CyberEthics Essay Outline

(Full) Outline assignment Postponed until next Friday Feb 10

PRE-Outline assigned added Graded as PART of the Outline Due tomorrow Feb 3 3 (body) points (only)

More to come in a moment

CyberEthics

Is it special?

CyberEthics

What is Ethics? (What is not Ethics?) What is Morality? What is CyberEthics? Are CyberEthics issues unique?

Do cyber-technologies introduce new ethical issues?

What is the best case to illustrate that cyber-technologies introduce new ethical issues?

What Is Cyberethics?

Cyberethics is the study of moral, legal, and social issues involving cybertechnology.

It examines the impact that cybertechnology has for our social, legal, and moral systems.

It also evaluates the social policies and laws that have been framed in response to issues generated by the development and use of cybertechnology.

Hence, there is a reciprocal relationship here.

Reciprocal relationship of cyber technologycyber technology and social systemsocial system

CyberEthics

Examines impact

Evaluates social response

Summary

Ethics?Study of moralityBranch of Philosophy

Morality? System of RulesRules of conduct

Why the term cyberethics?

Cyberethics is a more accurate label than computer ethicscomputer ethics, which might suggest the study of ethical issues limited to computing machines, or to computing professionals.

It is more accurate than Internet ethicsInternet ethics, which is limited only to ethical issues affecting computer networks.

Question Set Question Set 22

What is the mostmost novel ethical issue introduced by cyber technologies?

Friday Feb. 17Friday Feb. 17

Name and describe the most novel (new) ethical issue that you can think of that has arisen as a result of computer (cyber) technologies. 

Be sure to explain how it is a new ethical issue, and how computing or cyber technologies give rise to it.

Are Cyberethics Issues Unique?

Consider the Amy Boyer case of cyberstalking in light of issues raised.

Is there anything new or unique about this case from an ethical point of view?

Boyer was stalked in ways that were not possible before cybertechnology.

But do new ethical issues arise?

Are Cyberethics Issues Unique?(Continued)

Two points of view: TraditionalistsTraditionalists argue that nothing is new –

crime is crime, and murder is murder.

UniquenessUniqueness Proponents argue that cybertechnology has introduced (at least some) new and unique new and unique ethical issues that could not have existed before computers.

Are Cyberethics Issues Unique?(Continued)

Both sides seem correct on some claims, and wrong on others.

Traditionalists underestimate the role of scale and scope in describing

computer technology. Cyberstalkers can stalk multiple victims simultaneously

(scale) and globally (scope).

Cyberstalkers can operate without ever having to leave the comfort of their homes.

Are Cyberethics Issues Unique?(Continued)

UniquenessUniqueness proponents tend to overstate the effect that cybertechnology has on ethics per se.

Maner (1996) argues that computers are uniquely fast, uniquely malleable, etc.

There may indeed be some unique aspects of computer technology.

Are Cyberethics Issues Unique?(Continued)

Uniqueness Proponents Tend to confuse unique features of technology with

unique ethical issues. Use the following logical fallacy:

Cybertechnology has some unique technological features.

Cybertechnology generates ethical issues.

Therefore, the ethical issues generated by cybertechnology must be unique.

Are Cyberethics Issues Unique?(Continued)

TraditionalistsTraditionalists correctly point out that no new ethical issues have been introduced by computers.

UniquenessUniqueness proponents are correct in that cybertechnology has complicated our analysis of traditional ethical issues.

Are Cyberethics Issues Unique?(Continued)

So we must distinguish: (a) unique technological features, and (b) any (alleged) unique ethical issues.

Two scenarios: (a) Computer professionals designing and

coding a controversial computer system (b) Software piracy

Alternative Strategy for Analyzing the Uniqueness Issue James Moor (1985) argues that computer

technology generates “new possibilities for human action” because computers are logically malleable.

Logical malleability, in turn, introduces policy vacuums.

Policy vacuums often arise because of conceptual muddles.

Case Illustration of a Policy Vacuum: Duplicating Software In the early 1980s, there were no clear laws

regarding the duplication of software programs, which was made easy because of personal computers.

A policy vacuum arose. Before the policy vacuum could be filled, we

had to clear up a conceptual muddle: What exactly is software?

Is this true?

What exactly is the policy vacuum? How to govern software duplication? Software is a product (good) that requires

capital to engineer, manufacture, market, etc.

But there are laws governing other products

Why is software different?

What is software?

Machine Instructions and Media

Existed BEFORE computers Could be copied and distributed (?)

What is really different about software?

Machine Instructions (as software) Became a commodity (in and of themselves) They became the valued and marketed item apart

from the product (of the machine). prior to computers, machines were the harder part Instructions were the “know how” and coupled tightly

to the machines to which they applied

Different than print media? Intellectual Property?

Cyber-Ethics Assignment PRE-OUTLINEThis assignment is designed to help you prepare to write a well-formed, OUTLINE  for a 5-paragraph (intro, 3 body points, conclusion) essay.

List THREE (3) arguing points for the claim below.  Write in complete sentences, and be sure to state three substantial and convincing points that you can develop for the outline and essay assignments that follow.

Claim:  Cyberethics does NOT introduce new ethical issues.

In the next assignment (due next Friday), you will develop these three (3) points into a full and complete  OUTLINE  for a 5-paragraph (intro, 3 body points, conclusion) essay that argues the claim:

For this assignment, the outline, and the essay, be sure to recognize the following understanding:Computing introduces new conceptual puzzles and dilemmas related to ethics (cyber-ethics) that Tavani refers to as "conceptual muddles". These can lead to "policy vacuums". We can distinguish between unique technological features and unique ethical issues. New technologies and their capabilities can introduce "conceptual muddles" and/or "policy vacuum", but we should be careful to distinguish "policy vacuums" and "unique ethical issues".