Chapter #1 Flashcards
What Is Cyberethics?
The study of moral, legal and social issues involving cybertechnologies
What Is Cybertechnology?
refers to a wide range of computing and communicating devices
Why the term Cyberethics?
Its more broad than Internet Ethics and Computer Ethics, it encompasses both but has more stuff then both
Computer Ethics: Which focuses on computing machines and professionals
Internet Ethics: only involves networked computers and devices
The Evolution of Cybertechnology and Cyberethics: Four Phases
Phase #1: Huge standalone main frame computers; people were worried about privacy threats and Big Brother
Phase #2: Mainframe computers and personal computers could be linked together over LAN. Which introduced duplicating software and hackers.
Phase #3: WWW, present day majority of people have internet access
Phase #4: Very soon, with Web 2.0 and new advancements technology will be more apart of who we are. They have become less distinct as individual entities, and are now integrated with everything. (Really advanced stuff too)
Debate about the Uniqueness of Cyberethics Issues: Two approaches
Traditionalist: Argue nothing is new, crime is crime
Uniqueness Proponents: Argue that some new things have emerged that could not have existed without computers
The Uniqueness Debate (slide 14 - 19)
Read
Summary: Traditionalist are pretty correct, the scope is just changed due to computers and how quickly things can escalate, but computers have not really introduced new ethical issues. They have just become easier and faster to spread.
Logical malleability: Definition
Can me molded in ways that allows for many different kinds of use
Policy vacuums: Definition
voids or gaps in our laws and policies
Cannot be fixed unless the conceptual muddle had been fixed.
Applied ethics: Definition
analyses practical ethical issues, with it analyzing moral issues from the vantage point of one or more ethical theories.
Three distinct perspectives of applied ethics (as applied to cyberethics):
Professional Ethics: Examines professional responsibility, system reliability and safety, codes of conduct
Philosophical Ethics: Privacy and Anonymity, intellectual property, free speech
Sociological/Descriptive Ethics: Effects on government/financial/educational institutions and socio-demographic groups.
Morally Opaque Features
Known Features
Users are aware of these features but do not realize they have moral implications.
Unknown Features
Users are not even aware of the technological features
that have moral implications
Three Levels in Brey’s Model of Computer Ethics
Disclosive: involves computer science; Disclose embedded features in computer technology that have moral import.
Theoretical: Philosophy; Test newly disclosed features against standard ethical theories.
Application: involves CS, Philosophy, Social Science; Apply ethical theories to issues
