Ethics

A GIFT OF FIRE
SARA BAASE
CHAPTER 1:
UNWRAPPING THE GIFT
Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Adapted by Enas Naffar for use in Computing Ethics course –Philadelphia university
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AGENDA
1.1 The Pace of Change 4
1.2 Change and Unexpected Developments 6
1.2.1 Connections: Cellphones, Social Networking, and More 7
1.2.2 E-commerce and Free Stuff 15
1.2.3 Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Sensors, and Motion 17
1.2.4 Tools for Disabled People 21
1.3 Themes 23
1.4 Ethics 26
1.4.1 What Is Ethics, Anyway? 26
1.4.2 A Variety of Ethical Views 28
1.4.3 Some Important Distinctions 36
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WHAT WE WILL COVER

✓ Rapid Pace of Change
✓ New Developments and Dramatic
Impacts
✓ Issues and Themes
✓ Ethics

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RAPID PACE OF
CHANGE
1940s: The first computer was built.
1956: First hard-disk drive weighed a ton and
stored five megabytes.
1991: Space shuttle had a one-megahertz
computer.
2006: Pocket devices hold a terabyte (one
trillion bytes) of data.
2006: Automobiles can have 100-megahertz
computers onboard.
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RAPID PACE OF CHANGE:

DISCUSSION QUESTION
• What devices are now computerized

that were not originally?
• Think back 10, 20, 50 years ago.

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CHANGES & NEW
DEVELOPMENTS
1.2.1 Connections: Cellphones, Social Networking, and
More
1.2.2 E-commerce and Free Stuff
1.2.3 Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Sensors, and Motion
1.2.4 Tools for Disabled People
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CHANGES & NEW DEVELOPMENTS

(CONT.)
Cell Phones:
Relatively few in 1990s. 2006/2007>>Approximately
five billion worldwide in 2011.
Used for conversations and messaging, but also
for:
• taking and sharing pictures
• downloading music and watching videos
• checking email and playing games
• banking and managing investments
• finding maps
Smartphone apps for many tasks, including:
• monitoring diabetes
• locating water in remote areas
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(CONT.)
Cell Phones:
• Talking on cell phones while driving is a
problem
• Cell phones can interfere with solitude,
quiet and concentration
• Cameras in cell phones affect privacy.

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(CONT.)
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(CONT.)
Kill Switches
• Amazon had deleted some books from its store
and from the kindler of people who had bought
them
• Apple can remotely delete apps from the users’
phones.
• In 2011, a software developer discovered a
malicious code in app for Android phones.
Google removed the app from its store and from
more than 250,000 phones.
Back
Back

(CONT.)
Social Networking:
• First online social networking site was
www.classmates.com in 1995
• Myspace, founded in 2003 had roughly
100 million member profiles by 2006
• Facebook was started at

Harvard as an online version of student
directories

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(CONT.)
Social Networking (cont.):
• Businesses connect with customers.
• Organizations seek donations.
• Groups organize volunteers.
• Protesters organize demonstrations and
revolutions.
• Individuals pool resources through “crowd
funding”.

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(CONT.)
Communication and the Web
• In the 1980s, email messages were short
and contained only text.
• People worldwide still use email, but
texting, tweeting , and other social media
are now preferred.

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(CONT.)
Communication and the Web
• Blogs (“Web log”) began as outlets for amateurs
wanting to express ideas, but they have become
significant source of news and entertainment.
• Inexpensive video cameras and video-
manipulation tools have resulted in a burst
of amateur videos.
• Many videos on the Web can infringe copyrights
owned by entertainment companies.

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(CONT.)
Telemedicine
Remote performance of medical exams and
procedures, including surgery.

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
Collaboration (Web2.0)
• Wikipedia: The online, collaborative encyclopedia
written by volunteers.
• Informal communities of programmers create and
maintain free software.
• Watch-dogs on the Web: Informal, decentralized
groups of people help investigate crimes.

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
E-commerce
Amazon.com started in 1994 selling books on
the Web. It has grown to be one of the most
popular, reliable, and user-friendly commercial
sites.
eBay.com facilitates online auctions.
Online sales in the United States now total
hundreds of billions of dollars a year.
Sellers can sell directly to buyers, resulting in
a peer-to-peer economy.

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
E-commerce and trust concerns
People were reluctant to provide credit card
information to make online purchases, so
PayPal.com grew out of need for trusted
intermediary to handle payments.
Encryption and secure servers made payments
safer.
The Better Business Bureau established a Web
site to help consumers see if others have
complained about a business.
Auction sites implemented rating systems.
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
Free Stuff:
Email programs and email accounts,
browsers, filters, firewalls, encryption
software, word processors, spreadsheets,
software for viewing documents, software
to manipulate photos and video, and much
more
Phone services using VOIP such as Skype
University lectures
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
Free Stuff:
Advertising pays for many free sites and
services, but not all.
Wikipedia funded through donations.
Businesses provide some services for good
public relations and as a marketing tool.
Generosity and public service flourish on the
Web. Many people share their expertise just
because they want to.
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, smart
sensors:
• AI is a branch on CS that aims to make
computers think and perform tasks the
same way as human begins.
Researchers realized that narrow,
specialized skills were easier for computers
than what a five-year-old does: recognize
people, carry on a conversation, respond
intelligently to the environment.
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)

sensors:
Many AI applications involve pattern
recognition.
Speech recognition is now a common tool.

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)

sensors:
• AI is used in complex strategy games like
chess, in language translation, voice
recognition, face matching, fingerprints
matching, etc.
• AI is also used in surveillance systems, it
may saves people’s lives. How?

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)

sensors:
• Motion sensing devices are used to give
robots the ability to walk, trigger airbags
in a crash and cushion laptops when
dropped.

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
Tools for Disabled People:
• Restoration of abilities, productivity
and independence.
• Screen readers and scanners enable a
blind person to use documents and
web-pages like ordinary people.

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
• Speech recognition help deaf people
to understand what others says, by
reading their spoken words on a
monitor.
• People who can’t use their hands can
dictate documents to a word
processer.
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
• Prosthetics devices and motion
sensors, like artificial arms and legs.
• They help a disabled person to walk,
set , etc.
• Knees have sensors, to control
bending and straightening the knee
and support body movements.
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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
New trends
• Chips (smaller than a grain of rice) that
stores 5 Megabits and can be read
wirelessly.
• Where can they be used?

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
New trends
• Wear-ware are wearable computers
displays in eye glasses, contact lenses
and smart sensors in clothing.
• What impact do they have?

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
New trends
• Tiny flying sensors/ computers that
communicate wirelessly.
• What impact do they have?

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS
(CONT.)
New trends
• Biological and computer sciences will
combine new ways to insert micro-
processors or controlled devices on
human bodies.

CHANGE AND UNEXPECTED
DEVELOPMENTS
Discussion Questions
How will we react when we can go into a hospital for surgery
performed entirely by a machine? Will it be scarier than riding in
the first automatic elevators or airplanes?
How will we react when we can have a conversation and not know
if we are conversing with a human or a machine?
How will we react when chips implanted in our brains enhance our
memory with gigabytes of data and a search engine? Will we still
be human?
Corresponding page 19
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ISSUES AND THEMES

• Analyzing and evaluating the impact of
new technology can be difficult.
• Some of the changes are obvious, some
are not.
• Even when benefits are obvious, their
costs and side-effects might not be and
vice versa.

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1.3 ISSUES AND THEMES

Issues:
• Unemployment
• Alienation and customer service
• Crime
• Loss of privacy
• Errors

ISSUES AND THEMES
(CONT.)
Themes:
•Old problems in a new context
•Adapting to new technology: thinking in a
new way
• Varied sources of solutions to problems

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ISSUES AND THEMES
(CONT.)
Themes (cont.):
•Global reach of net
•Trade-offs and controversy

ISSUES AND THEMES
(CONT.)
Themes (cont.):
• Perfection is a direction, not an option.
• There is a difference between personal
choices, business policies, and law.

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ETHICS
What is Ethics?
• Study of what it means to “do the right thing”,
It is a complex subject that has occupied
philosophers for thousands of years.
• Ethical theory assumes people are rational
and make free choices. We take the view that
the individual is, in most circumstances,
responsible for his or her actions.
• Ethical rules are Rules to follow in our
interactions and our actions that affect others

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ETHICS
Ethical rules are rules to follow in our
interactions with other people and in our actions
that affect other people.
Most ethical theories attempt to achieve the same
goal: to enhance human dignity, peace,
happiness, and well-being.
Ethical rules apply to all of us and are intended to
achieve good results for people in general, and
for situations in general—not just for ourselves,
not just for one situation.
*Not all ethical theories fit this description. Ethical relativism and some types
of ethical egoism do not.
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ETHICS
• In this book, however, we assume these goals and
requirements for ethical theories. We could view
ethical rules as fundamental and universal, like
laws of science. Or we could view them as rules we
make up, like the rules of soccer, to provide a
framework in which to interact with other people in
a peaceful, productive way.

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ETHICS AND COURAGE
• In a professional context, doing good ethically
often corresponds closely with doing a good job in
the sense of professional quality and competence.
• Sometimes, however, it is difficult to do the right
thing. It takes courage in situations where we could
suffer negative consequences or we do not have
the support of friends or coworkers. Courage is
often associated with heroic acts, where one risks
one’s life to save someone in a dangerous
situation—the kind of act that makes news. Most of
us do not have those opportunities to display
courage, but we do have many opportunities to
make courageous ethical decisions in day-to-day
life.
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ETHICS (CONT.)
Ethical Views:
✓ Deontological
✓ Utilitarianism
✓ Natural rights

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Deontological Theories
• Philosopher Immanuel Kant
• Emphasize Absolute Rules and Duty (despite
consequences)
• Three ethical ideas:
1. Universality: ethical rules apply to
everyone “Do unto others as you would
have them do unto you”
2. Rationality: logic or reason determines
ethical behavior
3. People are not means to ends but ends
themselves
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Utilitarianism
• Focus on consequences ,Its guiding principle,
as expressed by John Stuart Mill, is to increase
happiness, or “utility” .A person’s utility is what
satisfies the person’s needs and values.
• Two ethical ideas:
1. Act utilitarianism:
judge an action by its impact
2. Rule utilitarianism:
define rules with good social outcome “Do not
lie”

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Natural Rights
• John Locke argued that we each have an
exclusive right to ourselves, our labor, and to
what we produce with our labor.
• Come from nature of humanity
• Life
• Liberty
• Property
Negative rights (liberties)
• The right to act without interference
Positive rights (claim-rights)
• An obligation of some people to provide certain
things for others
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Negative Rights:
• Liberties
• Rights to act without interference
• Examples:
• Right to life
• Right to be free from assault
• Right to use your property

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Positive rights
• Claims rights
• Obligation to provide to others
• Examples:
• Positive right to job: someone must hire
you
• Positive right to life: someone must pay
for your food

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Social contracts and a theory of

political justice

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ETHICS (CONT.)
No simple answers
• Human behavior and real human situations are
complex. There are often trade-offs to consider.
• Ethical theories help to identify important principles or
guidelines.

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ETHICS (CONT.)
Do organizations have ethics?
• Ultimately, it is individuals who are making decisions
and taking actions. We can hold both the individuals
and the organization responsible for their acts.

ETHICS
1.4.3 Some important distinctions:
▪ Right, wrong, and okay
▪ Distinguishing wrong and harm
▪ Separating goals from constraints
▪ Personal preference and ethics
▪ Law and ethics
Corresponding page 36-40

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ETHICS
DISCUSSION QUESTION
• Can you think of examples of
liberties (negative rights) and claim-
rights (positive rights) that are at
opposition to each other?


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A GIFT OF FIRE

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

WHAT WE WILL COVER

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

RAPID PACE OF CHANGE:

• What devices are now computerized

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

CHANGES & NEW DEVELOPMENTS

CHANGES & NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

CHANGES & NEW DEVELOPMENTS

• Facebook was started at

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

CHANGES & NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

CHANGES & NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

CHANGES & NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

CHANGES & NEW DEVELOPMENTS

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, smart

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, smart

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, smart

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

ISSUES AND THEMES

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

1.3 ISSUES AND THEMES

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Social contracts and a theory of

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

Corresponding page 36-40

Original Slides prepared by Cyndi Chie and Sarah Frye

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