Ethics and Society

CS-1094 Freshman Seminar: Computers and Society

Instructor: Jim Allert

Introduction

Technology impacts society for good and for ill.

Examples?

Problem The real issue is in

how we manage technology.

Given an example of poor management of technology using old fashioned rules?

Why didn’t it work?

Social movements

Give and example of technologic innovations that changed entire social systems.

Were there opponents at the time? What were their arguments against it?

The Luddites Luddite From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Luddites were a group of English workers in the early 1800s who protested the changes

produced by the Industrial Revolution that they felt threatened their jobs, often by destroying machines.

The original Luddites claimed to be led by one Ned Ludd, also known as "King Ludd", who is believed to have destroyed two large stocking-frames that produced inexpensive stockings undercutting those produced by skilled knitters, and whose signature appears on a "workers manifesto" of the time. Whether or not Ludd actually existed is historically unclear.

The movement spread rapidly throughout England in 1811, with many wool and cotton mills being destroyed, until the British government suppressed them harshly (including making "machine breaking" (industrial sabotage) a capital crime, and executing 17 men in 1813).

The terms Luddism, Luddite, (Also Neo-Luddism, Neo-Luddite) in recent years have become synonymous with anyone who opposes the advance of industrial technology.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/PRluddites.htm

Luddites

New Moral DilemmasDr. Pierre Leveque, a French computer scientist visiting an American computer science department for one year, discovered a bug in themainframe computer operating system which allowed him to borrowthe identity of other users, by-passing their passwords. If a user whowas logged on left her terminal unattended briefly while Dr. Lavequewas in the room, he could enter a few keystrokes and forever gain accessto her files or have her billed for the time he used th computer. Havingdiscovered this bug, Dr. Leveque proceeded to collect as many identitiesas he could. He never abused the power he had; he neither read others’ filesnor billed his computing time to them.

When Dr. Leveque’s colleagues discovered what he had been doing and discussed the case among themselves they disagreed about how tocharacterize his behavior. Some believed it was morally wrong; others,although they felt uneasy about the behavior, could not justify condemningDr. Leveque when it seemed he had not hurt anyone. All agreed howeverthat he should be forced to destroy his access to those identities.

Approaching Moral Problems

Take the example of the computer science teacher who was caught accessing student accounts.

Was he wrong to do this? Does he deserve to be punished? What guidelines can we use for making our decisions

here? Conventional approaches

Utilitarianism Kant’s moral imperative

Utilitarianism

Utilitarian guidelines You judge an act by its

consequences Right or wrong depends on

the balance of harm versus benefit.

Examples How does this apply to the

computer scientist problem? Short-term utilitarian analysis Long term utilitarian analysis From the standpoint of the

perpetrator

John Stewart Mill1806-1873

Kant’s moral imperative

Kant’s guidelines You should always treat

others as ends in themselves, never as means to your own ends.

The fundamental principle is to respect the rights of other human beings, no matter what.

Examples

Immanuel Kant1724-1804

Modern Codified Rules

ACM guidelines for computing professionals

The role of legends and cautionary tales in stimulating the development of new rules.

The moral connotations of technology

Aristotle Believed that reason was

the most important part of life (above virtue, fame, wealth, enjoyment)

Work was ignoble. To be carried out by slaves.

The role of technology is to free us from ignoble tasks so that we may concentrate on higher aspirations.

Aristotle384-322 BC

The potential impact of computers

Work Economic justice Power Privacy Our sense of self

The impact of computers on work

Up side Makes work processes faster Allows for improvements in efficiency at all levels Maintains massive amounts of data Reduces workforce costs through telecommuting Increases productivity through flexible scheduling Computers create new jobs

Work (continued)

The down side Automation replaces or

deskills workers Constant and intrusive

employee monitoring Personnel data used for

purposes other than intended

Work at home often lowers salaries and benefits

Computers replace more jobs than they create

Impact on economic justice

Up side Information now flows freely over country

bordersComputers make world commerce possible

Open up global markets

Acceleration of progress in technology

Economic Justice (continued)

Down sideDominant classes use technology to become

stronger Increasing gap between the rich and poorWith only labor to sell the underprivileged

have less and less to sell

The impact of computers on power

Up sideBureaucracies can gather and handle more

dataExisting power structures are strengthenedLocal offices have more power and flexibility

Power (continued)

Down sidePolitical power can become centralized in one

organization or individualMore potential for information abuse

Impact on privacy

Up sideEasier to verify credentials and backgrounds

Example: bad checks

Useful in war or for national security

Privacy (continued)

Down sideMay squash creativity, personal growth and

progress if people are concerned about the implications of failure

A person’s record may follow them foreverHuman dignityMisinterpretation of an individual’s record

Impact of computers on our sense of self Who are we? Copernicus: We are

not the center of the universe.

Impact of computers on our sense of self Who are we?

Darwin: We are not the center of the natural world.

Impact of computers

on our sense of self Who are we

Marx and Freud: We do not even control of our own thoughts and actions.

Social structures and the unconscious

Impact of computers on our sense of self Who are we

Information revolution Human thought is

nothing special

The moral connotations of technology Aristotle

Believed that reason was the most important part of life (above virtue, fame, wealth, enjoyment)

Work was ignoble. To be carried out by slaves

Issue: What if technology allows machines to do all work for us? Have we arrived at the good life?

Issue: What if we invent machines who reason better than us? All that is left for us then is to be

workers.

Aristotle384-322 BC