Introduction• Cybertechnology– wide range of computing and communi-cation devices– stand-alone computers, networks, com-munication technologies• Cyberethics– study of moral, legal and social issuesinvolving cybertechnologyExample: Internet Stalking (1999)• victim: 20 year old woman• murdered by a stalker• stalking done with publicly available internettools– where she lived– where she worked– type of vehicle• two websites– personal info about victim, photo– detailed murder plansInternet Stalking: Ethical Issues• Was victim’s right to pri vacy violated?– by means of gathering personal info– by websites• Is right to build websites protected by freespeech?• Are ISP’s legally liable ?– liable for murder because of death threat?• Do readers have a moral responsibility to in-form people who are threatened?History of Cyberethics: Four Phases• 50’s – 60’s– Stand-alone mainframes– AI questions:∗ can computers think?∗ what does it mean to be human?• 70’s – 80’s– Networks– personal privacy– intellectual property– computer crim e• 90’s – 00’s– Internet and World-Wide Web– free speech– anonymity– jurisdiction– trust• post 2007– convergence of cybertechnology with othertechnologies...Uniqueness of Cyberethics Issues• Underlying moral issues are not new• Can be seen as a branch of applied ethics• Many issues arising from technnology needethical perspective• Cybertech mo re versatile than other tech• Cybertech facili tat es new human acti on– leads to a p o li cy vacuum – no rules ofconduct– leads to conceptual confusion or muddle∗ resolution affects acceptable policies∗ need domain knowledge∗ need understanding of ethical prin-ciplesApplied Ethics• Analysis of practical ethical issues using eth-ical theories• Three perspectives: professional, philosoph-ical, descriptive• Professional and Philosophical Perspectivesare normative– evaluate and prescribe moral systems– what ought to b e• Descriptive Perspective is descriptive– what is• Example: Normative vs Descriptive– Denise Trauth is president of Texas StateUniversity.– Texas State U. ought t o provide moreparking for students.– Texas State U. should have a smoke-freecampus.• Methodology–standard in applied et hics re-search– Identify a moral problem– describe and analyze the problemclarify concepts and examine facts– apply moral theories and principlesProfessional Ethics• Ethical responsibility for computer profes-sionals– Example: writing code that violates pri-vacy• Application: Stalking– not an issue∗ computer is a tool, issue is murder∗ murder by scalpel does not involvemedical ethics– an issue∗ code writers and ISP’s may bear re-sponsibility for violation of privacyPhilosophical Ethics• Broader concerns– social policy and individual behavior– affect virtually everyone – e.g. free speech,security• Application: Stalking– identify moral issue: right to privacy– was a policy vacuum gener ated?yes, based on ease of access– is there a conce ptual muddle?yes, criteria to distinguish private andpublic info– deliberate how to resolve privacy issueDescriptive Ethics• Describes moral systems• Describes how groups view moral issues–sociological• Focus on descriptive aspects can clarify nor-mative issues• Application: Stalking– demographic questi ons∗ increase in stallking?∗ linked to availability of cybertech-nology?∗ certain demographic groups at morerisk?∗ profile cyberstalker?∗ is anonymity a factor?Technological Issues• Neutrality of Technology– Does it have moral value embedded orimplicit in its design?– autos – hand crank, steering wheel/gaspedal/airbag placement– video games aimed at males– password protected computer accounts– OS set to prevent copying downloadedmovies or music• Identification of moral issues involving cy-bertech– requires additio nal methods– needs interdisciplinary attack– taxonomy∗ morally transparent – known issues∗ morally opaque – undi sclosed issues· technology unknown – data min-ing· technology known but use unknown– search engines g ather ing infoComprehensive Methodology for Cyberethics1. Identify a morally controversial cybertech prac-tice or feature.2. Analyze the issue by clarifying concepts andfinding context.3. Deliberate the ethical issue.Step 1: Identify a morally controversial cybertechpractice or feature.1a. Disclose mor ally opaque features or issues1b. If the issue is descriptive, assess implicationsfor relevant social institutions and groups1c. If there are no normative issues, stop.1d. If the normative issue is professional, assessit in terms of relevant professional codes ofconduct.1e. If ethical issues r em ain, go to step 2.Step2: Analyze the issue by clarifying conceptsand finding context.2a. If a policy vacuum exists, go to step 2b, elsego to step 3.2b. Resolve conceptual muddles, then go to step3.Step3: Deliberate the ethical issue.3a. Apply one or more ethical theories to theanalysis of the more issue, the n go to step3b.3b. Justify your position by evaluating it againstthe rules of log ic and critical