CPSC 3610: Ethical and Social Issues in Computing
Instructor:
Credit: 3 credits
Course Information
Course Description:
This course examines the ethical issues arising from advances in computer technology and the
responsibility that computer professionals and users have in regards to computer use by focusing on the
intrinsic link between ethics and the law, how both try to define the validity of human actions, and on the
moral and ethical dilemmas created by computer technology that challenge the traditional ethical and
moral concepts.
Prerequisites:
Objectives:
(1) To familiarize you with the existence of computer abuse, laws pertaining to such abuse and legal
gray areas.
(2) To introduce to you the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) and Institute of Electrical and
Electronic Engineers (IEEE) codes of ethics.
(3) To provide you with the context to appreciate the value of technology and to understand that
technology is not neutral, that it creates ethical and moral muddles that must be dealt with.
(4) To create and nurture an ideal atmosphere for academic dialogue, debate, and question-answer sessions
among you intended to deepen your understanding of technology and its effects on society.
(5) To improve your oral and written communication skills.
(6) To affect your behavior by challenging you to examine ethical and moral situations, think through
them and identify relevant support systems.
Course Requirements:
1.
2.
Regular class attendance.
Active class participation in all in-class agora discussions; this means you must spend some quality
time reading and preparing for class meetings and discussions. For each agora discussion,
a paper will be assigned, read and discussed. For each assigned paper, each student must write a
reaction statement that must include:
-
both a personal and research responses (minimum: one double spaced typed page).
questions from the reading you would like us to discuss as a class, (minimum: 2 questions).
The responses together with the questions must be handed in one class period before the scheduled
discussion of the assigned paper!
3.
4.
One (mid-term) and a final examination will be given. There will be NO exam make up.
Besides class discussions, there will also be concurrent online discussions of current issues relevant
to the class.
Nature of Online discussions ( e-discussion):


Each student will be responsible for posting one informative journal or newspaper article
dealing with or relevant to the issues being discussed in class. Each posted article should
include a one-page commentary by the student to ignite an online discussion by the class.
Commentaries must:
- include your reactions to the posting - why it attracted your attention; background
info the class audience may need to understand the posting, related issues the class
audience may want to look into; what we are supposed to learn from it; and at least
two questions/discussion topics your classmates can respond to.
( Remember to check my web-page for online sources of information and of
course we have a library - you can cut and paste the whole item, - just one item
the whole semester, but since we cannot discuss all the items at the end of the
semester, we will need to start the discussions in week 2.
-
be original (i.e., must not be duplications of comments made earlier by other
students).
-
be supported by referenced evidence from other articles, books, journals and
knowledgeable persons.
-
be well written (points will be deducted for comments that have serious spelling or
grammatical errors.)
Each student is required to contribute to the e-discussion in response to posted articles at least
five times. ( 2% each response/contribution for a total of 10% a semester) Responses should
not be less than half a page - it can be an opinion, added info, suggestion, observation or
constructive criticism- overall we must profit from it!!!
(PS- 5 times are in response to 5 different postings) but you can make as many contributions are
possible!
Try to check your e-mall before each class meeting.
5.
6.
7.
On a number of occasions, video clips will be shown in class at the end of which a discussion will
follow. Before each discussion, however, each student will answer five reaction questions about
the video clip. Answers to these questions will be graded.
Individual extra credit assignments for the purpose of propping up a bad grade will not be given.
Notes taking is encouraged.
Grading:
20% agora and video discussions:
- 10 % agora discussions
- 10% individual attendance and discussions
15% Online discussions
- 5% posted commentaries and questions
- 10% online contributions ( 5 minimum - 2% each contribution)
15% Mid-term examination – covering text material and content of class discussions.
30% Two essays:
- one well researched and documented position essay on one chosen topic – 15%
- one essay resulting from agora discussions on a student’s chosen topic – 15%.
20% Final comprehensive examination – covering text material and content of class discussions.
Grading Scale:
90+ = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 60-69 = D; below 60 = F
Required Text:
Joseph M. Kizza, Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age. Third Edition. Springer 2007.
Recommended and Reference Texts:
(1) Joseph M. Kizza. Computer Network Security and Cyber Ethics. 3rd edition, McFarland
Publishers, 2011.
(2) Joseph M. Kizza, Civilizing the Internet: Concerns and Efforts Towards Regulations. McFarland
Publishers, 2006.
(3) Joseph M. Kizza, Social and Ethical effects of the Computer Revolution. Second Edition,
McFarland Publishers 1997.
(4) Joseph M. Kizza, Computer Ethics, Proceedings, ACM Press, 1996.
(5) Sara Baase. A Gift of Fire, Second Edition. Prentice-Hall, 2003.
(6) Paul A. Alcorn. Practical Ethics for a Technological World. Prentice-Hall, 2001.
(7) Kevin Bowyer, Ethics and Computing: Living Responsibly in a Computerized World., IEEE
Computer Society Press, 1996.
(8) Jacques Berluer and Diane Whitehouse (eds), An Ethical Global Information Society:Culture and
Democracy revisited, Chapman & Hill, 1998.
(9) Jacques Berleur and Klaus Brunnstein. Ethics in Computing: Codes spaces for Discussion and
the Law. Chapman & Hill, 1997.
(10) Richard G. Espstein. The Case of the Killer Robot. John Wiley, 1997.
(11) Chuck Huff and Thomas Finholt. Social Issues in Computing: Putting Computing in its Place,
McGraw-Hill, 1994.
(12) Nancy G. Leveson. Safeware:System Safety and Computers, Addison-Wesley, 1995.
(13) Peter Neumann. Computer related Risks, ACM Press, 1995.
(14) Robert C. Solomon, Morality and the Good Life: An Introduction to Ethics through Classical
Cases, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1992.
(15) Karen A. Forcht, Computer Security Management, Boyd & Fraser Publishing, 1994.
(16) Abraham Edel, Elizabeth Flower and Finbarr W. O'connor, Morality, Philosophy and Practice:
Historical and Contemporary Readings and Studies., Random House, 1989.
Major Discussion Topics:
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History of Computing
Moral and Ethical theories (lecture text, readings, discussions)
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Professionalism and professional codes of conduct (lecture text, audio, readings, discussions)
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Ethics, Technology and Value (audio, readings, discussions)
Anonymity, Security, Privacy and Civil Liberties (lecture text, audio, readings, discussions)
-
Intellectual Property Rights (Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks, trade secrets, and Rights of
Publicity) (lecture text, audio, readings, discussions)
Social Computing
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Software Issues: Risks and Liabilities (virus, worms, piracy, hacking) (lecture text, audio,
readings, discussions)
-
Workplace Issues ( whistleblowing, home office, privacy, electronic monitoring,
outsourcing, downsizing) (lecture text, audio, readings, discussions)
-
Reliability and Risk
Prevention, Detection, and Digital Forensics
Artificial Intelligence, Virtual reality and Expert Systems (lecture text, audio, readings,
discussions)
-
Cyberspace Issues – The Internet, CDA, Free speech, electronic commerce, pornography,
gambling, language and cultural imperialism and the politics of regulation (lecture text,
audio, readings, discussions)
Course Outline
Week 1: Introduction to Social and Ethical Computing
Chapter 1: Class 1: Introduction and History of computing
-Class 2: The beginning of irresponsible computing
Week 2: Morality and Ethical Theories
Chapter 1: Ethical and Social..
- Class 1: Why you need to study Computer Ethics
Class 2: Morality and Ethical Theories
Lecture and discussion of cases
Reading Paper 1: Scientists given cloning go-ahead
"Researchers clone first mammals from adult cells using new technique"
Human cloning: Should there be limits on the technology of human cloning?
Week 3: Ethics, Technology and Value
Chapter 2 of Ethical and Social …
- Class 1: Ethics, Technology, and Value. Agora discussion of Reading Paper 1. Should
scientists be allowed to grow human replacement parts? What are legal, moral and ethical
implications?
-
Class 2: Guest Speaker:
On Writing Styles
Week 4: Ethics and the Professions
Chapter 3 of Ethical and Social …
- Class 1: -Lecture: professionalism, codes of ethics, responsibility and enforcement
- Class 2: Video : “Whistleblowers: Risks and Responsibilities”, : The Case of the Challenger
Weeks 5: Anonymity, Security, Privacy and Civil Liberties
Chapter 4 of Ethical and Social …
- Class 1: Lecture and discussion: E-mail privacy and ownership, anonymous re-mailers, and
spamming
- Class 2: Video: (1) The Net (2) “Identity Theft” and “ Privacy Lost”
- Reading Paper 2: "The Interne't Challenge to Privacy"
- Paper one due
Weeks 6: Intellectual Property Rights and Computer Technology
Chapter 5 of Ethical and Social …
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Class 1: Lecture: copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, and right of publicity
-
Class 2: Conference presentations,
Week 7: Social Context of Computing
Chapter 7 of Ethical and Social ….
- Class 1: The three main issues of social computing
- Class 2: : Examination #
- Paper 2 Assigned.
Week 8: Conferences
-
-
Class 1: Conference presentations
Class 2 : Conference presentations
Week 9: Software Issues: Risks and Liabilities
Chapter 8 of Ethical and Social …
- Class 1: Lecture and class discussion
- Class 2: Video: “Reliability and Risk” and “The Hackers”
Week 10: Computer Crimes
Chapter 9 of Ethical and Social …
- Class 1: Lecture and Agora discussion of types and history of computer crimes.
- Class 2 : Video (NBC report) and discussion
Week 11: New Frontiers: Artificial Intelligence, Virtualization and Virtual
Reality and Cyberspace
Chapter 10 of Ethical and Social …
- Class 1: Lecture and leadership discussion: Freedom of speech, the CDA and you. Internet
filters and blockers.
- Class 2: Video: "Life on the Internet", Hate Groups, and Anti-Hate Programs
Week 12: Ethical, Privacy and Security Issues in the Online Social Networks
Ecosystem
Chapter 11 of Social and Ethical ….
- Class 1: Lecture and discussion.
Class 2: Video: " HATE GROUPS" and " HI-TECH HATE",
Reading Paper 3: (to be assigned)
Week 13: Cyberspace, Cyber Crimes and Internet Issues
Chapter 11 of Ethical and Social …
- Class 1: Lecture and discussion: Regulating the Internet, CDA, Free speech, electronic
commerce, pornography, gambling, language and cultural imperialism and the politics of
regulation.
- Class 2: Discussion of (e-discussion) Cyberspace-related issues.,
-
Paper two due
Week 14: Mobile Systems and Their Intractable Social, Ethical and Secuity
Issues; Computer Crime Investigations; Biometric.
- Class1: Discussion of anyone of the topics above – if time allows.
- Class 2: Video” Inside the Law”
Week 15: Presentations – Looking at the future
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Class 1: Presentations
Class 2: Presentations
Review and Discussions of issues in the news
Final Examination:
Techniques:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
Lectures – to provide new information and heighten your curiosity.
Guest lectures – to get new and sometimes contrary views.
Agora group discussions - to improve your oratory, discussion and presentation skills
Videotapes – for video impact and thought provoking situations.
Role-playing and mock trials - for real situation impact.