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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010069832 | QA76.9.C66 C655 2003 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
In today's world, computers can have complex and contradictory effects on human life. They can enhance our quality of life by creating access to previously unimagined worlds. On the other hand, as computers become increasingly important in our everyday lives, their potential to strip away our privacy and autonomy increases exponentially. Computers, Ethics, and Society, now in its third edition, offers a comprehensive, interdisciplinary set of readings on the ethical and social implications of computer technology. Taking into account technological, social, and philosophical issues, the contributors consider topics such as the work-related ramifications of automation, the ethical obligations of computer specialists, and the threats to privacy that come with increased computerization. Thoroughly up-to-date in its coverage, this collection includes articles on specific ethical dilemmas related to contemporary issues and events. Essays new to the third edition cover such topics as cyber-terrorism, the ethics of downloading music from Internet sites, and the question of whether human beings may someday be "replaced" by artificial intelligence and computer technology. An ideal text for sociology, philosophy, and computer science courses, Computers, Ethics, and Society, 3/e, reminds students that although technology has the potential to improve or undermine our quality of life, societal forces ultimately have the power to decide how computers will affect our lives.
Author Notes
M. David Ermann is Professor of Sociology at the University of Delaware
Michele S. Shauf is a scholar of graphics visualization and usability. She is currently employed in the private sector
Reviews 1
Choice Review
This collection of readings edited by Ermann, Williams, and Gutierrez is an outgrowth of courses they have taught at the University of Delaware. The readings, which were selected with feedback from students, are arranged in three sections: "Ethical Framework for Computer-Related Issues," "Computers and the Ideal Life," and "Issues Facing Computer Professionals." There is an excellent introduction, and each section and reading also is briefly introduced. The book appears similar in intent to the earlier set of readings, Ethical Issues in The Use of Computers, comp. by D.G. Johnson and J.W. Snapper (1985), but, surprisingly, the books have no articles in common. Computers, Ethics, and Society takes a more philosophical tack, with readings in ethical theory and the focus on "Computers and the Ideal Life," while Ethical Issues is more practically oriented and focuses more on concrete problems facing professionals, as well as on legal issues. Both cover professional codes, liability for software, privacy, and moral responsibility. The two books are as much complementary as competing. Both would be highly desirable as references for the very important issue of ethics in computing. Upper-level undergraduates. -H. D. Warner, Western New England College
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. vi |
| I. Ethical Contexts | |
| Philosophical Ethics | |
| 1. The Best Action Is the One with the Best Consequences | p. 3 |
| 2. The Best Action Is the One in Accord with Universal Rules | p. 12 |
| 3. The Best Action Is the One That Exercises the Mind's Faculties | p. 16 |
| Professional Ethics | |
| 4. ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct | p. 23 |
| 5. Using the ACM Code | p. 31 |
| 6. Can We Find a Single Ethical Code? | p. 42 |
| 7. The Morality of Whistle-Blowing | p. 47 |
| 8. The Ethics of Systems Design | p. 55 |
| 9. Are Hacker Break-ins Ethical? | p. 64 |
| 10. Using Computers as Means, Not Ends | p. 74 |
| II. Historical and Cultural Contexts | |
| 11. Technology Is a Tool of the Powerful | p. 85 |
| 12. A History of the Personal Computer | p. 91 |
| 13. Informing Ourselves to Death | p. 101 |
| 14. Why the Future Doesn't Need Us | p. 110 |
| 15. Boolean Logic | p. 123 |
| III. Social Contexts | |
| 16. Privacy in a Database Nation | p. 137 |
| 17. The GNU Manifesto | p. 153 |
| 18. Crossing the Digital Divide | p. 162 |
| 19. Gender Bias in Instructional Technology | p. 171 |
| 20. Computers and the Work Experience | p. 184 |
| 21. Information Technologies and Our Changing Economy | p. 190 |
| 22. Music: Intellectual Property's Canary in the Digital Coal Mine | p. 202 |
| 23. The Case for Collective Violence | p. 214 |
| 24. Activism, Hacktivism, and Cyberterrorism | p. 231 |
