Gee Modules PDF

1.1 Introduction: Catalyst for Change Information Age Characterized by unprecedented access to information Catalysts Low-cost computers High-speed communication networks Examples of advances in past two decades Cell phones Email World Wide Web...

1.1 Introduction: Catalyst for Change Information Age Characterized by unprecedented access to information Catalysts Low-cost computers High-speed communication networks Examples of advances in past two decades Cell phones Email World Wide Web MP3 players Technology and Values Dynamic between people and technology People adopt technology Technology changes society Different ways people are affected by technology Physical changes (e.g., pains from laptop use) Psychological changes (e.g., cell phones make you feel safer) Technologies can solve problems but also create new ones Automobile Refrigerator and the Ozone Layer Low-cost international communication Nuclear weapons and radiation Control over New Technologies People can control whether to adopt new technology ○ Example: Nuclear power moratorium in the United States People can influence the rate at which technologies are developed ○ Intellectual property laws ○ Tax structure 1.2 Milestones in Computing 1. Aids to Manual Calculating ○ Calculators are 6´ faster than adding by hand. Fingers and toes are handy calculation aids, but to manipulate numbers ○ Wages dropped. above 20, people need more than their own digits. ○ Women replaced men. The three important aids to manual calculating are: Tablet: Simply having a tablet to write down the numbers 3. Cash Register being manipulated is a great help. In ancient times, erasable Store owners of late 1800s faced problems: clay and wax tablets served this purpose. By the late Middle Keeping accurate sales records for department stores Ages, Europeans often used erasable slates. Paper tablets Preventing embezzlement from clerks became common in the nineteenth century, and they are still Response to problems: Cash register popular today. James and John Ritty: Designed an adding machine capable Abacus: A computing aid in which a person performs of expressing values in dollars and cents. arithmetic operations by sliding counters along with rods, Created printed, itemized receipts. wires, or lines. Maintained a printed log of transactions. Mathematical tables: Rang the bell every time the drawer was opened. ○ Tables of logarithms (17th century): Time savers to anyone doing complicated math because they 4. Punched Card Tabulation allowed them to multiply two numbers by simply Herman Hollerith: Developed an electromechanical tabulating adding their logarithms. machine for punched cards to assist in summarizing ○ John Napier and Johannes Kepler published tables information and in accounting. of logarithms. Hollerith 1890 tabulating machine with sorting box. ○ Income tax tables (today): People who compute their income taxes “by hand” make use of tax tables 5. Precursors (Ancestors) of Commercial Computers to determine how much they owe. A team at the University of Manchester set out to build a small However, even with them, manual calculating is slow, tedious, and computer. The computer successfully executed its first error-prone. program in 1948. The Small-Scale Experimental Machine was the first 2. Mechanical Calculators operational, fully electronic computer system that had both The 17th -19th century: programs and data stored in its memory. Blaise Pascal: "Pascal’s calculator" - built-in 1640, was capable of adding whole numbers containing up to six digits. 6. First Commercial Computers Gottfried Leibniz: "Step Reckoner" - A handcrafted machine Ferranti Ltd: Introduced the world’s first commercial computer that can add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers. in 1951. Charles Thomas de Colmar: "Arithmometer" - The first ○ Ferranti Mark 1: A descendant of research commercially successful calculator. computers constructed at the University of Georg Scheutz and his son Edvard: "Scheutz difference Manchester. engine" - The world’s first printing calculator: a machine Remington-Rand: capable of calculating mathematical tables and typesetting the ○ Completed UNIVAC in 1951. values onto molds. ○ Delivered to U.S. Bureau of the Census. William Burroughs: "Burroughs Adding Machine" - Devised a ○ Predicted the winner of the 1952 Presidential practical adding machine. Election. Social Change -> Market for Calculators: IBM (entered the commercial market in 1953): Gilded Age (late 19th century America): ○ Larger base of customers. ○ Rapid industrialization ○ Far superior sales and marketing organization. ○ Economic expansion ○ Greater investment in research and development. ○ Concentration of corporate power ○ Dominated the mainframe market by mid-1960s. Calculator Adoptions -> Social Change: Fierce competition in the calculator market 7. Programming Languages and Time-sharing Continuous improvements in size, speed, ease of use Assembly language: Sales increased rapidly ○ Symbolic representations of machine instructions. The adoption of mechanical calculators led to “Deskilling” and ○ Programs just as long as machine language feminization of bookkeeping: programs. ○ People of average ability were quite productive. FORTRAN (1957):  ○ First higher-level language (shorter programs). ○ Designed for scientific applications. COBOL (1959): ○ U.S. Department of Defense standard. ○ Designed for business applications. Time-Sharing Systems (In the early 1960s): ○ Divide computer time among multiple users. ○ Users connect to a computer via terminals. ○ Cost of ownership spread among more people. ○ Gave many more people access to computers. BASIC (In the early 1960s): ○ Developed at Dartmouth College. ○ Simple, easy-to-learn programming language. 1.3 Milestone in Networking ○ Popular language for teaching programming. Discoveries in electromagnetism (early 1800s) 8. Transistor and Integrated Circuit Telegraph (1844) Transistor: A telegraph is a machine used to transmit messages in the ○ Replacement for vacuum tube. form of electrical impulses that can be converted into data. ○ Invented at Bell Labs (1948). Telephone (1876) ○ Semiconductor: Faster, Cheaper, More reliable, More Invented by Alexander Graham Bell. energy-efficient. Typewriter and teletype (1873, 1908) Integrated Circuit: Semiconductor containing transistors, ○ Christopher Sholes, Carlos Glidden, and Samuel capacitors, and resistors. Soule patented the first typewriter. ○ Advantages over parts they replaced: ○ In late 1873, Remington & Sons Company, famous Smaller for guns and sewing machines, produced the first Faster commercial typewriter. More reliable ○ In 1908, the typewriter was modified to print a Less expensive message transmitted over a telegraph line; the inventors called the invention a teletype. 9. IBM System/360 Radio (1895) Before System/360: Television (1927) ○ IBM dominated the mainframe market in the 1960s. ○ Broadcasting video over a wire began in 1884 with ○ IBM computers were incompatible. the invention of an electromechanical television by ○ Switching computers -> Rewrite programs. Paul Nipkow. System/360 (1964): ○ The first completely electronic television ○ Series of 19 computers with varying levels of power. transmission was made in 1927 by Philo Farnsworth. ○ All computers could run the same programs - Remote computing (1940) Compatible. ○ In 1940, George Stibitz demonstrated remote ○ Upgrade without rewriting programs. computing to members of the American Mathematical Society who were meeting at 10. Microprocessor & Personal Computer Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Microprocessor: Computer inside a single semiconductor ○ He typed numbers into the teletype, which chip. transmitted the data 250 miles to the calculator in ○ Invented in 1970 at Intel. New York City. After the calculator had computed the ○ Made personal computers practical. answer, it transmitted the data back to the teletype, Example of first PCs: which printed the result. ○ Altair 8800 (1975). ARPANET (1969) Personal computers become popular: ○ Advanced Research Projects Agency Network: ○ Apple Computer: Apple II. In 1967, ARPA initiated the design and ○ Developments drew businesses to personal construction of the ARPANET, the first computers. wide-area packet-switching network with ○ IBM launches IBM PC.  distributed control and the first network to ○ In 1970, Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC), a implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. new facility dedicated to performing research into Email (1972) digital technology, created the Alto, a small ○ In March 1972, Ray Tomlinson wrote the first minicomputer designed to be used by a single software enabling email messages to be sent and person. received by ARPANET computers. ○ The Alto incorporated a bitmapped display, a ○ A few months later, Lawrence Roberts created the keyboard, and a mouse. first “killer app” for the network: an email utility that ○ Apple released Lisa (1983): The first commercial gave individuals the ability to list their email computer with a GUI, or Graphical User Interface. messages, selectively read them, reply to them, and - The price tag was too high, the processor was too slow, and forward them. the Lisa was not commercially successful. Internet (1983) ○ Apple released the Macintosh (1984): A faster Network of networks communicating using TCP/IP. computer with a graphical user interface. Broadband (2000) ○ In May 1990, Microsoft released Windows 3.0 for ○ High-speed Internet connection at least 10x faster IBM PCs. than a dial-up connection. World Wide Web (1990) ○ Enhanced by fiber-optic networks. ○ Tim Berners-Lee completed the first Web browser ○ South Korea is the world leader in broadband on the NeXT Computer (1990) and called his browser networking, with 3/4 of homes having broadband WorldWideWeb. connections. ○ The first widely used Web browser was Mosaic, 1.3.1 Information Technology developed at the University of Illinois, Definition: Devices used in the creation, storage, Urbana-Champaign. manipulation, dissemination of data, sound, and/or images ○ Today, the most popular web browsers include: Examples: Computers, telephones, video cameras, MP3 Chrome players Internet Explorer People making greater use of IT; costs keep falling, Firefox capabilities keep rising Safari Search Engines 1.4 Milestones in Information Storage and Retrieval A search engine is a program that accepts a list of keywords This section focuses on the development of technologies to store and from a user, searches a database of documents, and returns retrieve information. those documents most closely matching the specified Newspapers keywords. The first English-language newspaper appeared in Great Two types of Web search engines: Britain in the 1600s. 1. Crawler-based search engines: Such as Google and AltaVista, Hypertext automatically create the database of information about Web In 1965, Ted Nelson coined the word hypertext, which refers to pages. a linked network of nodes containing information. - In a process similar to Web surfing, programs called spiders ○ The links allow readers to visit the nodes in a follow hyperlinks, eventually visiting millions of different Web nonlinear fashion. pages. Graphical User Interface (GUI) - Summary information about these pages is collected into ○ Douglas Engelbart created a research lab called the massive databases. Augmentation Research Center, which developed a - When you perform a query, the search engine consults its hypermedia and groupware system called NLS database to find the closest matches. (oNLine System). 2. Human-powered search engines: The second type of Web ○ The NLS system was the first to employ the practical search engine relies upon humans to build the database of use of hypertext links, the mouse, raster-scan video information about various Web pages. monitors, information organized by relevance, screen - People who develop a Web site can submit a summary of their windowing, presentation programs, and other site to the keepers of the search engine. modern computing concepts. - Advantage: Humans can create more accurate summaries of a ○ Engelbart invented several new input devices, web page than a spider program. including the computer mouse. - Disadvantage: Only a small fraction of the web can be cataloged  ○ How many software jobs in the United States will be 1.5 IT Issues lost to countries where labor is significantly Information technology (IT) refers to devices used in the creation, cheaper? storage, manipulation, exchange, and dissemination of data, including text, sound, and images. Conclusions People are making greater use of IT in their everyday lives. Some of Revolutionary discoveries are rare; information technology these uses create new issues that need to be resolved. Let’s look at a has a long history few of the questions raised by the growth of IT. Rate of technological change is accelerating Email Wrong question: “What will the computer do to us?” ○ Allows anyone to send email to anyone else with an Right question: “What will we make of the computer?” email address. (Seymour Papert) ○ Most email traffic is spam: unsolicited, bulk, commercial email. Is spam destroying the value of email? The World Wide Web has provided an unprecedented opportunity for individuals and nongovernmental organizations to have their points of view made available to billions. ○ Will the web be a channel for democratic ideas? ○ Another tool for totalitarian governments? Use of credit cards to purchase an item ○ The credit card company now has information about the transaction. ○ Does the credit card company have a right to sell my name, address, and phone number to other companies that may want to sell me related products? Computers are now embedded in many devices on which we depend, from traffic signals to pacemakers. ○ Software errors have resulted in injury and even death. When bugs result in harm to humans, what should the liability be for the people or corporations that produced the software? When employees use IT devices in their work, companies can monitor their actions closely. ○ How does such monitoring affect the workplace? ○ Does it create an unacceptable level of stress among employees? IT is allowing more people than ever to work from home. ○ What are the advantages and disadvantages of telecommuting? IT capabilities are leading to changes in the IT industry. ○ US-based software companies are doing more development in countries where salaries are much lower, such as India, China, and Vietnam. ○ Will this trend continue? Reviewer: Ethics, Morality, and Ethical Theories Cons: ○ No clear line between personal desires and moral 1. Importance of Communities actions. Communities enhance life by establishing rules that prohibit or ○ No distinction between the morality of different mandate certain actions. people’s actions. Non-conformity to community rules can result in punishment. ○ It is inconsistent and does not prioritize logic or Responsible community members consider the needs and reason in moral decisions. desires of others. Conclusion: Subjective relativism is not a workable ethical theory since Shared core values: life, happiness, and the ability to it rejects the possibility of presenting persuasive, logical arguments to accomplish goals. others. 2. Defining Key Terms 7. Cultural Relativism Society: A group of people organized under rules designed to Definition: The meaning of "right" and "wrong" is defined by a benefit its members over time. society's moral guidelines. Morality: A system of rules that defines what people should Example: Societies differ in their response to moral dilemmas and shouldn't do in various situations. like killing a pedestrian while driving. Ethics: The philosophical study of morality; it involves the ○ 90% in Norway would testify, but only 10% in Serbia rational examination of moral beliefs and behavior. would. Pros: 3. Ethics and Morality: An Analogy ○ Different social contexts necessitate different moral Society is like a town with roads. guidelines. Morality is the road network that guides drivers (people) to ○ It discourages one society from judging another's stay on course. values. Ethics allows an observer (in a balloon) to evaluate the entire Cons: road system and propose improvements. ○ Different views don’t imply they ought to exist. ○ No clear method for determining moral guidelines in 4. Ethical Theories Overview a given society. Ethics has been studied since Socrates' time (2,400 years ○ Cultural relativism cannot handle changes in moral ago). norms or resolve cultural conflicts. Socrates used ethical reasoning in Plato’s Crito to justify facing Conclusion: Cultural relativism has significant weaknesses and cannot the death penalty rather than escaping. provide a framework for persuasive ethical evaluations across different Ethical theories offer frameworks for moral decision-making. societies. 5. Nine Ethical Theories 1. Subject Relativism 8. Conclusion of Ethical Theories 2. Cultural Relativism Both Subjective Relativism and Cultural Relativism fail as 3. Divine Command Theory persuasive ethical tools because they do not provide universal 4. Ethical Egoism moral standards or effective logical frameworks for resolving 5. Kantianism moral issues. 6. Act Utilitarianism We will explore other ethical theories for constructing more 7. Rule Utilitarianism viable solutions to moral problems. 8. Social Contract Theory Reviewer on Ethical Egoism and Kantianism 9. Virtue Ethics Ethical Egoism 6. Subjective Relativism Ethical egoism is the philosophical theory that individuals should focus Definition: There are no universal moral norms; individuals exclusively on their self-interest. It posits that the morally right action for decide what’s right or wrong for themselves. a person in any situation is the one that maximizes their long-term Example: Legal abortion in the U.S., where rational people benefit. Helping others is only considered right if it benefits the helper's have opposing views. long-term self-interest. Pros: Key Concepts: ○ Recognizes that intelligent people can have differing Self-Interest as Priority: Ethical egoism emphasizes that moral opinions. actions should serve the individual’s long-term benefits. ○ Acknowledges the futility of certain ethical debates.  Conditional Altruism: Helping others is only right when it 1. Universal Moral Guidelines: Provides a consistent, logical aligns with the helper’s self-interest. framework for determining right and wrong. The Case for Ethical Egoism: 2. Equality in Morality: Kantianism treats all individuals as moral 1. Practical Moral Philosophy: It’s realistic and allows people to equals, combating discrimination and injustice. focus on their own well-being. 3. Moral Consistency: The principle of universal law aligns with 2. Self-Sufficiency: Encourages individuals to take care of the idea that the same moral rules should apply to all, themselves, leading to less dependency on others. regardless of time or place. 3. Community Benefits: When people prioritize their The Case against Kantianism: self-interest, society may benefit as well. 1. Conflicting Rules: Sometimes, moral situations may involve 4. Foundational Principle: Many moral principles, including the conflicting duties with no clear resolution. preservation of self, are grounded in self-interest. 2. No Exceptions: Kantianism is strict and does not allow The Case against Ethical Egoism: exceptions to certain moral rules, even in extraordinary cases. 1. Easy ≠ Best: Just because a philosophy is simple does not Conclusion: Despite its challenges, Kantianism supports moral make it ideal for guiding moral actions. decision-making through logical reasoning and equality. It is a viable 2. Ignoring Others' Needs: Ethical egoism dismisses our ability ethical theory due to its culture-neutral approach and consistent moral to understand and respond to the needs of others. guidelines. 3. Immorality Risk: Focusing solely on self-interest can result in harmful behaviors toward others. Scenario Analysis using Kantianism: 4. Better Alternatives Exist: Other moral principles provide Scenario: stronger foundations for ethical behavior. Carla, a single mother and a full-time worker, buys a term paper to 5. Happier Lives with Empathy: People who consider others in submit as her own, unable to complete her assignment due to time their decisions tend to live more fulfilling lives. constraints. Conclusion: Ethical egoism fails to respect the ethical point of view, Analysis Using the Second Formulation: which requires that individuals consider the welfare of other community Carla deceived her professor by treating him as a means to an end. She members. Thus, it is not a viable ethical theory. used the professor’s grading system solely for her benefit, rather than respecting him as a rational agent who could have understood her Kantianism circumstances. Kantianism, developed by philosopher Immanuel Kant, asserts that Analysis Using the First Formulation: moral laws should guide people’s actions, and these laws must be Carla's proposed rule—claiming credit for someone else’s work—could universally applicable. Kantian ethics are centered around reasoning not be universalized. If everyone followed this rule, the credibility of and treating individuals with respect. academic evaluations would collapse, and reports would cease to be Key Concepts: meaningful assessments. Categorical Imperative: Kant's primary moral rule, with two Conclusion: key formulations: Carla’s action was morally unjustifiable, according to Kantian ethics, 1. First Formulation (Universal Law): "Act only because it violated both the principles of treating people as ends in according to that maxim whereby you can, at the themselves and acting according to a maxim that could be universally same time, will that it should become a universal followed. law." Reviewer on Utilitarianism and Social Contract Theory Actions are morally acceptable only if their guiding principle can be universally 1. Utilitarianism applied. Utilitarianism, proposed by Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, is an Intentions are critical in evaluating the ethical theory that contrasts with Kantianism. It emphasizes that an morality of actions. action is good if its benefits exceed its harms and bad if the harms 2. Second Formulation (Humanity as an End): "Act so exceed the benefits. This is known as the Principle of Utility or the that you always treat humanity, whether in your own Greatest Happiness Principle. person or in the person of another, never merely as a Principle of Utility: means to an end." ○ Utility refers to an object's ability to produce People should never be used solely as tools happiness or prevent unhappiness for an individual to achieve personal goals. or community. All human beings must be treated with ○ Happiness may refer to pleasure, advantage, respect and autonomy. benefit, or good. The Case for Kantianism:  ○ Unhappiness may refer to pain, cost, evil, or Hobbes' View: disadvantage. ○ Without rules, society would descend into chaos, as Greatest Happiness Principle: people would constantly fight to secure resources. ○ Actions are right if they increase happiness and ○ Cooperation and the establishment of rules are wrong if they decrease happiness. necessary for peaceful social living. ○ The moral action produces the greatest overall Hobbes’ Social Contract: happiness for all affected parties. ○ People in society implicitly agree to a set of rules and ○ Utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of an a government to enforce these rules. action rather than the motive behind it. James Rachels' Definition: Types of Utilitarianism: ○ Morality is the set of rules rational people agree upon Act Utilitarianism: for mutual benefit, conditional on others also ○ An action is right if it produces more happiness than following the rules. unhappiness for the affected parties. ○ Social contract theory focuses on the mutual ○ Example: Donating to charity benefits a larger group agreement among members of society, unlike of people, making the act morally right. Kantianism, which emphasizes universal moral ○ Pros: rules. Focuses on happiness. John Rawls' Principles of Justice: Practical and comprehensive. Everyone should have equal access to basic rights and Workable ethical theory. liberties. ○ Cons: Any inequalities should: Unclear who should be included in the 1. Be tied to positions that everyone has an equal calculation of happiness. opportunity to attain. Can be overly complicated and lead to 2. Benefit the least advantaged members of society unforeseen consequences (e.g., moral (e.g., progressive taxation). luck). Case for Social Contract Theory: Evaluating a Scenario with Act Utilitarianism: Provides a language of rights. ○ Scenario: A state considers replacing a curvy stretch Explains why people act in self-interest without an agreement. of highway. Justifies government deprivation of certain rights under ○ Analysis: The costs of construction include specific conditions. compensating homeowners and environmental Supports civil disobedience in the face of unjust laws. impact, while benefits include long-term savings for Case Against Social Contract Theory: drivers. The highway project is morally right if No one explicitly signs a social contract. benefits exceed costs. Some actions are difficult to characterize. Rule Utilitarianism: Conflicts may arise between individual rights (e.g., abortion ○ This theory states that moral rules should be debates). followed if they lead to the greatest increase in It may unjustly treat people unable to uphold the contract (e.g., happiness. drug addicts). ○ Rule utilitarianism focuses on creating rules that, if Evaluating a Scenario with Social Contract Theory: universally followed, promote overall happiness. Scenario: A DVD rental store owner sells customer profiles to Evaluating a Scenario with Rule Utilitarianism: mail-order companies. ○ Scenario: A "benevolent" worm (Nachi) is released Analysis: The ethicality of the action depends on whether the to combat a harmful worm (Blaster). customers' right to privacy was violated. If customers expect ○ Analysis: While the worm improves security, the confidentiality, the owner was wrong to sell the data. harm from network disruption and potential errors outweighs the benefits. Therefore, releasing the This reviewer provides a structured breakdown of utilitarianism and worm is morally wrong. social contract theory, covering key definitions, types, cases, and analyses to aid in understanding these ethical frameworks. 2. Social Contract Theory Reviewer on Virtue Ethics Thomas Hobbes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Rawls are key contributors to Social Contract Theory, which suggests that morality is 1. Overview of Virtue Ethics based on a set of rules rational people agree to follow for mutual Virtue Ethics, primarily developed by Aristotle and other ancient Greek benefit. philosophers, is a moral philosophy focusing on the development of moral character. It emphasizes living a life of virtue and moral 6. Making a Decision Using Virtue Ethics excellence rather than adhering to a set of rules or focusing on the Scenario: consequences of actions. ○ Josh, a senior computer science major, is faced with Core Idea: a moral dilemma involving his friend Matt, who has ○ Virtue ethics is concerned with the kind of person failed to contribute adequately to a team project due one should become rather than what one should do. to personal issues and is now seeking a favorable It posits that moral virtues are developed through performance review from Josh. practice and habituation. Decision: Key Aspects: ○ Josh’s Dilemma: Should he provide a truthful ○ Acquiring Virtue: Virtue is gained through consistent performance review that reflects Matt's lack of practice of virtuous actions, such as honesty, contribution or lie to help Matt pass the class? bravery, justice, and generosity. ○ Josh’s Reflection: ○ Moral Character: A virtuous person not only acts Recognizes his past failures to support Matt morally but also finds joy in virtuous actions. Aristotle properly and his own contribution to the believed that true virtue involves both the right problem. actions and the right feelings. Understands that virtuous behavior 2. Types of Virtues involves being honest while also According to Aristotle, virtues fall into two main categories: acknowledging his own shortcomings. Intellectual Virtues: ○ Conclusion: ○ Associated with reasoning and intellectual Josh decides to be truthful in his review but excellence. also takes responsibility for his role in the ○ Include virtues such as wisdom and understanding. situation, providing a comprehensive Moral Virtues: account to the professor. ○ Often referred to as virtues of character. 7. Comparing Workable Ethical Theories ○ Developed through habitual practice of virtuous Objectivism: All discussed ethical theories (divine command actions. theory, ethical egoism, Kantianism, act and rule utilitarianism, ○ Involve both dispositions to act and to feel in social contract theory, and virtue ethics) assume that moral particular ways. values are objective and exist outside the human mind. 3. Case for Virtue Ethics Ethical Decision Making: The theories distinguish themselves Focus on Virtues: It can be more practical to emphasize by how they incorporate rational processes, consideration of virtues rather than obligations, rights, or consequences. others, and adherence to logical reasoning based on Relevance of Relationships: Personal relationships play a commonly held values. significant role in moral decision-making. Workable Theories: Development of Morality: Recognizes that moral ○ Kantianism, act utilitarianism, rule utilitarianism, decision-making skills develop over time through practice. social contract theory, and virtue ethics are No Irresolvable Dilemmas: Avoids the issue of irresolvable considered the most workable theories due to their moral dilemmas by focusing on the character of the moral comprehensive approach to ethical decision-making agent. and their focus on rational principles. Role of Emotions: Acknowledges that emotions are crucial to Ethics (or moral philosophy) is the rational examination of moral beliefs leading a moral life. and behaviors. It addresses how people should act in various 4. Case Against Virtue Ethics circumstances, guided by morality—the societal guidelines for behavior. Diverse Conceptions: Different people may have varying Ethical Theories Overview views on what constitutes human flourishing. 1. Relativistic Theories: Policy Limitations: Not practical for guiding government Concept: Morality is invented by people; no universal moral policy. principles exist. Accountability Issues: May undermine attempts to hold Types: individuals responsible for their actions. ○ Subjective Relativism: Morality is an individual 5. Summary of Virtue Ethics creation. A right action is one that a virtuous person, acting in character, ○ Cultural Relativism: Each society determines its own would perform in similar circumstances. morality. A virtuous person is one who embodies and practices virtues, 2. Objectivism: leading to personal flourishing and true happiness.  Concept: Morality exists outside the human mind; it is discovered rather than invented. Claim: Certain universal moral principles are true for all people, regardless of culture or history. 3. Objectivist Theories Covered: Kantianism: Emphasizes the inherent value and autonomy of every individual, asserting that all interactions should respect this rationality. Act Utilitarianism: Focuses on the consequences of individual actions, aiming to maximize overall happiness. Rule Utilitarianism: Considers the consequences of following general rules that promote the greatest happiness. Social Contract Theory: Highlights the benefits of protecting human rights and ensuring mutual agreement on moral rules. Virtue Ethics: Centers on developing moral character and trusting a virtuous person to make the right decisions. Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths: Each theory provides valuable insights into different aspects of morality. Weaknesses: None of the theories is perfect or comprehensive on its own. Practical Application Combined Approach: When making moral decisions, considering virtues, duties, rights, and consequences can lead to a more balanced and confident decision-making process. Consensus: If multiple perspectives converge o Overview From the user standpoint, email seems so simple. You set the email address of the person to whom you want to send the email, compose Introduction your message and click 'Send'. All done. Email and spam In reality, sending your message off into the network cloud is a bit like Fighting spam sending Little Red Riding Hood into the deep dark woods. You never World Wide Web know what might happen. Ethical perspectives on pornography Network Cloud - the set of all mail servers and connectors within a Censorship company or organization. Freedom of expression Children and the Web The Spam Epidemic Breaking trust on the Internet Spam: Unsolicited, bulk email Internet addiction Amount of email that is spam has increased ○ 8% in 2001 Introduction ○ 40% in 2003 ○ 75% in 2007 Networking increases the computer’s utility ○ 90% in 2009 ○ In addition to Word processing, Excel, Spam is effective (Cheap way for Ads. $500 - $2000) …etc, you can share printers, extra ○ A company hires an internet marketing firm storage, exchange data, e-mail. to send thousands of emails Internet connects millions of computers ○ More than 100 times cheaper than “Junk ○ Powerful computational resource mail” E-mail, surfing www, ○ Profitable even if only 1 in 100,000 buys promoting your company. the product ○ Even more powerful communication How firms get email addresses medium ○ Opt-in lists Network utility grows as the number of users squared ○ Dictionary attacks (made-up email ○ 10 users --> 90 sender-receiver addresses to ISP that bounce back) combinations Spammers seek anonymity ○ 100 users --> 9900 sender-receiver ○ Change email and IP addresses to disguise combinations sending machine As people grows ○ Hijack another insecure system as a spam ○ The network may suffer overload launchpad ○ people may act irresponsibly Spam blockers ○ Attempt to screen out spam (spam filters) How Email Works by blocking suspicious subject lines. Email: Messages embedded in files transferred between ○ Have led to more picture-based spam computers Email address: Uniquely identifies cyberspace mailbox Ethical Evaluations of Spamming (2-parts User….@ Domain....) Kantian evaluation (receiving ads via cell phone costs Messages broken into packets money. Using people as a means for an end ---- profit) Routers transfer packets from the sender’s mail server to Act utilitarian evaluation (1 from 100,000 will buy) the receiver’s mail server Rule utilitarian evaluation (if millions of people are Figure below shows how email really works. interested to respond to spam there will be no way to Image Reference: accommodate them). In practice, tiny users respond and https://medium.com/building-mailmodo/how-does-email-work-a-dummi many others are thinking of dropping their accounts) es-guide-bd1ef894797e Social contract theory evaluation (you have the right to free speech doesn’t mean that all will listen – spammers are not introducing themselves. From all these perspectives, it is wrong to send spam Fighting Spam: Real-Time Blackhole List  Trend Micro contacts marketers who violate standards for –No need for central authority bulk email –BUT it becomes difficult to control the Web –( a DB of IP addresses that make spam. Trend Micro sells this DB to Every Web object has a unique address organizations) –URL. Every Web page has a unique URL –Unsecured mail servers that have been hijacked may be regarded as It is based on the Internet spammers and they will be blocked even if they are not spammers) –It needs browsers, media for storage, SW for retrieving data, ftp, OSs…etc. Ethical Evaluations of Publishing Blacklist Social contract theory evaluation How We Use the Web ○ Senders and receivers do not derive equal Shopping benefit from emails. Contributing content (wikis, blogs) Utilitarian evaluation –A wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any ○ Blacklisting will affect innocent users, number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified receivers, and marketing firms, this will markup language. Collaborative site – many authors reduce the benefits of internet utility as a –Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of whole. commentary. Personal site (Ex: online journal) Kantian evaluation Promoting business ○ Innocent users are used as a means for an Learning end (eliminating spams) Exploring our roots Entering virtual worlds Proposed Solutions to Spam Epidemic Paying taxes Require an explicit opt-in of subscribers Gambling Require labeling of email advertising (all commercial Lots more! emails must write ADS on the subject line) Add a cost to every email that is sent for ads. A Too Much Control or Too Little? micropayment system is proposed Not everyone in the world has Internet access Ban unsolicited email by-laws (laws to prohibit spam as Saudi Arabia: centralized control center those laws made to junk faxes) People’s Republic of China: ISPs sign “self-discipline” agreement The emergence of “Spam” Germany: Forbids access to neo-Nazi sites “Spam” is an unsolicited, bulk instant message. United States: Repeated efforts to limit access of minors ○ Ex: IM that has a link to a porn site. to pornography People combat spam by accepting messages only from – like child pornography friends or buddies Pornography Is Immoral Need for Socio-Technical Solutions Kant New technologies sometimes cause new social situations –Loved person an object of sexual appetite to emerge –Sexual desire focuses on the body, not the complete person ○ Calculators feminization of bookkeeping –All sexual gratification outside marriage wrong ○ Telephones blurred work/home Utilitarianism boundaries –Pornography reduces the dignity of human life Spam an example of this phenomenon –Pornography increases crimes such as rape ○ Email messages practically free –Pornography reduces sympathy for rape victims ○ Profits increase with the number of –Pornography is like pollution messages sent –The pornography industry diverts resources from more socially ○ Strong motivation to send more messages redeeming activities Internet design allows unfair, one-way communications – Utilitarianism You might receive e-mail But you cant reply –Those who produce pornography make money Attributes of the Web –Consumers of pornography derive physical pleasure –Pornography is a harmless outlet for exploring sexual fantasies Attributes of the Web It is decentralized Commentary  Performing utilitarian calculus on pornography is difficult “The only ground on which intervention is justified is to prevent harm to How to quantify harms/benefits, such as harm done to others; the individual’s own good is not a sufficient condition.” When an people who find pornography offensive? individual’s act harms others the government must intervene. How to deal with contradictory “facts” by “experts?” –Harmless outlet AGAINST more likely to commit rape Freedom of Expression: History 18th century Censorship –England and the colonies: No prior restraints on publication –People could be punished for sedition or libel Direct Censorship American states adopted bills of rights including freedom Government monopolization of expression –TV and radio stations Freedom of expression in 1st amendment to U.S. Prepublication review Constitution addressed this issue. –To monitor government secrets (Nuclear weapons) Licensing and registration Freedom of Expression - Not an Absolute Right –To control media with limited bandwidth. (Freqencies) 1st Amendment covers political and nonpolitical speech The right to freedom of expression must be balanced Self-censorship against the public good The most common form of censorship Various restrictions on freedom of expression exist Group decides for itself not to publish – prohibition of cigarette advertising on TV Reasons –Avoid subsequent persecution (CNN in Iraq) Children and the Web: Web Filters –Maintain good relations with government officials (if the offend Web filter: software that prevents display of certain Web government they loose their official sources of information) pages Rating systems –May be installed on an individual PC –Movies, TVs, CDs, video games –ISP may provide service for customers –Not the Web (some may have warned– and ask for agreeing to enter a Methodologies site) –Maintain “black list” of objectionable sites –Before downloading a page, examine content for objectionable Challenges Posed by the Internet words/phrases Many-to-many communication Child Internet Protection Acts started to arise –It is easy to close a radio station BUT difficult to do so for a Web page (millions can post pages) Breaking trust on the Internet: Identity Theft Dynamic connections Identity theft: when a person uses another person’s –Millions of PCs are connected to the internet yearly electronic identity Huge numbers of Web sites More than 1 million Americans were victims of identity –No way to monitor them all. theft in 2008 due to their online activities Extends beyond national borders, laws Phishing: use of email or Web pages to attempt to Can’t determine the age of users deceive people into revealing personal information – an adult Web site can not confirm the age of a user Chat Room Predators Ethical Perspectives on Censorship Chat room: supports real-time discussions among many Kant opposed censorship people connected to the network –Enlightenment thinker Instant messaging (IM) and chat rooms (which is similar –“Have the courage to use your own reason” to IM) replacing telephone for many people Think for yourself Some pedophiles meeting children through chat rooms Mill opposed censorship Police countering with “sting” operations –No one is infallible Policemen enter chat rooms to lure pedophiles. –Any opinion (not the majority opinion) may contain a kernel of truth (a part of the whole truth) False Information Quality of Web-based information varies widely Mill’s Principle of Harm –Moon landings –Holocaust  Google attempts to reward quality ○ The Internet allows copies to spread –Keeps a DB of 8 million web pages. quickly and widely –Ranking Web pages use a “voting” algorithm In light of information technology, how should we treat –If many links point to a page, Google search engine ranks that page intellectual property? higher What Is Intellectual Property? Is Internet Addiction Real? Intellectual property: any unique product of the human Some liken compulsive computer use to pathological intellect that has commercial value gambling –Books, songs, movies Traditional definition of addiction: –Paintings, drawings –Compulsive use of harmful substance or drug –Inventions, chemical formulas, computer programs –Knowledge of its long-term harm (misuse) Intellectual property (idea) ≠ physical manifestation Kimberly Young created test for Internet addiction (paper) – (8 questions on gambling on the Net) Image below shows the different categories of Intellectual Property. –(5 “yes” ------- means addiction) Image Reference: Intellectual Property Her test is controversial Links to an external site. Contributing Factors to Computer Addiction Property Rights Social factors Locke: The Second Treatise of Government –Peer groups People have a right… Situational factors –to property in their own person –Stress –to their own labor –Lack of social support and intimacy –to things which they remove from Nature through their labor (ex: –Limited opportunities for productive activity cutting wood-logs-, gaining a land) Individual factors As long as… –Tendency to pursue activities to excess –no person claims more property than he or she can use –Lack of achievement –after someone removes something from the common state, there is –Fear of failure plenty left over –Feeling of alienation Intellectual Property Analogy Is Imperfect If two people write the same play, both cannot own it ¾ Overview every intellectual property is one-of-a-kind If one person “takes” another’s playing, both have it ¾ ○ Introduction copying an intellectual property is different from stealing ○ Intellectual property rights a physical object ○ Protecting intellectual property ○ Fair use Benefits of Intellectual Property Protection ○ Peer-to-peer networks Some people are altruistic; some are not ○ Protections for software –People can benefit from having ownership of their ideas, and thus can ○ Open-source software improve the quality of life for others ○ The legitimacy of intellectual property The allure of wealth can be an incentive for speculative protection for software work. –Giving creators rights to their inventions stimulates creativity Introduction Limits to Intellectual Property Protection Digital music storage + Internet ® crisis Society benefits most when inventions in the public Value of intellectual properties much greater than the domain value of media Congress has struck a compromise by giving authors and ○ Creating the first copy is costly inventors rights for a limited time. ○ Duplicates cost almost nothing –Authors of the U.S. Constitution recognized the benefits to limited Illegal copying pervasive intellectual property protection. (Ex: exclusive rights for novels for a limited period of time)  Copyright-related industries represent 5% of U.S. gross Protecting Intellectual Property domestic product (> $500 billion/yr) Trade secrets Examples: movie, music, SW, book industry. Trademarks and service marks Copyright protection has expanded greatly since 1790 Patents Copyrights Fair Use Concept Sometimes legal to reproduce a copyrighted work without Trade Secret permission Confidential piece of intellectual property that gives the –Citing short excerpts for teaching, research, criticism, commentary, company a competitive advantage news reporting Employees are asked to make a confidentiality agreement Courts consider four factors Examples: –Purpose and character of the use –Formulas, customers’ lists, strategic plans, proprietary design (Educational is permissible, not commercial) Never expires –Nature of work Not appropriate for all intellectual properties (movies- Fiction vs nonfiction (facts) and published preferred over they should be viewed and not be kept in secret??) non-published Reverse engineering allowed (buying a can of Coca-Cola –Amount of work being copied and trying to figure out its formula is legal) Brief excerpts, not the entire work May be compromised when employees leave the firm. –Affect on market for work The use of out of print is permissible Trademark and Service Mark Trademark: Identifies goods Digital Rights Management –given by a government to a distinctive product –Byword, symbol, picture, color, smell, sound Digital Recording Technology Servicemark: Identifies services Copying from vinyl records to cassette tapes introduced The company can establish a “brand name” hiss and distortions (bad quality) Does not expire Introduction of the compact disc (CD) a boon for the If a brand name becomes a common noun, the trademark music industry may be lost (Aspirin) –Cheaper to produce than vinyl records Companies advertise to protect their trademarks, using –Higher quality adjectives, not verbs, or nouns. –A higher price (companies charge more)Þ higher profits Companies also protect trademarks by contacting those BUT it’s possible to make a perfect copy of a CD who misuse them (photoshop must not be used as a verb or noun from misusers) Digital Rights Management Actions owners of digital intellectual property take to Patent protect their rights A public (not secret) document that provides a detailed Approaches description of the invention –Encrypt digital content Provides owner with the exclusive right to the invention –Digital marking so devices can recognize the content as The owner can prevent others from making, using, or copy-protected selling the invention for 20 years After that, anyone can make use of the idea Criticisms of Digital Rights Management Example: Polaroid vs Kodak- instant photography Any technological “fix” is bound to fail DRM undermines fair use (no private copy) Copyright DRM could reduce competition (never expire) Provides owner of an original work five rights Some schemes make anonymous access impossible –Reproduction Media Player tracks the contents the user's view –Distribution (copies of the work to public) –Public display (copies of the work in public) Peer-to-Peer Networks –Public performance Peer-to-peer network –Production of derivative works –Transient network –Connects computers running same networking program –Computers can access files stored on each other’s hard drives –Expression of idea, not idea itself How P2P networks facilitate data exchange Ex: Implementation of RDBMS NOT the concept of it (App. –Give each user access to data stored in many other computers Not Idea of DB) –Support simultaneous file transfers among arbitrary pairs of computers –Object program (.exe), not source program –Allow users to identify systems with faster file exchange speeds Because source codes are secrets Ex: (PCs that have faster transfer rate because they have Companies deliver.exe ADSL speed) Companies treat source code as a trade secret Napster Violations of Software Copyrights The peer-to-peer music exchange network Copying a program to give or sell to someone else Began operation in 1999 Preloading a program onto the hard disk of a computer Sued by RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America being sold ) for copyright violations Distributing a program over the Internet Courts ruled in favor of RIAA Went off-line in July 2001 Safe Software Development Re-emerged in 2003 as a subscription music service Reverse engineering okay Companies must protect against unconscious copying BitTorrent –Making the same duplicate of a program because programmers move Broadband connections: download much faster than from firm to another upload Solution: “clean room” software development strategy BitTorrent speeds downloading –Team 1 analyzes the competitor’s program and writes specifications. –Files broken into pieces –Team 2 uses specification to develop software –Different pieces downloaded from different computers Used for downloading large files Open-Source Software: Consequences of Proprietary Software –Computer programs Increasingly harsh measures being taken to enforce –Television shows copyrights (infringe our liberties) –Movies –This act was created in an era with difficulties to make copies. This is not the case NOW. Universities Caught in Middle Copyrights are not serving their purpose of promoting Universities hotbed for file sharing progress. –High-speed Internet access –They make authors wealthy –High-capacity file servers It is wrong to allow someone to “own” a piece of In 2003 RIAA sued four students (for distributing intellectual property copyrighted music) for about $100 billion (settled for –Cooperation is more important than copyright, $50,000) Different university responses Open Source Definition –Taking PCs of students Licenses have the following characteristics: –Banning file-sharing No restrictions preventing others from selling or giving –Signing agreements with legal file-sharing services like Napster (for away software fees) Source code included in the distribution No restrictions preventing others from modifying source Legal Music Services on the Internet code Subscription services for legal downloading (like Napster) No restrictions regarding how people can use the Some based on monthly fee; some free software. They can exchange or sell. Consumers pay for each download The same rights apply to everyone receiving Apple’s iTunes Music Store leading service (just pay 99 redistributions of the software (copyleft) cents per song) NOTE: Nothing states that Open Source SW must be Software Copyright given FREE. Protections for Software – Software Copyrights Beneficial Consequences of Open-Source Software Copyright protection began 1964 Gives everyone opportunity to improve program What gets copyrighted? New versions of programs appear more frequently  Eliminates tension between obeying law and helping –The hardware industry wants to stimulate the software industry others –Difficult to quantify how much society would be harmed if certain Programs belong to entire community software packages not released Shifts focus from manufacturing to service It is not a matter of how many SW, but what they can be –Buying Open Source SW with easy installation steps used for –Providing great manuals Summary: Network Communication and Intellectual Property –Providing support after-sales Networking increases the computer’s utility. The Internet connects Examples of Open-Source Software millions of computers, network utility grows as the number of users BIND – give DNS for the entire Internet squared. As people grow, the network may suffer overload and people Apache – runs half of the Web servers may act irresponsibly. Sendmail – moving e-mail via the internet Perl, Python, Ruby, TCL/TK, PHP, Zope Email: Messages embedded in files transferred between computers GNU (General Public License) compilers for C, C++, Email address: Uniquely identifies cyberspace mailbox Objective-C, Fortran, Java, and Ada Spam: Unsolicited, bulk email. Spammers seek anonymity and Spam Impact of Open-Source Software blockers Linux putting pressure on companies selling proprietary Ethical Evaluations of Spamming versions of Unix ○ Kantian evaluation Linux putting pressure on Microsoft and Apple desktops ○ Act utilitarian evaluation The cost for these OSs goes down ○ Rule utilitarian evaluation ○ Social contract theory evaluation Critique of the Open-Source Software Movement Without attracting a critical mass of developers, Proposed Solutions to Spam Epidemic open-source SW quality can be poor ○ Require an explicit opt-in of subscribers Without an “owner,” incompatible versions may arise ○ Require labeling of email advertising (all – Independent groups of users make enhancements, so many versions commercial emails must write ADS on the will appear – no compatibility subject line) Relatively weak graphical user interface ○ Add a cost to every email that is sent for The poor mechanism for stimulating innovation ads. A micropayment system is proposed – No companies will spend billions on new programs ○ Ban unsolicited email by-laws (laws to prohibit spam as those laws made to junk The legitimacy of Intellectual Property Protection for Software faxes) Software licenses typically prevent you from making copies of the software to sell or give away “Spim” is an unsolicited, bulk instant message. Software licenses are legal agreements Here we are not discussing the morality of breaking the Attributes of the Web law ○ It is decentralized We are discussing whether society should give ○ Every Web object has a unique address intellectual property protection to software ○ It is based on the Internet –utilitarian analysis How We Use the Web Utilitarian Analysis ○ Shopping Argument against copying ○ Contributing content (wikis, blogs) –Copying software reduces software purchases… ○ Promoting business –Leading to less income for software makers… ○ Learning –Leading to lower production of new software… ○ Exploring our roots –Leading to fewer benefits to society ○ Entering virtual worlds Each of these claims can be debated ○ Paying taxes –Not all who get free copies can afford to buy software ○ Gambling –The open-source movement demonstrates many people are willing to ○ Lots more! donate their software-writing skills  Direct Censorship ○ Inventions, chemical formulas, computer ○ Government monopolization programs ○ Prepublication review ○ Licensing and registration Benefits of Intellectual Property Protection ○ Some people are altruistic; some are not Self-censorship ○ The allure of wealth can be an incentive for ○ A most common form of censorship speculative work. ○ Group decides for itself not to publish Limits to Intellectual Property Protection Challenges Posed by the Internet Society benefits most when inventions in the public domain ○ Many-to-many communication Congress has struck a compromise by giving authors and inventors ○ Dynamic connections rights for a limited time ○ Huge numbers of Web sites ○ Extends beyond national borders, laws Protecting Intellectual Property ○ Can’t determine the age of users Trade secrets Trademarks and service marks Ethical Perspectives on Censorship Patents ○ Kant opposed censorship Copyrights ○ Mill opposed censorship Trade Secret Freedom of Expression: History Confidential piece of intellectual property that gives the company a American states adopted bills of rights including freedom competitive advantage of expression Freedom of expression in the 1st amendment to the U.S. Trademark Constitution addressed this issue. Trademark: Identifies goods Children and the Web: Web Filters Web filter: software that prevents the display of certain Service Mark Web pages Servicemark: Identifies services Chat Room Predators Patent ○ Chat room: supports real-time discussions A public (not secret) document that provides a detailed description of among many people connected to the the invention network Copyright False Information ○ Provides owner of an original work five ○ Quality of Web-based information varies rights widely ○ Reproduction ○ Distribution (copies of the work to the Internet Addiction public) Some liken compulsive computer use to pathological ○ Public display (copies of the work in gambling public) Contributing Factors to Computer Addiction ○ Public performance ○ Social factors ○ Production of derivative works ○ Situational factors ○ Individual factors Fair Use Concept ○ Sometimes legal to reproduce a copyrighted work without permission Intellectual property: any unique product of the human intellect that has commercial value Digital Recording Technology ○ Books, songs, movies ○ Copying from vinyl records to cassette ○ Paintings, drawings tapes introduced hiss and distortions (bad quality)  ○ Introduction of the compact disc (CD) a ○ No restrictions preventing others from boon for the music industry modifying source code ○ No restrictions regarding how people can Digital Rights Management use the software. They can exchange or ○ Actions owners of digital intellectual sell. property take to protect their rights Criticisms of Digital Rights Management Beneficial Consequences of Open-Source Software ○ Any technological “fix” is bound to fail ○ Gives everyone the opportunity to improve ○ DRM undermines fair use (no private copy) program ○ DRM could reduce competition (never ○ New versions of programs appear more expire) frequently