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Lecture 06 Cyberethics By Dr. Saqib Iqbal Uniqueness Issue (Continued) • Traditionalists and uniqueness proponents are each partly correct. • Traditionalists correctly point out that no new ethical issues have been introduced by computers. • Uniqueness proponents are correct in that cybertechnology has complicated our analysis of traditional ethical issues. Uniqueness Issue (Continued) • So we must distinguish between: (a) unique technological features, and (b) any (alleged) unique ethical issues. • Two scenarios from the text: – (a) Computer professionals designing and coding a controversial computer system – (b) Software piracy Case Illustration of a Policy Vacuum: Duplicating Software • In the early 1980s, there were no clear laws regarding the duplication of software programs, which was made easy because of personal computers. • A policy vacuum arose. • Before the policy vacuum could be filled, we had to clear up a conceptual muddle: What exactly is software? Cyberethics as a Branch of Applied Ethics • Applied ethics, unlike theoretical ethics, examines "practical" ethical issues. • It analyzes moral issues from the vantage-point of one or more ethical theories. • Ethicists working in fields of applied ethics are more interested in applying ethical theories to the analysis of specific moral problems than in debating the ethical theories themselves. Cyberethics as a Branch of Applied Ethics (continued) • Three distinct perspectives of applied ethics (as applied to cyberethics): • Professional Ethics • Philosophical Ethics • Descriptive Ethics Perspective # 1: Professional Ethics • According to this view, cyberethics is the field that identifies and analyzes issues of ethical responsibility for computer professionals. • Consider a computer professional's role in designing, developing, and maintaining computer hardware and software systems. – Suppose a programmer discovers that a software product she has been working on is about to be released for sale to the public, even though it is unreliable because it contains "buggy" software. – Should she "blow the whistle?" Professional Ethics • Don Gotterbarn (1991) argued that all genuine computer ethics issues are professional ethics issues. • Computer ethics, for Gotterbarn is like medical ethics and legal ethics, which are tied to issues involving specific professions. • He notes that computer ethics issues aren’t about technology – e.g., we don’t have automobile ethics, airplane ethics, etc. Criticism of Professional Ethics Perspective • Gotterbarn’s model for computer ethics seems too narrow for cyberethics. • Cyberethics issues affect not only computer professionals; they effect everyone. • Before the widespread use of the Internet, Gotterbarn’s professional-ethics model may have been adequate. Perspective # 2: Philosophical Ethics  From this perspective, cyberethics is a field of philosophical analysis and inquiry that goes beyond professional ethics (Gotterbarn).  Moor (1985), defines computer ethics as: – ...the analysis of the nature and social impact of computer technology and the corresponding formulation and justification of policies for the ethical use of such technology. [Italics Added.]