APA Newsletters

Spring 2001
Volume 00, Number 2

Newsletter on Philosophy and Computers

Computing Ethics

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Textbook and Website Information

Douglas Birsch
Shippensburg University

drbirs@ship.edu

Prentice Hall Publishing Company has recently published two books related to computer ethics and information technology: a new edition of Computer Ethics by Deborah Johnson, and Computers and Ethics in the Cyberage by D. Micah Hester and Paul J. Ford. This is the third edition of Deborah Johnson's Computer Ethics, a text that provides a good introduction to the subject and has been used by many professors in their computer ethics and information technology courses. The first edition of the book had a publication date of 1985 and was only a little over 100 pages. The third edition has grown to almost 250 pages, but still provides a reasonably short overview. Johnson has retained her basic position from the first edition that the ethical issues surrounding computer and information technology are a new species of generic moral issues. The text contains an introductory chapter and additional chapters on philosophical ethics, professional ethics, ethics and the internet, privacy, property rights, accountability, and a final chapter on social implications and social values. As in previous editions, each chapter starts with short scenarios or case studies. Users of the second edition will find two new chapters related to the internet, "Ethics Online" and "Social Implications and Social Values." The chapter on Crime, Abuse, and Hacker Ethics" has been eliminated and the material on hackers and hacker ethics has been relocated to the "Ethics Online" chapter. Overall, the text is a slightly expanded and updated version of the second edition, with the most notable change being an increased focus on the internet that should be welcomed by professors and their students.

The second new text from Prentice Hall is Computers and Ethics in the Cyberage by D. Micah Hester and Paul J. Ford. This is an edited volume containing readings on a variety of topics. The book is divided into four sections with the following titles: "Technology, Computers, and Values," "Computers and the Quality of Life," "Uses, Abuses, and Social Consequences," and "Evolving Computer Technologies." Each section is subdivided into chapters related to the section topic. The articles in the first section introduce the reader to the philosophy of technology and the realm of values related to technology, especially computer technology. The second section contains articles related to the impact computers have on quality of life, and the advisability of accepting new computer technology without serious study. Section three focuses on the specific challenges, uses, and abuses that arise from computer technology. The final section investigates the possibilities for computer development and the ethical issues that need to be confronted in relation to them. Each section begins with a very brief introduction and concludes with a bibliography. The text ends with several useful appendices, including the ACM/IEEE Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice. Overall, Computers and Ethics in the Cyberage contains a wide-ranging selection of thought-provoking articles, many of which are recent.

Two extremely useful websites related to computer ethics are "Computer and Information Ethics Resources on WWW" and the "Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility" website. The "Computer and Information Ethics Resources on WWW" site was created in 1993 by the Centre for Applied Ethics at the University of British Columbia. The Centre is an interdisciplinary research center that investigates a variety of issues related to health care, business, and the professions. The computer ethics website is part of an applied ethics website that contains other sections such as health care ethics, business ethics, and environmental ethics. The web address for the site is http://www.ethics.ubc.ca/resources/computer. The site has four parts: "Organizations of Interest," "Specific Topics," "Publications," and "Courses." In the "Organizations of Interest" section there are links to about twenty organizations related to computer and information ethics. The "Specific Topics" section contains links to sites related to Childrens' Access to the Web, Codes of Ethics, Copyrights, Hoaxes and Viruses, and Netiquette. The "Publications" part provides links to six electronic publications and about 20 on-line essays, papers, cases, and books. Finally the "Courses" section contains web addresses for six on-line computer ethics courses (at the time of this article). This is a very useful site, one that I have used myself, and have recommended to my computer ethics students.

A second valuable website is the one maintained by the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility. The web address is http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk. The Centre is associated with DeMontfort University in Great Britain. The individuals associated with the Centre do research, teach, consult, and advise others on questions of social responsibility connected to computing and related technologies. The site is quite extensive, but contains several parts of particular interest. One part, titled "What's New," provides a listing of and links to the latest events at the Centre and in the "world of social responsibility." Another section, labeled "Resources," contains links to websites related to the following topics Professionalism (codes of ethics, software development, etc.), Remote Activities (electronic commerce, telework, etc.), Privacy, Equality (issues of fairness and social justice), General ( a broad range of subjects), General Academic Resources, and Bookshelf (materials written by CCSR members and associates). A third valuable part is "Conferences," which contains a schedule of and links to a variety of conferences. Finally, there is a "Discussion" section that provides access to an email discussion list. As with the Centre for Applied Ethics site, this is a site that I have used and recommended to students. Hopefully you will find this and future information helpful. Please feel free to let me know about books, websites, or journals that should be brought to the attention of our colleagues (drbirs@ship.edu).

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APA Newsletters

Spring 2001 Volume 00, Number 2

Spring 2001
Volume 00, Number 2