Philosophies of Ethics Flashcards
Metaphysics
What is reality?
Give 2 examples of how metaphysics is relevant to technology
- Spreading of misinformation
- Virtual reality
Epistemology
What does it mean to know?
Give 2 examples of how epistemology is relevant to technology
- Explainability of information
- How do we know if algorithms reach reliable decisions?
Political philosophy
What is the nature of power and legitimacy?
Give 2 examples of how political philosophy is relevant to technology
- Censorship vs freedom of expression
- Privacy
Logic
How do we know what we know?
Give 2 examples of how logic is relevant to technology
- Code is an implementation of logic
- Implementation of Turing Test in CAPTCHA
Aesthetics
What is experience?
Give 2 examples of how aesthetics is relevant to technology
- Accessibility
- If interfaces are attractive and stimulating to the point of addiction, is this really a good thing?
Ethics
How should we live?
Give 2 examples of how ethics is relevant to technology
- How we should treat people online
- Mass surveillance
Explain Authority Theories
Mostly derive from a religion. But god usually talks via scriptures or a priesthood so how do you resolve disputes?
Explain Intuitionist Theories
We can tell what’s good and bad. But our intuitions differ so how do we resolve disputes?
List the 3 types of ethical theories
- Authority theories
- Intuitionist theories
- Egoist theories
Explain Egoist Theories
We act rationally in our own self-interest
What is the principle of consequentialist approaches?
Whether an act is right or wrong depends only on the results of that act. The more good consequences an act produces, the better or more right that act
How does consequentialism deduce we should measure welfare ie what does Hume, Bentham and Mill’s utilitarianism say?
Utilitarian welfare ie. we should maximise W = Ui
What is the principle of deontological approaches?
It’s not just the consequences of actions that make them right or wrong, but the motives of the actors
How does deontology deduce we should measure welfare?
Maximise W = minUi
Give 3 examples of how a computing professional should act according to the professional codes of ethics
- Be honest and trustworthy
- Respect privacy
- Be fair and take action not to discriminate
What is coordinated vulnerability disclosure?
If vulnerabilities are found (eg. in software), use confidential disclosure to those that can remedy or mitigate the impact
What is the principle of virtue ethics approaches?
The motives of the actors should be to follow ethical principles because they ought to be good people
What distinguishes artefacts from natural objects?
Artefacts have a human author or creator and are made to serve a purpose
State the Neutrality Thesis
Technological artefacts are simply neutral. They do not have any ethical status in and of themselves though they can be used for good or bad
What ethical considerations are there with errors?
Choices have to be made about which errors should be minimised (eg. precision vs recall). This depends on the relative costs of the errors and who bears the cost in each case
