Computer Ethics (History)
Just because something is not illegal does not make it right
Computer Ethics help us make decisions on what is right for society rather than what is right for ourselves
- Ethics is a broad philosophical concept that goes beyond simple right and wrong, and looks towards ‘the good life’
- Morals are created by and define society, philosophy, religion, or individual conscience
- A value system is a set of consistent ethic values and measures
- A personal value system is held by and applied to one individual only
- A communal or cultural value system is held by and applied to a community/group/society. Some communal value systems are reflected in the form of legal codes or law
- Code of Ethics is an instrument that establishes a common ethical framework for a large group of people
Ethical Models
Utilitarian Ethics
- Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill created Utilitarian Ethics in the 19th century
- The basic premise is that actions that provide the greatest amount of good over bad or evil are ethical or moral choices
- There have been different interpretations of it
- One says that, if in a particular situation that the balance of good will be greatest if a particular action is taken then to take that action
- The next major viewpoint on Utilitarian Ethics would take the stance that it is not the action which produces the greatest good for a particular situation but the action that produces the greatest good 'over all like situations' in a society that should be taken
The Rights Approach
- The Rights Approach is based on the principle that individuals have the right to make their own choices
- To judge the right and wrong or moral vs immoral, of our actions under this system we would have to ask ourselves how our actions affect these rights of those around us
- The greater the infraction our actions cause against those around us the more unethical those actions are
- For example if it is immoral to lie then you should never lie under any circumstances
The Common-Good Approach
- Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero were the beginning of the Common-Good Approach, which proposes that the common good is that which benefits the community
- This type of system is where we get health care systems and public works programs
- For example stealing would never be ethical because it would damage (take resources away from) society or our community
Cyber Ethics
Key points in the development of Cyber Ethics
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1940’s
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Norbert Wiener
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The human use of
human beings in 1950
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Mid 1960’s
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Donn B. Parker
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Rules of Ethics
in Information Processing, communications of the ACM in 1968
Development ofthe first code of professional conduct for the ACM in 1973
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Late 1960’s
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Joseph Weizenbaum
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Wrote ELIZA
whilst at MIT
Computer Power and Human Reason 1976
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Mid 70’s
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Walter Maner
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Coined the phase
Computer ethics
Published
‘Starter kit in computer ethics’ 1978
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1980’s
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James Noor
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‘What is computer
ethics’ in Computer & ethics
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Deborah Johnson
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Published
‘Computer ethics’
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1991
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Maner Terrell
Bynum
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First
international, multidisciplinary conference on computer ethics
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After World War 2, Norbet Weiner helped develop the theories of cybernetics, robotics, computer control, and automation. Wiener became increasingly concerned with what he believed was political interference with scientific research, and the militarization of science. He urged scientists to consider the ethical implications of their work.
Wiener Published a series of books on the subject
- Cybernetics (1948)
- The Human Use of Human Beings (1950)
- God and Golem, Inc (1963)
Weiner’s ‘Ethical Methodology’
- Identify an ethical question or case regarding the integration of information technology into society.
- Clarify any ambiguous or vague ideas or principles that may apply to the case or the issue in question.
- If possible, apply already existing, ethically acceptable principles, laws, rules, and practices that govern human behaviour in the given society.
- If ethically acceptable precedents, traditions and policies are insufficient to settle the question or deal with the case, use the purpose of a human life plus the great principles of justice to find a solution that fits as well as possible into the ethical traditions of the given society.
History of Ethical Codes
The Code of Fair Information Practices.
In 1973 the Secretary's Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems for the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare recommended the adoption of the following Code of Fair Information Practices to secure the privacy and rights of citizens:
- There must be no personal data record-keeping systems whose very existence is secret;
- There must be a way for an individual to find out what information is in his or her file and how the information is being used;
- There must be a way for an individual to correct information in his records;
- Any organization creating, maintaining, using, or disseminating records of personally identifiable information must assure the reliability of the data for its intended use and must take precautions to prevent misuse; and
- There must be a way for an individual to prevent personal information obtained for one purpose from being used for another purpose without his consent.
Internet Activities Board (IAB) (now the Internet Architecture Board) and RFC 1087.
RFC 1087 is a statement of policy by the Internet Activities Board (IAB) posted in 1989 concerning the ethical and proper use of the resources of the Internet. The IAB "strongly endorses the view of the Division Advisory Panel of the National Science Foundation Division of Network, Communications Research and Infrastructure," which characterized as unethical and unacceptable any activity that purposely:
- Seeks to gain unauthorized access to the resources of the Internet,
- Disrupts the intended use of the Internet,
- Wastes resources (people, capacity, computer) through such actions,
- Destroys the integrity of computer-based information, or
- Compromises the privacy of users.
Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics (Computer Ethics Institute, 1992)
- Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people
- Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work
- Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files
- Thou shalt not use a computer to steal
- Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness
- Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid
- Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorisation or proper compensation
- Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output
- Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing
- Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow humans
National Conference on Computing and Values.
The National Conference on Computing and Values (NCCV) was held on the campus of Southern Connecticut State University in August 1991. It proposed the following four primary values for computing, originally intended to serve as the ethical foundation and guidance for computer security:
- Preserve the public trust and confidence in computers.
- Enforce fair information practices.
- Protect the legitimate interests of the constituents of the system.
- Resist fraud, waste, and abuse.
The Working Group on Computer Ethics.
In 1991, the Working Group on Computer Ethics created the following End User's Basic Tenets of Responsible Computing:
- I understand that just because something is legal, it isn't necessarily moral or right.
- I understand that people are always the ones ultimately harmed when computers are used unethically. The fact that computers, software, or a communications medium exists between me and those harmed does not in any way change moral responsibility toward my fellow humans.
- I will respect the rights of authors, including authors and publishers of software as well as authors and owners of information. I understand that just because copying programs and data is easy, it is not necessarily right.
- I will not break into or use other people's computers or read or use their information without their consent.
- I will not write or knowingly acquire, distribute, or allow intentional distribution of harmful software like bombs, worms, and computer viruses.
National Computer Ethics and Responsibilities Campaign (NCERC).
In 1994, a National Computer Ethics and Responsibilities Campaign (NCERC) was launched to create an "electronic repository of information resources, training materials and sample ethics codes" that would be available on the Internet for IS managers and educators. The National Computer Security Association (NCSA) and the Computer Ethics Institute cosponsored NCERC. The NCERC Guide to Computer Ethics was developed to support the campaign.
The goal of NCERC is to foster computer ethics awareness and education. The campaign does this by making tools and other resources available for people who want to hold events, campaigns, awareness programs, seminars, and conferences or to write or communicate about computer ethics. NCERC is a non-partisan initiative intended to increase understanding of the ethical and moral issues unique to the use, and sometimes abuse, of information technologies.
The Hacker Ethic
Steven Levy (born 1951) is an American journalist who has written several books on computers, technology, cryptography, the Internet, cybersecurity, and privacy.
In 1984, he wrote a book called Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution, in which he described a “hacker ethic”, which became a guideline to understanding how computers have advanced into the machines that we know and use today. He identified this Hacker Ethic to consist of key points such as that all information is free, and that this information should be used to “change life for the better”.
Access to computers—and anything which might teach you something about the way the world works—should be unlimited and total.
Always yield to the Hands-On Imperative! Levy is recounting hackers' abilities to learn and build upon pre-existing ideas and systems. He believes that access gives hackers the opportunity to take things apart, fix, or improve upon them and to learn and understand how they work. This gives them the knowledge to create new and even more interesting things. Access aids the expansion of technology.
All information should be free
Linking directly with the principle of access, information needs to be free for hackers to fix, improve, and reinvent systems. A free exchange of information allows for greater overall creativity. In the hacker viewpoint, any system could benefit from an easy flow of information, a concept known as transparency in the social sciences. As Stallman notes, "free" refers to unrestricted access; it does not refer to price.
Mistrust authority — promote decentralization
The best way to promote the free exchange of information is to have an open system that presents no boundaries between a hacker and a piece of information or an item of equipment that he needs in his quest for knowledge, improvement, and time on-line. Hackers believe that bureaucracies, whether corporate, government, or university, are flawed systems.
Hackers should be judged by their hacking, not criteria such as degrees, age, race, sex, or position
Inherent in the hacker ethic is a meritocratic system where superficiality is disregarded in esteem of skill. Levy articulates that criteria such as age, sex, race, position, and qualification are deemed irrelevant within the hacker community. Hacker skill is the ultimate determinant of acceptance. Such a code within the hacker community fosters the advance of hacking and software development. In an example of the hacker ethic of equal opportunity, L. Peter Deutsch, a twelve-year-old hacker, was accepted in the TX-0 community, though he was not recognized by non-hacker graduate students.
You can create art and beauty on a computer
Hackers deeply appreciate innovative techniques which allow programs to perform complicated tasks with few instructions. A program's code was considered to hold a beauty of its own, having been carefully composed and artfully arranged. Learning to create programs which used the least amount of space almost became a game between the early hackers.
Computers can change your life for the better
Hackers felt that computers had enriched their lives, given their lives focus, and made their lives adventurous. Hackers regarded computers as Aladdin's lamps that they could control. They believed that everyone in society could benefit from experiencing such power and that if everyone could interact with computers in the way that hackers did, then the Hacker Ethic might spread through society and computers would improve the world. The hacker succeeded in turning dreams of endless possibilities into realities. The hacker's primary object was to teach society that "the world opened up by the computer was a limitless one"
