SLIDE ONE: TITLE SLIDE Welcome back to HLS 441 and to week two. I hope you are off to a great start in the course and by this time you have reviewed the materials on Blackboard and let your instructor know if you have any questions. At the conclusion of week one, I alluded to the question of whether implemented technologies are ethical. This week we will dig into that question and provide some clarifying information on making this determination. Again, this course is not about memorizing information about technologies, it’s about thinking critically about technologies, their implementation, use and implications. Let’s go ahead and see what week two has in store for us….

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SLIDE TWO: FUNDAMENTAL AND POWERFUL CONCEPTS This week’s fundamental and powerful concepts include: • • Ethics • Privacy • And three types of impact assessments: Technological, Privacy and Civil Rights /

Civil Liberties

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SLIDE THREE: THIS WEEK’S REQUIRED READINGS For required readings this week, take some time to review chapter two “Ethical and Privacy Implications of Technology” in your course textbook. In addition, please review the materials under the Apple V. FBI folder found in course documents. I will talk more about these materials at the end of this video lecture.

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SLIDE FOUR: WHAT ARE ETHICS? Similar to the definition for technology, there are multiple options when defining the term ethics. Many of the definitions refer to morals, actions and choices between right and wrong. The reality of ethics is that they depend on one’s environment, their upbringing and possibly their religious beliefs. What might be ethical for one person, may be very unethical for another. Please keep that in mind when attempting to evaluating ethics in any circumstance.

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SLIDE FIVE: KEY CONSIDERATIONS WHEN MAKING AN ETHICAL DECISION However, when you attempt an ethics evaluation, there are a few common components to consider: First, you must recognize that a possible ethical issue may exist and then begin your research or information collection to better understand the issue at hand. Additionally, consider who may be involved with the particular situation. Next, start developing an action plan and determine alternatives that you could take. There are many approaches that you could use for this depending on your preferences. This could include the utilitarian approach all the way to the Common Good approach. Finally, at some point you must actually make a decision and act. The inability to act may be more damaging at times than making the wrong decision. After you make the decision and determine the effects of the decision, reflect and determine how your decision could have been better and if anything can be done to future assist in the situation. While this framework could help in any ethical decision you have to make, it can also be made before implementing a technology whose ethical implications are in question.

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SLIDE SIX: WHAT IS PRIVACY WITH REGARDS TO TECHNOLOGY? An additional concept that was included in this lesson is privacy. Very similar to the privacy you expect in your home, as Americans we hold the belief that citizens have the right to be left alone from personal intrusions. When you put this term into a technological context, it looks at the ability to determine how much personal information should be communicated to third parties. This topic leads to an age-old debate that resurfaced after the tragic events of 9/11/2001. The debate is between privacy and security. Those of you in Homeland Security have likely studied the USA PATRIOT Act and understand that the act may have lessened privacy to increase security in certain situations in the U.S. This is a situation for you to personally analyze and determine where you stand.

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SLIDE SEVEN: PRIVACY IMPACT ASSESSMENT It should be noted that several impact assessments are in place at the government level. Before projects or programs and undertaken with government funding, several assessments must be undertaken to identify and mitigate potential risks with regards to items such as privacy and civil rights / liberties. This is certainly the case when the government program will collect or store personally identifiable information or sensitive personal information.

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SLIDE EIGHT: APPLE VS. FBI At the beginning of this video lecture, I talked about reviewing the Apple Vs. FBI materials in the course documents folder within this course. In that folder, you will find a variety of news stories and videos about the situation. I believe the situation demonstrated not only the privacy / ethical concerns of a technology but also the interaction between the government and private sector. You are encouraged to read this information carefully as well as any other outside information, which will be used to formulate your responses on the course’s first discussion board.

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SLIDE NINE: DR. B’S FINAL THOUGHTS I will end this video with a motto, a simile and a quote…. Google has had many different mottos during their operations but two should resonate and be adopted by any technology company. First, don’t be evil and second, do the right thing. Many technologies have wonderful contributions to make to society and these mottos help keep a constant reminder to do the right thing no matter the profit margin that could be experienced. Next, my wife is a 4th grade teacher and she would be very proud of my use of a simile. Technology is a “double edged sword”. This goes back to the comparison to fire that I made in week one’s lecture. While a sword may help you do great things, it will also chop your head off if you use it incorrectly. Last is a quote that many of you will attribute to Spiderman, but was actually first said by Voltaire. “With great power comes great responsibility.” Homeland Security practitioners as well as technological developers both have great, but different powers. It is hoped that each understands the responsibility that is associated with those powers.

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SLIDE TEN: QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS As we close our second week in this course, I will continue to offer my assistance should it be needed. You have my contact information, please don’t hesitate to use it. This is a week of firsts in this course…..you have your first discussion board, your first current event synopsis and your first phase of the TAP project due. Please carefully review and follow the guidelines for each of those assignments. I hope you have a wonderful week filled with prosperity and hope. Good Luck!

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