MIRPUR UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (MUST), MIRPUR

DEPARMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 Professional Practices
HUM-4704

Lecture [2] : Overview of Computer Ethics

Miss Mehreen Shakoor

(Lecturer)

Date: April 23, 2020

Professional Practices
Overview of computer Ethics
 Today’s Agenda

 Historical, social, and economic context of Computing

 Software Engineering,

 Computer Science,

 Information Technology

4
Professional Practices
 Historical Perspective

 One of the most silent concerns;

 Computer threatened our notion(concept) of what it means to be human
because
 Computer can do anything that was considered unique to be humans, rational (logical,
intelligent) thinking. E.g. Artificial Intelligence…….

 So, There was some fear might computer take over decision making from humans. E.g.
2001 movie, “Are there decisions that computer should never make” by jim moor in
1979.?

5
Professional Practices
 Historical Perspective

 In early age of computer, concerns about computers were not exactly

ethical in character.
 E.g. No one explicitly argued that its immoral to go forward with the
development of computers because of its threat to our concept of human
beings. Neither its immoral to turn over decisions making power to computer.

 Rather, the implicit argued that there would be terrible consequences

e.g. possible disasters and degradation of human life. Where decision
making turned to over to computers.
6
Professional Practices
 Historical Perspective

 These concerns did not come from the use of computers; they arose
from simple ideas of computers ?
 There very idea of a technology that could think or do something very close to
it was threatening to our understanding of what it means to be human.

 Computer can think like humans- Cognitive science and other

disciplines (see Bynum and Moor, 1999)

7
Professional Practices
 Historical Perspective

 In late 1970s, the ethical issues began to be more clearly articulated in

the works of Joseph weizenbaum (1979) and Abbe Mowshowvitz
(1976).
 When Privacy Protection Commission did a major study of Privacy.?
 In those days computers were used in big governments and large scale organizations for
maintaining their databases (especially personal information databases).

 Computers are being used for large numerical calculations primarily for government
activities such as weapons development, space travel, etc

8
Professional Practices
 Historical Perspective

 The next major technological shift was development of small computers.

 Remote access had come on scene, first as access on mainframes, later as web of
telecommunications connections between small computers.

 Attention turned to software's and ethical issues surrounding it.

 Computer technology become visible and powerful into the consumer market place.

 Software's were recognized as something with giant market values, and hence, all the
ethics issues having to do with property arose.

9
Professional Practices
 Should Software Be Owned?

 If so how?
 Would current intellectual property law provide adequate protection?

 Along with property rights issues came issues of liability and responsibility.

 In market place, when consumer buy and use computers and software,
they want to rely on these tools and when something goes wrong, they
want to know who to blame or they want to be compensated for their
losses.

10
Professional Practices
 Should Software Be Owned?

 During this period, attention began to focus on computer hackers.

 They did not like the idea of property rights in software.

 At the same time, those who acquiring property rights and or making a
business of computing saw the threat posted by hackers, a threat to property
rights and to system security.

11
Professional Practices
 Technology Shift 1990’s

 Attention turned to the internet;

 The coming together of computers, telecommunication, and media was the next major
shift to the technological development.
 Expanded use of internet brought a seemingly endless set of ethical issues as the
internet came to be used in so many different ways in so many different domains of
life.
 During 1980’s and 1990’s one other technological development that grew slowly was
the use of computer in wide variety of visualizations activities;
 Computer graphics and gaming, simulation activities in medical imaging and scientific
models this gave raise to the idea of virtual reality.

12
Professional Practices
 Internet Raised All Past Concerns

 Privacy issues are impaired on the internet;

 The democracy issues came back into play with a new claims about the
internet’s democratic (independent) character;

 Privacy rights expanded to web sites and global property rights become ever
more important and so on.

 Very slowly and quietly, ethical concerns have been raised about this
thrust of computer technology

13
Professional Practices
 Summary

 During 1960 and 1970s the dominant uses of technology were for database
creation and large scale calculations.
 Give raise of centralization of power and big government and threats to personal privacy.

 During 1980s micro computers were developed and made readily available,
remote access to large mainframe computers also become possible.
 The telecommunications lines linking to computers that later become internet.

 All these concerns give raise concerns about property rights, liabilities issues, and
threats posted by hackers. As well as gave raise to seemingly endless array of
ethical issues.
14
Professional Practices
 Reading Assignment

 To learn more about computer ethics just read case studies given in preface of
book as overview of book chapters.
 Why computer ethics.
 Philosophical ethics
 Professional ethics
 Ethics and internet; online ethics
 Privacy
 Property
 Accountability
 Social implications and social values

15
Professional Practices
 Acknowledgments

GOOGLE BOOKS LINK

1. Deborah G. Johnson, “Computer Ethics”, Pearson Education (2001) 3rd edition.

Professional Practices 16
THANKS