PPIT Lecture 06

Uniqueness Issue (Continued)
• Traditionalists and uniqueness proponents are
each partly correct.
• Traditionalists correctly point out that no new
ethical issues have been introduced by
computers.
• Uniqueness proponents are correct in that
cybertechnology has complicated our analysis
of traditional ethical issues.

Uniqueness Issue (Continued)
• So we must distinguish between: (a) unique
technological features, and (b) any (alleged)
unique ethical issues.
• Two scenarios from the text:
– (a) Computer professionals designing and coding a
controversial computer system
– (b) Software piracy

Case Illustration of a Policy Vacuum:
Duplicating Software
• In the early 1980s, there were no clear laws
regarding the duplication of software
programs, which was made easy because of
personal computers.
• A policy vacuum arose.
• Before the policy vacuum could be filled, we
had to clear up a conceptual muddle: What
exactly is software?

Cyberethics as a Branch of Applied
Ethics
• Applied ethics, unlike theoretical ethics, examines
"practical" ethical issues.
• It analyzes moral issues from the vantage-point of
one or more ethical theories.
• Ethicists working in fields of applied ethics are more
interested in applying ethical theories to the analysis
of specific moral problems than in debating the
ethical theories themselves.

Cyberethics as a Branch of Applied
Ethics (continued)
• Three distinct perspectives of applied ethics
(as applied to cyberethics):
• Professional Ethics
• Philosophical Ethics
• Descriptive Ethics

Perspective # 1: Professional Ethics
• According to this view, cyberethics is the field that
identifies and analyzes issues of ethical responsibility
for computer professionals.
• Consider a computer professional's role in designing,
developing, and maintaining computer hardware and
software systems.
– Suppose a programmer discovers that a software product
she has been working on is about to be released for sale to
the public, even though it is unreliable because it contains
"buggy" software.
– Should she "blow the whistle?"

Perspective # 2: Philosophical Ethics
 From this perspective, cyberethics is a field of
philosophical analysis and inquiry that goes beyond
professional ethics (Gotterbarn).
 Moor (1985), defines computer ethics as:
– ...the analysis of the nature and social impact of computer
technology and the corresponding formulation and
justification of policies for the ethical use of such
technology. [Italics Added.]

Perspective #3: Cyberethics as a Field of
Descriptive Ethics
• The professional and philosophical perspectives both
illustrate normative inquiries into applied ethics
issues.
• Normative inquiries or studies are contrasted with
descriptive studies.
• Descriptive investigations report about "what is the
case“; normative inquiries evaluate situations from
the vantage-point of the question: "what ought to be
the case."

Descriptive Ethics Perspective
(continued)
• Scenario: A community’s workforce and the
introduction of a new technology.
• Suppose a new technology displaces 8,000 workers
in a community.
• If we analyze the issues solely in terms of the
number of jobs that were gained or lost in that
community, our investigation is essentially
descriptive in nature.
• We are simply describing an impact that technology
X has for Community Y.

Descriptive Ethics Perspective
(continued)
• Descriptive vs. Normative Claims
• Consider three assertions:
– (1) "Bill Gates served as the Chief Executive Officer of Microsoft
Corporation for many years.”
– (2) "Bill Gates should expand Microsoft’s product offerings.“
– (3) “Bill Gates should not engage in business practices that are unfair
to competitors.”
 Claims (2) And (3) are normative, (1) is descriptive;
(2) is normative but nonmoral, while (3) is both
normative and moral.

Figure 1-1: Descriptive vs.
Normative Claims
Descriptive Normative
(Report or describe what is the case) (Prescribe what ought to be the case)
Non-moral Moral
Prescribe or evaluate
in matters involving
standards such as art and sports
(e.g., criteria for a good painting
or an outstanding athlete).
Prescribe or evaluate
in matters having to
do with fairness and
Obligation (e.g., criteria
for just and unjust
actions and policies).

Some Benefits of Using the
Descriptive Approach
• Huff & Finholt (1994) claim that when we understand
the descriptive aspect of social effects of technology,
the normative ethical issues become clearer.
• The descriptive perspective prepare us for our
subsequent analysis of ethical issues that affect our
system of policies and laws.

Table 1-2: Summary of
Cyberethics Perspectives
Type of Perspective Associated
Disciplines
Issues Examined
Professional Computer Science
Engineering
Library/Information
Science
Professional Responsibility
System Reliability/Safety
Codes of Conduct
Philosophical Philosophy
Law
Privacy & Anonymity
Intellectual Property
Free Speech
Descriptive Sociology
Behavioral Sciences
Impact of cybertechnology
on governmental/financial/
educational institutions and
socio-demographic groups

Is Cyber-technology Neutral?
• Technology seems neutral, at least initially.
• Consider the cliché: “Guns don’t kill people, people
kill people.”
• Corlann Gee Bush (19997) argues that gun
technology, like all technologies, is biased in certain
directions.
• She points out that certain features inherent in gun
technology itself cause guns to be biased in a
direction towards violence.

PPIT Lecture 06

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PPIT Lecture 06