FIT1061 IT, Environment, and Ethics

IT, Environment and Ethics

• The notes cover IT, the environment, and ethics
• FIT1061 Ethics and Social Responsibility is the course

Ethical Frameworks

• Live in harmony with neighbors and nature
• Do everything for the happiness of all, present and future generations
• Maintain the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community
• Environmental responsibility is paramount

Ethical Justifications

• Utilitarianism is a theory that says an action is good if it produces good results, and bad if it produces bad results. A good action is one that provides the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
• Hurting the environment is inadmissible

Two Points of View

• A short-term view is known as legitimate utilitarianism and considers the consequences for the individual. This view looks at how exploiting natural resources can drive profit for shareholders and stakeholders.
• A long-term view, known as "rule utilitarianism," establishes rules based on the consequences of a series of actions. Considers supporting sustainable development such as maintaining biodiversity instead of overfishing.

Other Ethical Justifications

• Kant's theory states to act in accordance with particular moral principles, regardless of the consequences.
• There should be no harm, to people above all, and to shared property
• Everyone has equal claims and obligations to the environment; no one should take more than their fair share or deprive others.
• Do no harm, prevent harm, and do good

Virtue Theory

• Virtue Theory discusses what kind of people humans should aim to be
• A moral character is fundamental and a virtuous person has a sense of fair treatment
• Everyone has the right to happiness and a good life, making the environment an integral part of that equation
• Global ethics considers the exploitation of Earth's resources and the resulting environmental degradation

Environmental Responsibility of Enterprises

• The environmental responsibility of enterprises includes a classical and neoclassical theory, plus a stakeholder theory

Classical Theory

• There is no corporate social responsibility, including ethical responsibility towards the environment
• Businesses engage in purely economic activities and must be evaluated solely from an economic standpoint.
• Social issues should be left to the discretion of other institutions

Neo-Classical Theory

• Environmental problems are considered a minimal moral obligation
• It includes avoiding harm(for example, pollution of the environment)
• Do not directly harm the environment or Mother Nature in pursuit of profit

Stakeholder Theory

• Corporations manage activities to benefit everyone with a stake in the company
• Includes local communities, neighborhoods, and the environment, which are essential for corporate success
• Every business should treat the environment with care, as it is an interested party in its own right

Sustainable Development

• Sustainable development requires surviving and thriving in the long term
• The ability of businesses to survive and thrive in the long term
• Ecological, economic, and social criteria must be considered
• Limited natural resources must be used to ensure their quantity does not decrease with time

IT and the Environment

• Includes sustainable software development and the role of AI in environmental monitoring
• It also includes managing electronic waste

Sustainable Software Development

• Software should be designed to minimize its environmental impact
• Software should promote social responsibility and provide economic benefits
• Counter the growing damage to the environment arising from software solutions

Sustainable Software Development Goals

• Reduce energy consumption while the software runs.
• Increase software longevity and repairability
• Promote ethical development and implementation

Strategies for Sustainable Software Development

• Energy-efficient coding methods
• Lifecycle assessment
• Modular architecture
• User-centered design
• Continuous monitoring and improvement

The Role of AI in Environmental Monitoring

• Using artificial intelligence to track changes in the surrounding environment and improve conservation methods

Data Collection and Integration

• Processes data from satellites, drones, and sensors to monitor environmental conditions.
• This includes tracking land use, deforestation, water bodies, and pollution levels

Environmental Monitoring Data Analysis

• Machine learning identifies patterns and trends in large datasets.
• Analyzes data to predict environmental changes and evaluate human activity effects
• Creates models predicting future ecological conditions for resource management and disaster preparedness

Anomaly Detection

• Real-time monitoring allows for the detection of anomalies
• Detects rapid changes in air and water quality
• Quick response to potential hazards and pollution

Ecosystem Analysis

• AI analyzes camera and sensor data to monitor wild animal populations and habitats
• AI tracks biodiversity and identify endangered species

Climate Modeling

• AI combines sources of data to improve the accuracy of projections for climate characteristics and extreme weather
• Makes long-term impacts on the environment more accessible, including carbon emission from various sectors
• This includes transportation and industry

Resource Optimization

• AI analyzes soil conditions, weather patterns, and crop conditions to improve irrigation, fertilization, and pest control
• Enables sustainable agriculture, managing water supplies by forecasting demand
• Optimizes distribution and can detect leaks in water systems

Public Engagement and Education

• AI-based applications and platforms attract public attention and provide information about environmental conditions
• It also encourages community participation in monitoring and conservation efforts

Joint Research

• Includes data sharing, promoting collaboration between researchers by integrating and analyzing various data sets from diverse sources

Management of Electronic Waste

• Management of Electronic Waste encompasses thrown out electronics and household appliances, like computers, smartphones and televisions.
• Millions of tons of electronic waste are generated annually
• Only a small percentage is properly recycled
• Improper disposal leads to soil and water pollution from dangerous materials, like lead, mercury and cadmium

Strategies for Handling Electronic Waste

• There are programs for both utilization and expanded producer responsibility when handling electronic waste
• Utilization programs create specialized facilities for recycling electronic waste.
• Utilization programs extract valuable material in order to minimize the volume of what goes to landfills
• Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a policy that calls for producers to take responsibility for the entire life cycle of products, including end-of-life recycling opportunities

Consumer Awareness and Education

• Consumers must be informed about how to properly dispose of electronic waste, and about how valuable it is to recycle these materials.
• Proper disposal methods and the value of secondary processing of electronic waste must be made known to consumers.

Urban Mining

• Is the practice of using advanced technologies to extract valuable materials from electronic waste
• Turns waste into resources

Eco-Friendly Design

• Encourages manufacturers to create devices is stimulating producers to create things that are easier to both repair and modernize.
• A system of digital tracking
• Digital tools can track e-waste from collection to recycling, improving accountability and effectiveness as well as boosting transparency in how e-waste is handled.

Bioethics

• Is the study of ethical issues related to health care and biomedical sciences
• Explores methods of assisted reproduction, stem cells, and cloning and transplantation of human organs.
• It studies genetically modified plants, issues in sports and cognitive development

Methods of Assisted Reproduction

• This is also described as ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology)
• It includes medical interventions directed to taking care of infertility, or helping a person achieve pregnancy

Methods of Assisted Reproduction cont.

• Examples include IVF (in vitro fertilization) and IUI (intrauterine Device)

Assisted Reproductive Technology Ethical Concerns

• This may also include ethical considerations
• Consequences to choosing which embryos to use
• Possible genetic manipulation
• Potential psychology effects on parents and children
• Creates inequality in health care as it is not covered by insurances

Stem Cells and Cloning

• Unique cells may be induced to grow into different types if cells
• These have possible use in regenerative, or healing medicine
• Possible treatments include Parkinson's and diabetes
• Two types, embryonic stem cells from early embryos, and adult stem cells

Stem Cells and Cloning Continued

• Cloning produces genetically identical material
• Therapeutic cloning is the production of stem cells for medical use
• Morality of using embryos to use the stem cells is an ethical problem

Transplantation of Human Organs

• Involves transfer of organs from donor, to replace damaged or non-functioning organisms
• The possibility of transplants can save lives, and boost quality of life

Transplantation of Human Organs- Ethical Concerns

• This can cause a commodification of human organs, and or elicit coerced consent
• Ethical to offer priority based only on financial or socioeconomic factors
• A need must be balanced regarding need and allocation
• How to prioritize transparency and ethics involved in live or dead donations

Genetically Modified Plants

• Also known as GM or GMOs, these plants go through gene engineering for desired traits
• Possible increase in resistance to drought
• Can potentially improve food security and reduce agriculture impact
• Genetic modification potential to improve food security and reduce the use of chemicals

Sports and Cognitive Enhancement

• The advances in biotechnology and genetics results in
• The Process increases physical ability and cognitive skills

Sports and Cognitive Enhancement continued

• Gene-doping manipulates genes to improve physical ability
• Ethical problem-fairness in sports

Cognitive Enhancement: Ethics

• An enhancement increases cognitive functions with pharmaceutical or other methods
• Influences education and workplace competitiveness/ equality
• Access to cognitive enhancement and performance augmentation may or may not be universal
• Ethical problem-problem of equality.

Ethical genetically Modified Plants

• Environmental impacts on Bioethics:
• Long-term effects on biodiversity
• Potential hazards with Non-GMO cross pollination
• Corporate controls of food supply