1. Introduction to Computational Thinking
Social Impacts
(C) Dennis Kafura 2016

2. Knowledge, power, society
systems
models
choices
influence
create
ethics
Society
abilities
Power: “The capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others”
[Oxford Dictionary]
(C) Dennis Kafura 2016

3. Stakeholders
Stakeholders: those in society affecting or affected, positively or negatively, by the use of power.
Stakeholders may (often) have conflicting values, perspectives, and investments regarding the effects produced by the use of power.
(C) Dennis Kafura 2016

4. Elements Power Pervasiveness Privacy Privilege Persistence Precision
The ability to affect stakeholders (through information technology)
Pervasiveness
Ubiquitous and (often) invisible effects on stakeholders
Privacy
Unwarranted access to or disclosure of information about stakeholders
Privilege
Differential access to information by stakeholders
Persistence
Retention of information over long periods of time
Precision
Accuracy of observations beyond typical human levels
(C) Dennis Kafura 2016

5. Ethics Not lists of rules to be memorized…
.. but a personal guide to responsible professional behavior towards stakeholders in the face of conflicting needs and rights.
Stakeholders: those in society affected, positively or negatively, by the use of power.
(C) Dennis Kafura 2016

6. Two sides of the coin
You may affect stakeholders by the exercise of power through your professional knowledge whether involving computation or not
A grounding in ethics helps you behave professionally in a way that you can live with
You are a stakeholder because others certainly exercise power over you through their knowledge of computation
A grounding in ethics is important to knowing and acting upon your rights as a member of a free technological society.
(C) Dennis Kafura 2016

7. Case Study: the car repo story
NY Times Story and Video
values?
power?
stakeholders?
privacy?
pervasiveness?
privilege?
(C) Dennis Kafura 2016

8. Discussion Discuss in your cohort:
Who are the stakeholders?
How is each stakeholder affected?
What are the conflicts among stakeholders?
What pressures are felt by each stakeholder?
Report back 15 minutes before end of class
(C) Dennis Kafura 2016