Pick a technology that you use daily, and describe an ethical concern that stems from it

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Pick a technology that you use daily, and describe an ethical concern that stems from it. Then, drawing from our discussion of professional ethics and ethic design, describe how the concerns could be lessoned through both (a) a code of professional ethics governing the use/application of the technology, and (b) through designing technology in a more ethical way. Are there any shortcomings or challenges to making your proposed solution work?

**answer must be at least 300 words, double spaced 12pt Times New Roman, 1in margins, formatted as .docx

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Information Technology Ethics  Competency 4: Addressing Ethical Issues in Presentation Author, 2006 Information Technology Applying Ethics • We now have a basic understanding of core ethical theories, and the complexities among them • And understand how ethics plays out in various unique cases of contemporary information technology • So, how do we apply these in the realm of information technology? – Professional ethical responsibility – Codes of ethics – Ethical design 2 Do IT Professionals Have Special Ethical Duties? • Systems they design and build can have direct well-being on millions of people • Safety-Critical Software – aircraft and air traffic control systems – mass transportation systems – infrastructure design & management – nuclear reactors missile systems – medical treatment systems 3 Do IT Professionals Have Special Ethical Duties? • Extends beyond these obvious safety examples – Search results • How should hate sites be ranked? Spam sites? • Should we censor illegal content? – Surveillance cameras • What do we watch? • Do we record and retain files? – P2P file sharing • Should we create a system that is anonymous, or can be tracked by RIAA? – iTunes • Should we include DRM on songs to limit copying? • Should we track what people listen to? 4 Professional Codes of Ethics • Many professions have established professional societies, which in turn have adopted codes of conduct. – The medical profession established the AMA (American Medical Association), – Lawyers established the ABA (American Bar Association). – Librarians have the ALA (American Library Association) 5 Purpose of Professional Codes • Professional societies have designed codes guide members’ actions in particular responsible/ethical directions • Four primary functions of codes are to: – inspire, – guide, – educate, – discipline the members. • Samples – http://ethics.iit.edu/codes/codes_index.php 6 Ethical Codes for ICT Professionals • Association for Computing (ACM) – http://www.acm.org/about/code-of-ethics • International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium – http://www.isc2.org/ethics/default.aspx • The Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) – http://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/ p7-8.html 7 Strengths Codes inspire the members of a profession to behave ethically. Codes guide the members of a profession in ethical choices. Codes educate the members of a profession about their professional obligations. Codes discipline members when they violate one or more of the code’s directives. Codes “sensitize” members of a profession to ethical 2006 issues and Presentation Author, alert them to ethical aspects they otherwise might overlook. Codes inform the public about the nature and roles of the profession. Codes enhance the profession in the eyes of the public. Directives included in many codes tend to be too general and too vague. Codes are not always helpful when two or more directives conflict. A professional code’s directives are never complete or exhaustive. Codes are ineffective (have no “teeth”) in disciplinary matters. Directives in codes are sometimes inconsistent with one another. Codes do not help us distinguish between micro-ethics issues and macro-ethics issues. Codes can be self-serving for the profession. 8 Strengths Weaknesses Codes inspire the members of a profession to behave ethically. Directives included in many codes tend to be too general and too vague. Codes are not always helpful when two or more directives conflict. Codes guide the members of a profession in ethical choices. Codes educate the members of a profession about their professional obligations. Codes discipline members when they violate one or more of the code’s directives. Codes “sensitize” members of a profession to ethical 2006 issues and Presentation Author, alert them to ethical aspects they otherwise might overlook. Codes inform the public about the nature and roles of the profession. Codes enhance the profession in the eyes of the public. A professional code’s directives are never complete or exhaustive. Codes are ineffective (have no “teeth”) in disciplinary matters. Directives in codes are sometimes inconsistent with one another. Codes do not help us distinguish between micro-ethics issues and macro-ethics issues. Codes can be self-serving for the profession. Table 4.1 9 Codes vs. Actual Work • Despite their faults, codes get us part way – Brings attention to ethical issues – Fosters sense of moral and ethical responsibility among professionals • How to we move from just codes to actual work and development of IT? How do we make sure IT is designed (and used) ethically? 10 Ethics in Technology Design • Design of technologies bear directly and systematically on the realization, or suppression, of particular configurations of social, ethical, and political values – Robert Moses Bridges • We want to ensure technology is designed to protect certain ethical values – Best practices & ethically-based design guidelines – Advocate for ethical and value-based design 11 Best Practices and Design Guidelines • Some companies have recognized the importance of ensuring IT is designed to respect certain ethical values – CDT Working Group on RFID: Privacy Best Practices for Deployment of RFID Technology http://www.cdt.org/privacy/20060501rfid-bestpractices.php – Microsoft: “Privacy Guidelines for Developing Software Products and Services” – IBM: User Rights http://www-01.ibm.com/software/ucd/ designconcepts/userrights.html 12 Ethical (Value-Sensitive) Design • Engage with technical design communities to proactively influence design • Include values of moral & ethical import within the design discussion & debate – Not just efficiency, functionality, aesthetics, etc 13 Ethical Design - Success Stories • Web cookie management – informed consent • RAPUNSEL – gender equity, cooperation • TrackMeNot – privacy, control, autonomy 14 Engagement outside the academic lab… • Most VSD successes are within non-hostile environment of laboratory • Design teams consist of scholars, sympathizers • Sheltered from the challenges of real world – lawyers, accountants, people trying to keep their jobs, etc Challenges of Ethical Design • Justification of the value framework – Who’s values are we using? Why yours over mine? Why ethicist over executive? • Confronting competing values – Efficiency/cost vs. privacy – Security vs. liberty – Profit vs. human justice • Role of the values advocate – How do you get “accepted” by engineers? – How aggressive can/should you be? • Avoid being the “privacy wacko”…. 16 Ethical Design • Need to engage pragmatically with IT designers so their decisions support ethics and values – Work with codes of ethics – Critique and consult – Join product teams – Create design principles • But challenges remain • YOUR TASK: think about how ethical design could change the impacts of technologies we discuss (and use)….as well as the challenges 17
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Running Head: ETHICAL CONCERNS OF TECHNOLOGY

Pick a technology that you use daily, and describe an ethical concern that stems
from it.
Institution Affiliation
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ETHICAL CONCERNS OF TECHNOLOGY

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Pick a technology that you use daily, and describe an ethical concern that stems
from it.
Technological advancement has led to the development of mobile phones that have brought
about great ethical concerns. Cell phones were first approved in the United States in 1983 by the
FCC. In today’s World, cell phones have millions of subscriptions globally whi...


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