Ethical and
Social Issues in
Information
Technology
Rommel Dorin
“ This is a quote, words full of
wisdom that someone important
said and can make the reader get
”
inspired.
—Someone Famous
“ This is a quote, words full of
wisdom that someone important
said and can make the reader get
”
inspired.
—Someone Famous
01 Introduction
Introduction
● Two principal catalyst for Information Age are low-
cost computers and high speed-communication
networks.
● Even in a society accustomed to change, the rate
at which computers and communication networks
have transformed our lives is breathtaking.
● Our relationship with technology is complicated.
● Adopting a technology can change us and how we
relate to other people and our environment.
Introduction
● Technology revolution of the twentieth
century starting with the widespread use of
the Internet and home computers—has
spawned a new set of ethical and social
concerns.
Ethics and Society
Ethics and Society
● A society is an association of people organized
under a system of rules designed to advance
the good of its members over time.
● Morality refers to rules of conduct describing
what people ought and ought not to do in
various situations.
● Ethics is the philosophical study of morality, a
rational examination into people’s moral beliefs
and behavior.
Morality
● A set of rules for right conduct
● A system used to modify and regulate behavior
● Quality system in human acts by which we judge them
right or wrong
● 3 Definitions
a. Descriptive
b. Normative/universal
c. Synonymous with ethics
● Concerns set of shared rules, principles, and duties
a. Independent of religion
b. Applicable to all in a group or society
c. ´Has no reference to the will or power of one individual
Morality - (3) Definitions
● Descriptive definition - A set of rules or
codes of conduct that governs human behavior
in matters of right or wrong.
● Normative definition - An ideal code of
conduct that would be observed by all rational
people, under specified conditions.
● Synonymous with Ethics - The systematic
philosophical study of the moral domain.
Moral Decision Making
● Considerations
a. Facts surrounding the situations
b. Taking into account the interests of all parties involved
c. Taking into account the moral principles involved
d. Take into account how the decisions will affect others.
● Helps us perceive moral principles
● Use reason to determine the best way to achieve the highest
moral good
● Distinguish between primary and secondary moral principles
a. Primary – general
b. Secondary – more specific
● Make rational calculations of the consequences of our actions
Definitions of Moral Code
● Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
a. Rules or norms within a group for what is proper
behavior for the members of that group.
b. Rules or norms provide the measure
c. Complex definitions of right and wrong
● Different cultures have different codes
● Morality is relative to time
● Some are timeless and culture-free
Moral Standard
● Standard by which we compare human
actions to determine their goodness or
badness.
● Morality sets standards of virtuous conduct
● Mechanisms to self-regulate through
enforcement and self-judge through guilt
Law
● Webster’s Dictionary
Rule of conduct or an action recognized by custom or decreed
by a formal enactment, community, or group.
● Black
An art we can create and model
● Contemporary critics
Instrument of exercising power
● Bryan Bourn
An art and an instrument for exercising power.
● Fagothey
Rule and measure of actions directing them to proper ends
Physical
Moral
Natural Law
● Unwritten but universal
● Theory
a. Eternal
b. Absolute moral law
c. Can be discovered by reason
d. Derivable from reason
● Applies to all rational creatures
● Exists independently of human preference and inclinations
● Applied cross-culture
● Anchor of right of self-preservation, liberty, and property
Conventional Law
● Created for and by humans
● Usually created in public deliberations
● Derived from moral code that is enforceable
● Varies society to society
● Takes 2 forms
a. Declarative - Simply restates what the natural law declares
Example: Forbidding murder theft
b. Determinative - Fixes ways of acting in accordance with
natural laws
Example: Contracts, taxes, traffic
Penal Code
● Laws useless without punishment
● Three functions of punishment system
a. Retributive – pay back the criminal
b. Corrective – improve the offender
c. Deterrent – prevention of similar actions
Morality and the Law
● Serve the purpose of keeping society stable and secure
● Used in making judgments about people’s actions
● Judgments are justifiable by reason
● Means to achieve purpose is different
a. The process of making codes and laws
b. Enforcement
c. Nature of punishment
d. Conflict resolution
e. Types of judgement
Ethics
● Origins – Greeks
● Greeks studied themselves, human life and society
● Lead to study of human conducts
● Definition: a study of right and wrong in human
conduct
● Another definition: Theoretical examination of morality
● Solomon: a set of “theories of value, virtue, or of right
(valuable) action.
● Johnson: set of theories “that provide general rules or
principles to be used in making those rules”
Ethical Theories - Consequentialism
● Human actions are judged good or bad depending on
the results of the actions
● Three general types of Consequentialism
a. Egoism: Individual interests and happiness above
everything else
b. Utilitarianism: Group interests and happiness above
individual
● Act Utilitarianism: Consider the consequences of an
action for the ones which will benefit the most
● Rule Utilitarianism: Obey the rules that brings max
happiness to max people
● Altruism: Action is right if the results of the action is good for
everyone but the actor
Ethical Theories - Deontology
● Does not concern itself with the consequences of an
action rather the will of act
● If a person committing an act had a good reason for
doing so
● Example:
a. An armed person comes into your house
b. You shoot the intruder
c. You did it because you had a duty to your protect your
family and your property.
d. Action was good
Ethical Theories - Human Nature
● All human beings are endowed with all faculties
and capabilities to live in happiness.
● Humans are supposed to discover and develop
those capabilities.
● The capabilities become the benchmark for
actions
● Actions judged on how much they measure up to
capabilities
Ethical Theories - Relativism
● There is no existence of universal moral norm
● Right and wrong are relative to society, culture,
or the individual.
● Moral norms are not fixed in time.
Ethical Theories - Hedonism
● One of the oldest ethical theories
● Pleasure is the only good thing in human life
● End of life is the highest good
● Maximize pleasure or minimize pain
● 2 types:
a. Psychological – what people seek each day is
pleasure
b. Ethical – people ought to seek pleasure & pleasure is
the moral good
● Modern hedonism pleasure = happiness
Ethical Theories - Emotivism
● Ethical statements are neither true nor false
● Ethical statements cannot be proven
● Ethical statements are really only statements about
how someone feels
Ethical Theories - Kantianism
● Developed by German philosopher Immanuel
Kant (1724-1804)
● People’s actions ought to be guided by universal
moral laws
● Moral laws are derived from reason
● Should be able to cite why an action is right or
wrong
Purpose of Ethics
● Interpret human conduct
● Acknowledging and distinguishing between
right and wrong.
● Interpretation is done based on a consisting of
a mixture of inductions and deductions.
a. Uses process of argumentation
b. Argumentation consists of a mixture of
inductions and deductions
c. Generally based on historical schools of
thoughts or ethical theories
Purpose of Ethics
“Ethics helps us not only in
distinguishing between right and
wrong but also in knowing why
and on what grounds our
judgment of human actions is
justified.”
Ethical Reasoning
● Reasoning – human cognitive process of
looking for ways to generate or affirm a
proposition
● Cognitive processes – mental processes
● Logic – tool for distinguishing between truth
and falsehood
● Ethical Reasoning – integrating ethical
principles in the reasoning process
Ethical Decision Making Process
● Recognize inherent ethical conflict through
a. Comprehension
b. Appreciation
c. Evaluation of all ethical dimensions of problem
● Know the parties involved
● Being aware of alternatives
● Demonstrating knowledge of ethical practices
● Understanding how the decision will be implemented
● Understanding who will be affected
● Understand and comprehend the impact
Information Resulting from the Ethical
Decision Making
● Confirmation that the problem is really an ethical
problem
● Additional facts are or are not needed to resolve the
problem
● Key ethical theories, principles, and values identified
● Strength and validity of the ethical theory chosen
● To make an ethical decision you must “weigh” the
argument against the alternatives and chose the
“best”
● Often must layer the reasoning.
Virtue Ethics
● In The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle expresses the
opinion that happiness results from living a life of
virtue.
● There is a wealth of virtues. Here is a brief list of two
dozen virtues given by James Rachels: benevolence,
civility, compassion, conscientiousness,
cooperativeness, courage, courteousness,
dependability, fairness, friendliness, generosity,
honesty, industriousness, justice, loyalty, moderation,
patience, prudence, reasonableness, self discipline,
self-reliance, tactfulness, thoughtfulness, and
tolerance.
Virtue Ethics
● A person who possesses many moral virtues has a
strong moral character.
Strength Virtue Ethics
● First, it provides a motivation for good
behavior.
● A second advantage of virtue ethics is that it
provides a solution to the problem of
impartiality
List of Fundamental Principle
1. Be impartial.
2. Disclose information that others ought to know.
3. Respect the rights of others.
4. Treat others justly.
5. Take responsibility for your actions and
inactions.
6. Take responsibility for the actions of those you
supervise
List of Fundamental Principle
7. Maintain your integrity.
8. Continually improve your abilities.
9. Share your knowledge, expertise and values.
Group Activity
Choose 5 group
members and
discuss the
scenarios assigned
to group
Four Scenarios
Four Scenarios
Four Scenarios
Four Scenarios
Technoethics
● Technoethics (TE) is an interdisciplinary
research area concerned with all moral and
ethical aspects of technology in society.
● Technoethics views technology and ethics as
socially embedded enterprises and focuses on
discovering the ethical use of technology,
protecting against the misuse of technology,
and devising common principles to guide new
advances in technological development and
application to benefit society.
Definition of Terms
● Computer ethics are a set of moral
standards that govern the use of
computers. It is society’s views about the
use of computers, both hardware and
software. (
[Link]
Professional Ethics
● A profession is a vocation that requires a high
level of education and practical experience in
the field.
● Professionals have a special obligation to
ensure their actions are for the good of those
who depend on them because their decisions
can have more serious consequences than the
choices made by those holding less responsible
positions in society.
Characteristics of a Profession
● Ford and Gibbs
have identified
eight
components of a
mature
professional
infrastructure.
Professional Ethics
● The United States Code of federal regulations
defines a “professional employee” as one who
is engaged in the performance of work:
Question
● Does Computing Profession has the
ability to harm the public?
Ability to Harm the Public
● The computing “profession” may not be as
well developed as the medical or legal
professions, but in one key respect—the
ability to harm members of the public—
those who design, implement, and maintain
computer hardware and software systems
sometimes hold responsibilities similar to
those held by members of mature
professions.
Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct
● Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct are the
standards that a group must adhere to, so as
to remain the member of the organisation.
● The primary difference between code of
ethics and code of conduct is that code of
ethics is a set of principles which influence
the judgement while the code of conduct is a
set of guidelines that influence employee’s
actions.
Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct
Samples
Software Engineering Code of Ethics
● is a practical framework for
moral decision-making
related to problems that
software engineers may
encounter.
● The Software Engineering
Code of Ethics and
Professional Practice,
reproduced in its entirety
below, is Copyright © 2011
by ACM Publications.
Software Engineering Code of Ethics
● PRINCIPLE 1: PUBLIC - Software engineers
shall act consistently with the public interest.
● PRINCIPLE 2: CLIENT AND EMPLOYER -
Software engineers shall act in a manner
that is in the best interests of their client and
employer, consistent with the public interest.
● PRINCIPLE 3: PRODUCT - Software
engineers shall ensure that their products
and related modifications meet the highest
Software Engineering Code of Ethics
● PRINCIPLE 4: JUDGMENT - Software
engineers shall maintain integrity and
independence in their professional
judgment.
● PRINCIPLE 5: MANAGEMENT - Software
engineering managers and leaders shall
subscribe to and promote an ethical
approach to the management of software
development and maintenance.
Software Engineering Code of Ethics
● PRINCIPLE 6: PROFESSION - Software
engineers shall advance the integrity and
reputation of the profession consistent with the
public interest.
● PRINCIPLE 7: COLLEAGUES - Software
engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their
colleagues.
● PRINCIPLE 8: SELF - Software engineers shall
participate in lifelong learning regarding the
practice of their profession and shall promote an
ethical approach to the practice of the profession.
EICC - Responsible Business Alliance
● The Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition® (EICC®)
Code of Conduct establishes standards to ensure that
working conditions in the electronics industry supply chain
are safe, that workers are treated with respect and dignity,
and that business operations are environmentally
responsible and conducted ethically.
● They focuses on the areas of worker safety and fairness,
environmental responsibility, and business efficiency.
● ICT organizations, electronics manufacturers, software
firms, and manufacturing service providers may voluntarily
join the coalition.
EICC - Responsible Business Alliance
● The EICC has established a code of conduct that defines
performance, compliance, auditing, and reporting
guidelines across five areas of social responsibility: labor,
health and safety, environment, management system, and
ethics.
● Beginning with eight members in 2004, today the RBA is
comprised of more than 150 electronics, retail, auto and
toy companies with combined annual revenue greater than
$5 trillion, directly employing over 6 million people.
EICC - Responsible Business Alliance
● The EICC has established a code of conduct that defines
performance, compliance, auditing, and reporting
guidelines across five areas of social responsibility: labor,
health and safety, environment, management system, and
ethics.
● Beginning with eight members in 2004, today the RBA is
comprised of more than 150 electronics, retail, auto and
toy companies with combined annual revenue greater than
$5 trillion, directly employing over 6 million people.
EICC - Responsible Business Alliance
● The EICC has established a code of conduct that defines
performance, compliance, auditing, and reporting
guidelines across five areas of social responsibility: labor,
health and safety, environment, management system, and
ethics.
● Beginning with eight members in 2004, today the RBA is
comprised of more than 150 electronics, retail, auto and
toy companies with combined annual revenue greater than
$5 trillion, directly employing over 6 million people.
EICC - Responsible Business Alliance
● The EICC has established a code of conduct that defines
performance, compliance, auditing, and reporting
guidelines across five areas of social responsibility: labor,
health and safety, environment, management system, and
ethics.
● Beginning with eight members in 2004, today the RBA is
comprised of more than 150 electronics, retail, auto and
toy companies with combined annual revenue greater than
$5 trillion, directly employing over 6 million people.
Issues 02
about
Computer
Ethics
Issues about Computer Ethics
● Privacy Concerns
a) Hacking
b) Malware
c) Data Protection
d) Anonymity
● Intellectual Property Rights
a) Copyright
b) Plagiarism
c) Cracking
d) Software License
Issues about Computer Ethics
● Effects on Society
a) Jobs
b) Environmental Impact
c) Social Impact
Issues about Computer Ethics - Privacy
● Hacking - is unlawful intrusion into a computer or a network.
● Malware - means malicious software which is created to
impair a computer system. Common malware are viruses,
spyware, worms and trojan horses. A virus can delete files
from a hard drive while a spyware can collect data from a
computer.
● Data Protection - also known as information privacy or data
privacy is the process of safeguarding data which intends to
influence a balance between individual privacy rights while still
authorising data to be used for business purposes.
● Anonymity - is a way of keeping a user’s identity masked
through various applications.
Issues about Computer Ethics -
Intellectual Property Rights
● Copyright – is a form of intellectual property that gives
proprietary publication, distribution and usage rights for the
author.
● Plagiarism – is an act of copying and publishing another
person’s work without proper citation. It’s like stealing
someone else’s work and releasing it as your own work.
● Cracking – is a way of breaking into a system by getting
past the security features of the system. It’s a way of
skipping the registration and authentication steps when
installing a software.
Issues about Computer Ethics -
Intellectual Property Rights
● Software License – allows the use of digital material by
following the license agreement. Ownership remains with
the original copyright owner, users are just granted licenses
to use the material based on the agreement.
Issues about Computer Ethics - Effects on
Society
● Jobs – Some jobs have been abolished while some jobs have
become simpler as computers have taken over companies
and businesses.
● Environmental Impact – Environment has been affected by
computers and the internet since so much time spent using
computers increases energy usage which in turn increases
the emission of greenhouse gases.
● Social Impact – Computers and the internet help people
stay in touch with family and friends. Social media has been
very popular nowadays.
03 Technologies
of
Cooperation
Technologies of Cooperation
● People collectively are known to cooperate and help
each other out. Technology can be developed and
expanded only by building upon one another.
● Networks can be created that can create bigger
infrastructure. By using technology to aid in social
networks the value is unweighable.
● Partnership with different universities.
● Partnership among countries.
04
Key
Questions
Key Points
● Do we really benefit from these technologies we are
using now or it just makes our life more miserable or
complicated?
● Should the government regulate or control our use of
technology?
● What is your take on things like adopting a certain
technology? And can you share some of your best
practices in using technology?
References
● [Link]
● [Link]
[Link]
● [Link]
● [Link]
ter/ethical-and-social-issues/
● [Link]
[Link]
● Michael Quinn. Ethics for Information Age (2015)
● George Reynolds. Ethics in Information Technology (2019)
Thanks!
Do you have any questions?
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