study of Language and Information, Stanford University.
  6. ↑ "A Brief History of Computer Ethics". Learning Computing History. 5 December 2004. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2011.
  7. ↑ "Alumni Hall of Fame: Donn Parker". SRI International. Archived from the original on 2013-07-04. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
  8. ↑ "Obituary: Joseph Weizenbaum". The Tech. Vol. 128, no. 12 (Online ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT News office. 14 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Right to Financial Privacy Act". Electronic Privacy Information Center. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  10. ↑ "A Very Short History of Computer Ethics ( Text Only) - The Research Center on Computing & Society". www.cs.utexas.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  11. ↑ Small Business Computer Security and Education Act of 1984 at Congress.gov
  12. 1 2 "The Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics | Wiley". Wiley.com. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2020-12-06.
  13. ↑ Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 at Congress.gov
  14. 1 2 "ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct". ACM. 16 October 1992. Archived from the original on 2014-08-05. Retrieved 2014-08-09.
  15. ↑ "About ABET | ABET". www.abet.org. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  16. ↑ Meredith, Sam (2018-04-10). "Facebook-Cambridge Analytica: A timeline of the data hijacking scandal". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2018-10-19. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  17. ↑ "Facebook is reportedly facing a record US fine for privacy violations". Digital Commerce 360. 2019-01-22. Archived from the original on 2019-12-14. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  18. 1 2 3 Vacura, Miroslav. "The History of Computer Ethics and its Future Challenges". Information Technology and Society Interaction and Interdependence. Proceedings of 23rd Interdisciplinary Information Management Talks (IDIMT 2015). Archived from the original on 2023-04-09. Retrieved 2019-12-14.
  19. ↑ Maxmen, Amy (2018-10-24). "Self-driving car dilemmas reveal that moral choices are not universal". Nature. 562 (7728): 469–470. Bibcode:2018Natur.562..469M. doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-07135-0 . PMID   30356197.
  20. ↑ Hashizume, Keiko; Rosado, David G.; Fernández-Medina, Eduardo; Fernandez, Eduardo B. (2013-02-27). "An analysis of security issues for cloud computing". Journal of Internet Services and Applications. 4 (1): 5. doi: 10.1186/1869-0238-4-5 . ISSN   1869-0238.
  21. ↑ van den Hoven, Jeroen; Blaauw, Martijn; Pieters, Wolter; Warnier, Martijn (2020), "Privacy and Information Technology", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2020 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2020-10-31
  22. ↑ "Google sued over tracking user location amid privacy concerns". Archived from the original on 2019-12-10. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  23. ↑ Emma, Bowman (9 April 2021). "Facebook reached a $5 billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission". npr.org. Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  24. ↑ "Ethical Alternatives and Resources". Archived from the original on 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
  25. 1 2 Müller, Vincent C. (April 30, 2020). "Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020.
  26. ↑ Merrill, Stephen A.; William J., Raduchel (2013-05-30). Copyright in the Digital Era: Building Evidence for Policy. National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/14686. ISBN   0309278953.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  27. ↑ ACS Code of Ethics (PDF), Australian Computer Society, 12 June 2012, archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2013
  28. ↑ Graham, Ruth, ed. (July 2012), ACS Code of Professional Conduct (PDF), Australian Computer Society, archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2014
  29. ↑ Code of Conduct for BCS Members (PDF), BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, 8 June 2011, archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2016, retrieved 10 October 2016
  30. ↑ "BCS Trustee Board agrees revised Code of Conduct". BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. 3 May 2011. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  31. ↑ "Ethical Guidelines of the German Informatics Society". 7 September 2022. Archived from the original on 7 September 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  32. ↑ "7.8 IEEE Code of Ethics", IEEE Policies, Section 7 - Professional Activities, IEEE, archived from the original on 2010-10-10, retrieved 2010-10-13
  33. ↑ IEEE Code of Conduct (PDF), IEEE, June 2014, archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-03-22, retrieved 2015-04-28
  34. ↑ "The System Administrators' Code of Ethics". League of Professional System Administrators. USENIX Association. 2006. Archived from the original on 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2013-11-21.

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