Computer Ethics and Sociotechnical Issues
Computer Ethics
and Society
1
Chapter 1: Introduction
to sociotechnical
computer ethics
2
Scenarios
•
Scenario 1.1. A virtual rape
The incident occurs on a multiuser designed
object-oriented program LambdaMOO that allows
users to create characters on it to interact with
each other
After being controlled through its subprogram by
another program(Bungle), the later represents a
scene of raping of the virtual characters created
Issues: Who is responsible? What are the
consequences?
3
•
Scenario 1.2. Surprises about Social
networking
Feature of Facebook: Every time a user adds a
friend to his/her list, all of the user’s friends were
alerted
Beacon feature on Facebook: An automated
notification of a Facebook’s user’s friends when
he/she made an online purchase
4
Facebook is used by recruiters and law
enforcement agencies in order to gather
information concerning potential employees or
evidence related to crimes, so obviously for
nonsocial networking purposes
→
Issues:
Are Facebook, the recruiters or the law
enforcement agencies responsible?
5
•
Scenario 1.3. Radio-Frequency identification
Electronic- health new technology consisting in
placing a small chip under a patient’s skin
Issue:
What shall the legal guardian of the
patient do?
6
Introduction: Why computer
ethics?
•
Connection between ethical issues and
information technology:
Does information technology create new
ethical issues or new versions of old ethical issues
with new dimensions?
•
It was stated that existing common rules and
principles are unable to govern ethical issues
raised by the use of computer ethics
7
•
Meta-questions: Scholars have asked whether the
traditional theories can be applied to these
particular ethical issues or whether new moral
theories are needed
•
They were also wondering if there is an actual
need for a special field of study for Information
Technology (IT) ethics or if it is possible to apply
the rules and principles of ethics in general
8
•
The emergence and generalization of the use of
the internet have raised a similar question
concerning the applicability of the existing laws
and regulations to cyberspace
Some internet actors expressed their wish to be
excluded from those laws that they pretend being
designed for offline world
John Barlow has drafted in 1996 a declaration of
independence of the internet
He was trying to prove the reason for which the
cyberspace shall be self regulated
9
Some others called the legislator to enact new
special provisions especially designed to govern
electronic transactions, electronic liabilities,
electronic contracts, cyber crimes…
However, all these wishes were not realized
because it quickly appeared that a large number
of issues raised by the internet in many fields can
be governed by existing laws after adaptation and
interpretation of those laws
Concerning certain particular issues, especial laws
were enacted
10
The standard account
New possibilities, a vacuum of policies,
conceptual muddles
•
James Moor’s account 1985
Computers and information technology create
new possibilities and opportunities for human
action, individually and collectively, there is a
vacuum of policies to regulate those new
opportunities
•
Thus, the task of computer ethics is to evaluate
the new possibilities and to fill the vacuum by
addressing conceptual muddles
11
An update to the standard account
•
Apparition of many factors demonstrating the
need to update the classical theory
Experience of the computer ethicists in analyzing
IT ethical issues
Development of a new field Science and
Technology Studies providing insights to
understand how ethical notions are shaped by
technology
12
So, It appeared that the standard account is
applicable to all new technology ethics and
not only to IT ethics
13
•
The standard account focuses on the newness of
the IT
•
However, one cannot consider that newness in IT
is a stable element since what is new today is
considered to be old tomorrow in the world of
technology
•
Thus, it is not appropriate to frame computer
ethics as a field focused exclusively on the novelty
of IT
14
The Sociotechnical Systems
Perspective
•
A brief insight on the emerging field of study
“STS” : “Science and technology studies” or
“Science, technology and society”
Reject technological determinism/ Think
coshaping
•
Technological determinism contains
2
main
claims:
15
1.
Technology develops
independently from
society i.e.
technological
development is an
independent activity
with a natural
evolution separated
from social forces
2.
When a technology is
taken up and used in a
society, it determines
the character of that
society
16
•
STS have commented on 2 claims
1.
According to them, the first claim should be
rejected since the character and direction of
technological development are influenced by a
wide range of social factors like political
decisions, social incidents, legal environment
that could facilitate or constrain innovation
17
2.
As for the second claim stating that adoption of
technologies determine patterns of social
behaviors, STS scholars have given a finely shaded
opinion
18
→ In fact, it is not correct to say outright that
technology
determines
society because as we
have already said, technology is shaped and
designed by social considerations and factors
It is more precise to state that
technology
shapes
society
Thus, technology and society shape each other,
they cocreate one another
It is a two ways direction movement
19
Reject technology as material object/ Think
sociotechnical systems
•
Presumption about technology: Connect
technology to physical objects, artifacts, human-
made material objects
•
STS scholars: It is a false conception of technology
because if material objects are necessary in
technology, they don’t have any significance
unless they are embedded in social practices and
activities
20
Technology is the invention of human activity
and social forces
Technology is socially constituted and it works
as part of a social system
21
•
STS scholars consider that technology should be
presented as a sociotechnical system
Presenting technology as connected to society
and practices proves the connection between
ethics and IT
Traditionally, ethics focused on human
behavior exclusively and not on technology since
it is considered to be neutral and purely scientific
However, since human action and artifacts are
intertwined in the process of technology, a bound
appears clearly between technology and ethics
22
Reject technology as neutral/ Think
technology infused with values
•
General mistake: Technology is value neutral
•
An important work elaborated in the matter by
Langdon Winner- 1986 “ Do artifacts have
politics”?
•
Main idea: Existence of a connection or a
relationship between technology and systems of
power, authority, decision making
23
•
Example: Construction of a bridge in New York
between the city and the beaches intentionally in
a certain manner that constrains the access of
public buses (especially of people using public
buses)
24
•
Combination of material elements and social
practices constitute a social arrangement
•
Difference between this account and
technological determinism : technology shapes,
influences but does not determine social
arrangements or behaviors
25
Sociotechnical Computer Ethics
•
Sociotechnical computer ethics is constituted by
the
3
STS lessons
•
Facebook and the three STS lessons
First lesson of STS: Reject technological
determinism
Facebook is a system designed in order to
enhance patterns of interaction and increase
relationships between users
Facebook shapes friendships, but does not
determine social relationships
26
Second lesson of STS: Reject technology as
material object
Conception of Facebook as a “social” networking
site and not as a piece of software
General conviction that Facebook is a platform
involving a large number of stakeholders
including:
27
Users: They post the content, photos, comments,
communication messages…
Administrators or operators: They take the
decisions concerning the internal organization of
the platform
28
Third lesson of STS: Reject technology as neutral
Facebook is a social networking site
Facebook users want to maintain a certain range
of privacy
29
Conflict between:
Facebook users’ values: keeping some privacy
Facebook’s values: making money
E.g: Beacon scenario 1.2. An automated
notification of a Facebook user’s friends when
he/she makes an online purchase that increases
advertising revenue for Facebook
30
•
What is the link between sociotechnical systems
perspective and the analysis of IT ethical issues?
How does sociotechnical systems perspective
contribute in understanding ethical issues?
Perspectives provide us with a complete picture
of the situation involving moral questions
31
•
Radio Frequency identification
:
A sociotechnical system and not a material
object because:
It involves the work of developers during the
process and taking into consideration interests of
various stakeholders( hospitals, patients…)
It will generate the emergence of a set of social
practices
Consequence on the hospital environment
32
•
Scenario 1.3. The legal guardian has to evaluate
the whole situation by asking a set of questions
related to risks and method of implantation,
reception and use of data
33
Micro- and Macro- Level Analysis
•
Micro-level analysis focuses on individuals,
their choices, their decisions, their behaviors
•
Macro-level analysis focuses on groups,
organizations, countries, rules ,regulations,
policies and systems
•
Sociotechnical systems perspective is
compatible with and useful to, both levels of
analysis
34
Dive into the realm of computer ethics and society through scenarios like virtual rape in LambdaMOO, privacy concerns on Facebook, and ethical implications of RFID technology. Discover the evolving ethical landscape shaped by information technology, raising questions beyond traditional moral theories.
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Presentation Transcript
Computer Ethics and Society 1
Chapter 1: Introduction to sociotechnical computer ethics 2
Scenarios Scenario 1.1. A virtual rape The incident occurs on a multiuser designed object-oriented program LambdaMOO that allows users to create characters on it to interact with each other After being controlled through its subprogram by another program(Bungle), the later represents a scene of raping of the virtual characters created Issues: Who is responsible? What are the consequences? 3
Scenario 1.2. Surprises about Social networking Feature of Facebook: Every time a user adds a friend to his/her list, all of the user s friends were alerted Beacon feature on Facebook: An automated notification of a Facebook s user s friends when he/she made an online purchase 4
Facebook is used by recruiters and law enforcement agencies in order to gather information concerning potential employees or evidence related to crimes, so obviously for nonsocial networking purposes Issues: Are Facebook, the recruiters or the law enforcement agencies responsible? 5
Scenario 1.3. Radio-Frequency identification Electronic- health new technology consisting in placing a small chip under a patient s skin Issue: What shall the legal guardian of the patient do? 6
Introduction: Why computer ethics? Connection between ethical issues and information technology: Does information technology create new ethical issues or new versions of old ethical issues with new dimensions? It was stated that existing common rules and principles are unable to govern ethical issues raised by the use of computer ethics 7
Meta-questions: Scholars have asked whether the traditional theories can be applied to these particular ethical issues or whether new moral theories are needed They were also wondering if there is an actual need for a special field of study for Information Technology (IT) ethics or if it is possible to apply the rules and principles of ethics in general 8
The emergence and generalization of the use of the internet have raised a similar question concerning the applicability of the existing laws and regulations to cyberspace Some internet actors expressed their wish to be excluded from those laws that they pretend being designed for offline world John Barlow has drafted in 1996 a declaration of independence of the internet He was trying to prove the reason for which the cyberspace shall be self regulated 9
Some others called the legislator to enact new special provisions especially designed to govern electronic transactions, electronic liabilities, electronic contracts, cyber crimes However, all these wishes were not realized because it quickly appeared that a large number of issues raised by the internet in many fields can be governed by existing laws after adaptation and interpretation of those laws Concerning certain particular issues, especial laws were enacted 10
The standard account New possibilities, a vacuum of policies, conceptual muddles James Moor s account 1985 Computers and information technology create new possibilities and opportunities for human action, individually and collectively, there is a vacuum of policies to regulate those new opportunities Thus, the task of computer ethics is to evaluate the new possibilities and to fill the vacuum by addressing conceptual muddles 11
An update to the standard account Apparition of many factors demonstrating the need to update the classical theory Experience of the computer ethicists in analyzing IT ethical issues Development of a new field Science and Technology Studies providing insights to understand how ethical notions are shaped by technology 12
So, It appeared that the standard account is applicable to all new technology ethics and not only to IT ethics 13
The standard account focuses on the newness of the IT However, one cannot consider that newness in IT is a stable element since what is new today is considered to be old tomorrow in the world of technology Thus, it is not appropriate to frame computer ethics as a field focused exclusively on the novelty of IT 14
The Sociotechnical Systems Perspective A brief insight on the emerging field of study STS : Science and technology studies or Science, technology and society Reject technological determinism/ Think coshaping Technological determinism contains 2 main claims: 15
1. Technology develops independently from society i.e. technological development is an independent activity with a natural evolution separated from social forces 2. When a technology is taken up and used in a society, it determines the character of that society 16
STS have commented on 2 claims 1. According to them, the first claim should be rejected since the character and direction of technological development are influenced by a wide range of social factors like political decisions, social incidents, legal environment that could facilitate or constrain innovation 17
2. As for the second claim stating that adoption of technologies determine patterns of social behaviors, STS scholars have given a finely shaded opinion 18
In fact, it is not correct to say outright that technology determines society because as we have already said, technology is shaped and designed by social considerations and factors It is more precise to state that technology shapes society Thus, technology and society shape each other, they cocreate one another It is a two ways direction movement 19
Reject technology as material object/ Think sociotechnical systems Presumption about technology: Connect technology to physical objects, artifacts, human- made material objects STS scholars: It is a false conception of technology because if material objects are necessary in technology, they don t have any significance unless they are embedded in social practices and activities 20
Technology is the invention of human activity and social forces Technology is socially constituted and it works as part of a social system 21
STS scholars consider that technology should be presented as a sociotechnical system Presenting technology as connected to society and practices proves the connection between ethics and IT Traditionally, ethics focused on human behavior exclusively and not on technology since it is considered to be neutral and purely scientific However, since human action and artifacts are intertwined in the process of technology, a bound appears clearly between technology and ethics 22
Reject technology as neutral/ Think technology infused with values General mistake: Technology is value neutral An important work elaborated in the matter by Langdon Winner- 1986 Do artifacts have politics ? Main idea: Existence of a connection or a relationship between technology and systems of power, authority, decision making 23
Example: Construction of a bridge in New York between the city and the beaches intentionally in a certain manner that constrains the access of public buses (especially of people using public buses) 24
Combination of material elements and social practices constitute a social arrangement Difference between this account and technological determinism : technology shapes, influences but does not determine social arrangements or behaviors 25
Sociotechnical Computer Ethics Sociotechnical computer ethics is constituted by the 3 STS lessons Facebook and the three STS lessons First lesson of STS: Reject technological determinism Facebook is a system designed in order to enhance patterns of interaction and increase relationships between users Facebook shapes friendships, but does not determine social relationships 26
Second lesson of STS: Reject technology as material object Conception of Facebook as a social networking site and not as a piece of software General conviction that Facebook is a platform involving a large number of stakeholders including: 27
Users: They post the content, photos, comments, communication messages Administrators or operators: They take the decisions concerning the internal organization of the platform 28
Third lesson of STS: Reject technology as neutral Facebook is a social networking site Facebook users want to maintain a certain range of privacy 29
Conflict between: Facebook users values: keeping some privacy Facebook s values: making money E.g: Beacon scenario 1.2. An automated notification of a Facebook user s friends when he/she makes an online purchase that increases advertising revenue for Facebook 30
What is the link between sociotechnical systems perspective and the analysis of IT ethical issues? How does sociotechnical systems perspective contribute in understanding ethical issues? Perspectives provide us with a complete picture of the situation involving moral questions 31
Radio Frequency identification: A sociotechnical system and not a material object because: It involves the work of developers during the process and taking into consideration interests of various stakeholders( hospitals, patients ) It will generate the emergence of a set of social practices Consequence on the hospital environment 32
Scenario 1.3. The legal guardian has to evaluate the whole situation by asking a set of questions related to risks and method of implantation, reception and use of data 33
Micro- and Macro- Level Analysis Micro-level analysis focuses on individuals, their choices, their decisions, their behaviors Macro-level analysis focuses on groups, organizations, countries, rules ,regulations, policies and systems Sociotechnical systems perspective is compatible with and useful to, both levels of analysis 34
