2. Computers and Society Lecture 1: administrative details and an introduction to the class Professor: Evan Korth New York University

3. Road Map for Today Administrative details Why are you here? Why I am here Course overview 2

4. Administrative Matters 3

5. Course Web Site Course web site is available at: http://www.cs.nyu.edu/courses/spring07/V22.0001- 001/index.html Web site contains the following information: –Administrative information –Course Syllabus –Homework assignments –Class notes –Class resources –Link to the class mailing list 4

6. Class mailing list First assignment is to join it. Do it today! Go to: http://cs.nyu.edu/mailman/listinfo/v22_0001_001_s p07 and follow the instructions All assignments and news will be sent to the class list Homework questions should be sent to the list and answered by students when possible. 5

7. Course Books Since this class will evolve throughout the semester, I do not want to assign all the books now. I ask that you budget $100 for texts for this class. The first book you will need to purchase is: 6 –Code version 2.0 By Lawrence Lessig –ISBN: 0465039146

8. Grading Your grade will be determined as follows: –Class participation (10%) –Wiki participation (10%) –Homework (possible quizzes) (40%) Several small assignments and one large one –Midterm (20%) –Final Exam (20%) Your final will be an oral exam 7

9. homework Ten points will be deducted for each class day late, with a possible maximum of 30 points being deducted. Homeworks will not be accepted after the third class following its due date. Submit the homework via email to the grader (more on this later) For you own good you must back up all your work. Computer crashes or lost programs are not valid excuses for not handing in an assignment. 8

10. A Word About Cheating For the purposes of this class, cheating is defined as: –Copying all or part of another student's homework, project or exam. –Allowing another student to copy all or part of your homework, project, or exam. –Discussing homework concepts is fine, but you must submit your own work. If you are caught cheating, you will receive an immediate FAILURE for the course. See the CS Departments statement on Academic Integrity.statement on Academic Integrity 9

11. Student Civility In an effort to make this class enjoyable for everybody… –Please be on time to class! –Please do not talk to your friends and neighbors in class! It disturbs everyone, and makes it hard to concentrate. If you have a question, just ask me! –Please turn your pagers and cell-phones off! 10

12. Getting Help Help is always available! Option 1: Come to my Office Hours –Tuesday 2:00 - 3:00; Wednesday, 5:00 – 6:00; Thursday, 2:00 – 3:00 (I may change the time of my office hours) –Location: Room 419 Warren Weaver Hall –I get bored when nobody visits! –If you cannot make my office hours, I will be happy to make an appointment with you. Please try to give me advance warning when you need an appointment. Option 2: Write to the class mailing list. Option 3: Email the grader 11

13. Why are you here?

14. Why I am here

15. Introduction 14

16. Course Prerequisites Prerequisites: –None (Really) Who should be taking this course: –Students interested in the issues relating to technology (specifically computers) and society. –Students who feel comfortable speaking in class and are not afraid to work out their thoughts in a public forum. 15

17. Course Description This course will address the impact of the digital computer on individuals, organizations and modern society as a whole, and the social, political, legal, economical and ethical issues involved in the computer industry. Topics will change to reflect changes in technology and current events. Guest lecturers from various fields will be invited to speak in class. 16

18. Course Description (part 2) Topics could include: –The history of computing –Information overload / data explosion –Encryption –Anonymity on the internet –Privacy –Security –Hacking: vandalism, trespass and theft –Computers in the workplace –Computers and education –Outsourcing –The computer's effects on how we communicate with each other and our relationships –Intellectual property: technological and legal issues, governance, regulation and policy of technologies –Warfare / National security issues –Electronic voting –Computer crime –Reliability of large systems and potential dangers

19. Course Structure Part 1: Introduction and framework to think about the issues Part 2: History of computers and terms and concepts we need to discuss the issues Part 3: Specific issues –Guest lecturers Part 4: Pull it together and look to the future

20. Current events This course will be flexible enough to accommodate current events. Front pages of popular newspapers run stories everyday which relate to the topics covered in this class. You should be aware of the top stories.

21. 20 Imminent Guest Lectures This Friday, January 19, in room 109 at 5:00. –Cory will be speaking on “State of the Copyfight 2007: Looking up, not out of the woods yet.” –Cory co-edits the massively popular blog BoingBoing.net, writes sci-fi novels that are released under Creative Commons licenses, and serves on the board of numerous organizations. BoingBoing.netsci-fi novels January 31 st Jimmy Wales will speak to our class.