Chapter 1 Unwrapping the Gift

Agenda Ubiquity of computers and rapid pace of change New developments and dramatic impacts Themes Ethics

Rapid Pace of Change Early inventions all led to profound changes to life Phones, cars, planes, radio, appliances Computers 1947 first electronic computer, 1956 first hard drive 1991 1Mhz CPU in space shuttle, 2001 10MHz in cars, now several GHz The way you use computer systems and tools personally or professionally will change almost unrecognizably over the course of your career Thus we study impact of computers to life

Social Impact and Controversies PC & portable disks (viruses) Emails (spams) Inexpensive storage (personal/financial data collected) Web search engine (pornography access by children, challenge to copyright) E-commerce (identity theft, scams) Cell phone (car accidents) Social networks, sharing photos, videos, texting, tweets (bullying) iPads, apps (location tracking) Students can cite examples of change they have witnessed, Discuss issues associated with each change.  ICE1 Blogs – How many students read (or write) blogs; also solicit advantages and disadvantages of blogs. Cite political relevance. Internet - Discuss use of postings to identify abortion doctors Cell phones – issue to discuss are laws to prohibit use of cell phones when driving, operating heavy equipment, etc. Collaboration - Wikipedia is an example of the reduction in editorial control. Is this a good development? Can group control maintain accuracy?

Unexpected Development Connectivity applications Cellphones, smart phones, location-based services Kill switches Social networking Email, the Web, blogs, video sharing Online education Farmers, remote villagers Collaborative efforts (wikis, open source SW) Students can cite examples of change they have witnessed Discuss issues associated with each change. Blogs – How many students read (or write) blogs; cite Dan Rather issue; also solicit advantages and disadvantages of blogs. Cite political relevance. Internet - Discuss use of postings to identify abortion doctors Cell phones – issue to discuss are laws to prohibit use of cell phones when driving, operating heavy equipment, etc. Collaboration - Wikipedia is an example of the reduction in editorial control. Is this a good development? Can group control maintain accuracy?

Issues Raised E-commerce and free stuff Artificial intelligence, robotics, sensors Tools for disabled people Issues raised: Loss of privacy, freedom of speech, intellectual property, evaluating and controlling technology, professional ethics, and more Technology creates unemployment. Ask the class to identify other technology advances that have led to unemployment. Alienation – loss of face-to-face interactions. How does that relate to distance learning. Crime – Computer crime can be massive (e.g., identity theft) Privacy – is it OK to lose some privacy to gain other advantages Automation creates new kinds of errors and crimes, frequently with far greater consequences. Cite radiation therapy example from NY Times.

Themes Our approaches to analysis of issues: Old problems in a new context Adapting to new technology Varied sources of solutions to problems Global reach of the net Trade-offs and controversy Perfection is a direction, not an option Differences between personal choices, business policies, and law - The root of some problems may not be computer related, but rather familiar issues in human nature, ethics, politics, or other factors. - Frequently laws need to be updated to include new technology (e.g., Japanese example of legal ways to communicate with potential voters) Changes in tech require changes in law, social institutions, business policies, personal skills, attitudes, and behavior - Varied sources – legal, industry cooperation, compensating technology - Global reach – example of Internet gambling - Differences between personal choices and laws – e.g. requiring people to have health and car insurance Personal choice – based on individual’s values and situation Business policy – based on consumer preference, competitor strategies, responsibility to stockholders, business ethics and laws Laws – impose decisions by force (on ppl who did not make them). Merits of a proposal are not good arguments for laws. Good ones must show why the decision should be enforced against sb who does not agree that it is a good idea. It’s better to base laws on the notion of rights, rather than personal views of their benefits or how we want ppl to behave. - Perfection is a direction but not an option – when evaluating new technologies and applications, we should not compare to some ideal perfect service or zero side effects or zero risk. They are impossible to achieve. We should compare to alternatives and weight the problems against benefits. The ideal shows the direction but is not an option.