Professional Practices Lecture 1

Introduction to
Ethics
 Definition
• Ethics: “The science of morals; the department of study
concerned with the principles of human duty. The moral
principles by which a person is guided.” – Oxford English
Dictionary

• Moral: “Of or pertaining to character or disposition, considered as good

or bad, virtuous or vicious; of or pertaining to the distinction between
right and wrong, or good and evil, in relation to the actions, volitions, or
character of responsible beings; ethical.” – Oxford English Dictionary

• Terms will be used interchangeably – basically, knowing the

difference between right and wrong.
 Background Of Ethics
• Ethics: a set of beliefs about right and wrong
behavior.
• According to Socrates (Greek philosopher, 477 - 399 BC):People will
naturally do what is good, if they know what is right.
• Evil or bad actions are the result of unawareness about right and wrong
• So, if a criminal were truly aware of the mental and spiritual
consequences of his actions, he would neither commit nor even consider
committing them.
• Therefore, any person who knows what is truly right will automatically do
it.
 Background Of Ethics
• Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general
subject areas: meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.
1. Meta-ethics: investigates where our ethical principles come from, and
what they mean.

We may define meta-ethics as the study of the origin and meaning of

ethical concepts.
Meta-ethical answers to these questions focus on the issues of universal
truths, the will of God, the role of reason in ethical judgments, and the
meaning of ethical terms themselves.
Background Of Ethics
• Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general subject
areas: meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.

2. Normative ethics takes on a more practical task, which is to arrive at moral

standards that regulate right and wrong conduct.

“We should do to others what we would want others to do to us”

This may involve articulating the good habits that we should acquire, the duties
that we should follow, or the consequences of our behavior on others.
Background Of Ethics
• Philosophers today usually divide ethical theories into three general
subject areas: meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.

3. Applied Ethics involves examining specific controversial issues, such

as abortion, animal rights, environmental concerns,
homosexuality, capital punishment, or nuclear war.
 Introduction
• In the industrialized world computers are changing everything: from
education to health, from voting to making friends or making war.
• Developing countries can also fully participate in cyberspace and
make use of opportunities offered by global networks.
• We are living a technological and informational revolution.
• It is therefore important for policy makers, leaders, teachers,
computer professionals and all social thinkers to get involved in the
social and ethical impacts of this communication technology.
 Cyber Ethics and Cyber Technology
• Cyber-technology refers to a broad range of technologies from
stand-alone computers to the cluster of networked computing,
information and communication technologies.

• Cyber-ethics is the field of applied ethics that examines moral, legal,

and social issues in the development and use of Cyber-technology.

• Internet ethics and information ethics.

 Computer ethics: definition
• Same as cyber-ethics, or

• The study of ethical issues that are associated primarily with

computing machines and the computing profession.

• The field of applied professional ethics dealing with ethical problems

transformed, or created by computer technology.
Computer Ethics:
Some historical milestones
• 1940-1950: Founded by MIT prof Norbert Wiener: cybernetics-science
of information feedback systems.
• 1960s: Donn Parker from California examined unethical and illegal
uses of computers by professionals. 1st code of professional conduct
for the ACM.
• Mid 1970: Walter Maner taught 1st course and starter kit in computer
ethics.
Computer ethics history (cont.)
• 1980: Issues like computer-enabled crime, disasters, invasion of
privacy via databases, law suits about software ownership became
public.
• Mid 80s: James Moore of Darmouth,
• Deborah Johnson of Rensselaer, Sherry Turkle of MIT, and Judith
Perrole published article and books.
Computer ethics history (cont.)
• 1990: Interest in computer ethics as a field of research had spread to
Europe and Australia.
• Simon Rogerson of De Montfort University (UK) Terrell Bynum, editor
of Metaphilosophy (USA), initiated international conferences.
• Mid 90s: Beginning of a 2nd generation of computer ethics with more
practical action.
• 2004: Interest spreads to Cotonou, Benin
Any unique moral issues?
Deborah Johnson: Ethics on-
line
• The scope of the Internet is global and interactive.
• The Internet enables users to interact with privacy.
• Internet technology makes the reproducibility of information possible
in ways not possible before.
• The above features make behavior on-line morally different than off-
line.
Ashley Madison Hack 2015: 37 Million
Users
The Conficker Worm 2008: Still Infecting a Million Computers a Year
Stuxnet Worm 2010: Iran's Nuclear Program Blocked
Home Depot Hack 2014: Over 50 Million Credit Cards
eBay Hack 2014: 145 Million Users
Breached
The Melissa Virus 1999: 20% of the World's Computers
Infected

• Melissa is a fast-spreading macro virus that is distributed as an e-mail

attachment that, when opened, disables a number of safeguards in
Word 97 or Word 2000, and, if the user has the Microsoft Outlook e-
mail program, causes the virus to be resent to the first 50 people in
each of the user's address books. While it does not destroy files or
other resources, Melissa has the potential to disable corporate and
other mail servers as the ripple of e-mail distribution becomes a much
larger wave. On Friday, March 26, 1999, Melissa caused the Microsoft
Corporation to shut down incoming e-mail.
 Codes of Ethics
• Avoid harm to others
• Be honest and trustworthy
• Acquire and maintain professional competence
• Know and respect existing laws pertaining to professional work
• No personal interest
• Be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on
available data
 Ten Commandments
• 1. Not use a computer to harm other people. This is the foundation
for computer ethics.
Ten Commandments
• 2. Not interfere with other people’s computer work. Such as sending
numerous thoughtless e-mails to larger issues like purposely sending
computer viruses.
Ten Commandments
• 3. Not snoop around in other people’s computer files. Don’t go
looking through other people’s computer files unless given
permission.
Ten Commandments
• 4. Not use a computer to steal.
Ten Commandments
• 5. Not use a computer to bear false witness. Don’t spread rumors or
change your email address so that the receiver of an email believes
that it came from someone other than yourself.
Ten Commandments
• 6. Not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
Once you buy a software system, music CD or DVD you should not
make copies of that information and distribute it to your friends.
Ten Commandments
• 7. Not use other people’s computer resources without
authorization or proper compensation. This means do not surf the
internet or print off large amounts of paper for personal use
during work hours.
Ten Commandments
• 8. Not appropriate other people’s intellectual output. Don’t upload
information and take credit for it such as music, images and text.
Ten Commandments
• 9. Think about the social consequences of the program you are
writing or the system you are designing.
Ten Commandments
• 10. Use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for
your fellow humans. Just because you can’t always see someone face
to face doesn’t give you the right to offer any less respect then you
would offer in a personal encounter.
CASE STUDY
• http://www.mit.edu/activities/safe/safe/cases/umich-baker-story/Bak
er/timeline.html
• http://www.mit.edu/activities/safe/safe/cases/umich-baker-story/thr
owout.1
International Papers Links
• http://www.ijie.org, International Journal of Information Ethics.
• www.sans.org/topten.htm Top ten Internet security flaws that system
administrators must eliminate to avoid becoming an easy target.
• http://ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/ Computer ethics as a map.
• http://www.neiu.edu/~ncaftori/ethics-course.htm
• The ethics course I borrowed these overheads from.