Consequences of Computing:
A Framework for Teaching
Principles and Skills Underlying the Social and Ethical Dimensions - Page 25 of 36
Important Principles from Social Analysis [SP]
[SP1] The social context influences the design and use of technology. Technology does not simply "impact" society in a one-way causal chain. The web of causality is much more complex. As stated in the above principle, society influences the shape and the development of technology. In addition, the social or organizational setting in which a technology is used influences the way it is used. For example, organizational officials often choose designs for their organizational computing that enhance their control rather than diminish it [49]. This means that power can be concentrated by technology in addition to being dispersed. One of the driving forces behind the adoption of ATMs was the elimination of bank tellers, and this goal had an effect on the design and implementation of this technology [29]. Although electronic mail in some organizations may diffuse power, in others it helps to concentrate it [49]. Thus social, organizational, and cultural, considerations influence the design and adoption of computing. They are not the only influences (and in most cases, not the major influences) but they are significant.In addition, the social context also determines the use of the technology once it is implemented. Pressures for production in radiation therapy cause safety measures on computerized equipment to be disregarded [25]. Group dynamics and stress in combat teams influence the reading, interpretation, and input of data into flight systems [41]. Desires for interaction in the face of a job design that isolates workers can lead them to use database fields as a primitive form of electronic mail [34]. Educational technology designed to promote cooperation among students can actually lead to competition, if the teacher subverts the system [20].
These examples provide a compelling argument that the process of designing technology frequently involves value judgments and ethical choice (see [42, 51] for more detailed presentations). The value judgments include decisions to adopt particular standards, to use particular methods, to implement particular features, and to adhere to particular criteria. For instance, deciding to design to the specification is, after all, an ethical decision that the specification as presented is the only thing that matters. Deciding not to attend to the social and ethical values the specification assumes is likewise an ethical decision to allow those values to go unquestioned.
The examples can easily be multiplied, and doing so can be one of the tasks of the dedicated course in social and ethical issues in computing. Computer science students need to be able to see that anticipating the uses to which their technology will be put is a part of the design process. Thus, this principle should also be incorporated in software design courses (and often is).
