Download Technology in Action

Technology
in Action
Alan Evans • Kendall Martin
Mary Anne Poatsy
Eleventh Edition
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
1
Technology in Action
Technology in Focus:
Information Technology Ethics
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
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Chapter Topics
• What Is Ethics?
• Personal Ethics
• Personal Ethics and Your Work Life
• Technology and Ethics: How One Affects
the Other
• Using Computers to Support Ethical
Conduct
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Key Issues Related to
Technology and Ethics
• Intellectual property rights
• Privacy
• E-commerce
• Free speech
• Computer abuse
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What Is Ethics?
• Study of general nature of morals and
moral choices
• Morals: conforming to established ideas of
right and wrong
• Difference between fairness and equity
• Principles are guidelines used to make
decisions
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What is Ethics?
Doesn't Everyone Have the Same Ethical Values?
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What is Ethics?
Doesn't Everyone Have the Same Ethical Values?
• Relativism
– No universal moral truth
– Dictated by cultural tastes and customs
• Divine Command Theory
– All-knowing God sets standards
– Conforming to God’s law is good; breaking it
is wrong
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What is Ethics?
Doesn't Everyone Have the Same Ethical Values?
• Utilitarianism
– Actions judged by consequences
– Greater happiness is better
– Individual happiness is not as important
• Virtue Ethics
– Morals are internal
– Strives to behave well spontaneously
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What is Ethics?
Doesn't Everyone Have the Same Ethical Values?
• Deontology (Duty-based)
– Adherence to moral duties and rights
– Applies to everyone equally
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What is Ethics?
Doesn't Everyone have the Same Basic Ethics?
• Laws are formal, written standards
– Designed to apply to everyone
– Enforced by government agencies
– Interpreted by the courts
• Impossible to pass enough laws
• Ethics is needed to provide a general set
of unwritten guidelines
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What is Ethics?
Is Unethical Behavior the Same as Illegal Behavior?
• Unethical Behavior
– Isn’t necessarily illegal
– Not all illegal behavior is unethical
– Not conforming to approved standards
• Amoral Behavior
– No sense of right or wrong
– No interest in moral consequences
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What is Ethics?
Which System of Ethics Works Best?
• No universal agreement
• Most societies use a blend
• Ethical decision are greatly influenced by
personal ethics
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Personal Ethics
What are Personal Ethics?
• Set of formal or
informal principles
– Some are clear, welldefined
– Others are
inconsistent or applied
differently
– Can be challenging to
adhere to consistently
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Personal Ethics
How do a Person's Ethics Develop?
• Family
• Cultural bias
• Religious
affiliation
• Life
experiences
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Personal Ethics
What if I'm Not Sure What My Personal Ethics Are?
• Describe yourself
• List the key principles you believe
• Identify external influences
• Consider “why”
• Prepare a statement of values
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Personal Ethics
What are the Benefits to Ethical Living?
• Society has established rules of conduct
– Ignoring or being inconsistent can have
immediate impact
• Health benefits to ethical living
– Day-to-day decisions conflict with principles
– Stress and anger often develop
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Personal Ethics
What are the Benefits to Ethical Living?
• Positive psychology
– Dr. Martin Seligman
– Causes of happiness instead of treating dysfunctions
– Identify personal strengths and values
– Align your life
– Can impact your health and happiness
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Personal Ethics and Your Work Life
How do Employers Affect Personal Ethics?
• Do your ethics change
when you go to work?
– Employers expect you to
follow ethics and rules of
conduct
– Do not blindly follow
unethical practices
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Personal Ethics and Your Work Life
If You Spot Unethical Behavior at Your Company, What Do You Do?
• Whistle-blowers expose unethical (but still
legal) acts
– Do not blindly follow unethical practices
– Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002
• Requires that companies provide mechanisms for
employees to report complaints
• This is to be done anonymously
– Often now done online
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Personal Ethics and Your Work Life
• How does making ethical choices in a
business setting differ from making
personal ethical choices?
– Most personal ethical decisions involve few
people
– Ethical choices in business must give
consideration to stakeholders
– Stakeholders are people or entities affected
by the operations of a business
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Technology and Ethics:
How One Affects the Other
• Technology moves faster than rules can
be formulated
• Use of technology is often left up to the
individual
• Ethical considerations are never clear-cut
• Reasonable people can have different
views
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Ethics and Technology Issues
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Social Justice
Brain Technology: Creating Cyborgs?
• A cyborg contains both
biological and artificial
components
• Current research
– Brain-computer
interfaces
– Neurostimulation
– Neural stem cells
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Social Justice
Brain Technology: Creating Cyborgs?
• Point - Research might alleviate human
suffering
– Society will dictate what is acceptable
– Governments can put controls in place
• Counterpoint – Cannot be adequately
controlled
– Might be used for military purposes
– Might destroy what it means to be human
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Intellectual Property
International Pirates
• Point – Vigorous
enforcement allows
developers to make a fair
profit
– Otherwise a disadvantage
in marketplace
– Every country needs
common understanding
• Counterpoint – U.S. can’t
tell other countries how to
conduct internal affairs
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Privacy
Can Employers Peer Into Your Personal Life?
• Point – Privacy is a basic human right
– Employers might misuse data or violate law
– Privacy settings on social media sites should
allow user the ultimate control of data
• Counterpoint – Business concerns
outweigh privacy concerns
– In digital age, loss of privacy is inevitable
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E-Commerce
Geolocation: Who Knows Where You Are?
• Point – People comfortable
sharing personal information
– Businesses would lose revenue
– Useful for public safety
• Counterpoint – Society too
complacent with privacy issues
– Consumers to be educated and
make informed choices
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Electronic Communication
Does Free Speech Have a Price?
• Point – Companies should not
try to change laws in other
countries
– U.S. company can have no
impact on reform
• Counterpoint – Corporations
should consider country’s stand
on human rights
– Financial and political incentives
put pressure on other countries
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Computer Abuse
Cyberbullying: Who Should Protect Children From Each Other?
• Point – Individuals are
responsible for own behavior
– Parents are responsible to
protect children
– Education is key and needs to
be controlled by parents
• Counterpoint – Society is
affected
– Educators have more resources
than parents
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Using Computers to
Support Ethical Conduct
• Can use technology to support ethical
conduct
• Charitable organizations use Internet for
fundraising
• Web is a tool for organizing aid to areas in
crisis
• Websites and Facebook can locate friends
and family members after disaster
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Using Computers to Support Ethical
Conduct
• Google Crisis Response
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall
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mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.