Consequences of Computing:
A Framework for Teaching
Importance of the Dimensions - Page 13 of 36
Social and ethical issues in computing can no longer be considered in isolation from the national and international scene. Given the large scale, global diffusion of technology, and the close linkings among various kinds of technologies in communication networks, even seemingly local decisions about reliability, standards, access, privacy, etc. can have global implications. For example, privacy means many different things in different cultural venues and is also looked on differently by different national governments [50]. As the Internet gains greater penetration into other nations, one clear concern of many governments is the free-wheeling nature of the interaction and information exchange that occurs on it. These issues need urgently to be addressed as we create a global information infrastructure.
Many debates about the spread of the Internet assume that 'democratic values' will be spread along with the spreading technology. These conversations often fail to take into account the different approaches the many cultures in the world have to the use and sharing of power. Some countries are quite interested in the technology and connectivity the Internet represents, but leery of the assumptions of power sharing and democratic process that Western advocates assume are inseparable from the technology [50].
Areas of Ethical Analysis
The columns of Figure 1 represent the variety of ethical issues that we felt confronted computer professionals. We used several criteria for determining what issues to include and how to group them. First, we wanted to make sure that the primary topical issues were included. We did this by making sure to include issues explicitly mentioned in the Curricula 1991 report, and by testing our list of important issues to see if each of them could find a home under one or more of the columns. In addition, we wanted to make sure that each column corresponded to a traditional area of concern for ethicists, and would thus have a rich ethical literature on which to draw. Finally, we attempted to make each column as coherent in its scope as possible, not mixing disparate issues haphazardly or making distinctions too finely. We think we have emerged from this process with a set of ethical issues that is coherent, reasonably comprehensive, and pedagogically useful.
Particular social and ethical issues in computing will likely be addressed by several of the ethical categories represented by the columns of the table. Even the columns themselves are related in complex ways. For instance, consideration of issues of risk in computing systems (a column in itself) should also involve some understanding of the uses of power, of honesty and deception, and of individual and professional responsibility. The table provides a prompt to further thought when considering a particular issue--are any of the other issues involved?
