Transcript Ethics
COM 354 Week 2 (8/30) New Media Ethics Thinking out loud Going to add: hacker ethics design ethics OUTLINE Recap Privacy in the digital age Privacy and democratic freedom Case studies (Google, Facebook) • Privacy and ethics (discussion) Small group activity Looking ahead . . . IP & Pirates Key terms Values - goals and ideals we aspire to and measure ourselves, others and society by moral values - values that give voice to the needs and legitimate expectations of others as well as ourselves Ethics - study of moral values, reflection on how to think about them, and clarify, prioritize, and/or integrate them. Morals and ethics Often interchangeable Morals – something we hold (static) Ethics –deliberate process of thinking them through, criticizing, and revising them (dynamic) pitfalls Dogmatism Offhand self-justification dogmatism Ask why, study other's views, reasons of opposed positions Speak in an open ended way • Less categorical, less final Think in an open ended way A hint of uncertainty is appropriate Offhand self-justification self-defeating – rationalizing and making excuses can perpetuate unintelligent opinions Observe yourself – Try not to make excuses just to put questions to rest Watch for signs of anger or irritation Avoid automatic counterattack Three families of values • Utilitarianism • Theories of Right Action (deontology or categorical imperative) • Theories of Virtue 1. Utilitarianism – “greatest good of the greatest number” – Typically asks “does it promote the social good?” – Involves balancing social costs with social benefits (a calculation) – Social utility 2. Theories of Right Action – Decide what is right independent of social utility – Universal laws, rights, rules – For all to follow equally 3. Theories of Virtue Moral virtues - Courage, temperance, justice, generosity, humor Theological virtues - Faith, hope, charity Ethics of care virtues – imagination, sensitivity, patience, acceptance, nurturing, responding 3. Theories of Virtue (cont.) • Aristotle – Moral virtues • Courage, temperance, justice, generosity, humor – Vices • Excesses Central Issues of digital media ethics • Mainstream media reports on technology – “moral panic” to attract attention – focus on sensational and deep seated fears • fosters polarized way of thinking –e.g., technology=good, technology=bad • short circuits critical reflection Distinguishing characteristics of digital media • Digital vs. analog (bits easily manipulated) • Instantaneous • enduring • global Pedagogical approach • Case studies • discussion/writing/reflection/research • Initial and further reflections . . . • We'll pursue our own case studies, as well Privacy in the digital age • Surveillance capacities have grown exponentially Ability to sort, sift, profile, categorize and lassify Privacy in the digital age personal data not embodied persons watching each other factual fragments abstracted from individuals less obvious and overt, but… more systematic and subtle Privacy in the digital age personal data not embodied persons watching each other factual fragments abstracted from individuals less obvious and overt, but… more systematic and subtle Privacy in the digital age Digital dossiers Actions email, cell phone, Web search, browser history, credit cards, ATMs, grocery shopping, libraries, health visits Information name, address, phone number, age, income, location and movement, types of credit cards, vehicles, browsing and purchasing habits, entertainment tastes, health status Privacy in the digital age implications Social control, compliance Discrimination Targeting (“soft cage”) Identify theft, fraud Loss of political freedom Privacy in general Three views of privacy 1. Accessibility – let alone, free from intrusion in one's physical space 2. Decisional – freedom from interference in one's choices and decisions 3. Informational – control over flow of personal information Privacy in general Intrinsic and extrinsic goods Intrinsic good - valuable in and of itself Extrinsic good – valuable as a means for another good Privacy and political freedom Extrinsic goods Anonymity – freedom from interference in holding political beliefs - 'A shield from the tyranny of the majority Autonomy – freedom from interference in -developing opinions, beliefs -making decisions based on those opinions, beliefs (decisional privacy) Privacy: a Comparative View EU - deontological US - utilitarian statutory protections statutory protections, privacy policies enforceable by law mostly self-regulated and unenforceable Responsibility placed on governments Responsibility placed largely on the and industry user Case Study – Google Search engines under scrutiny 2006-2007 online privacy watchdog groups brought increased scrutiny to practices of leading search engines: cookie life server logs targeted ads Google declared worst in protecting user privacy Case Study – Google yourself (now) What Google knows about us Search data Clickstream data Different media sources Cloud computing services Google and user search data Server logs 123.45.67.89 – 25/Mar/2003 10:15:32 – http:google.com/search?q=cars – Firefox 1.07; Windows NT 5.1 – 740674ce2123e969 Internet Protocol address (unique ID, identifies the computer) – 65.27.213.xxx (Google redacts the fourth octet after 9 months) Date and time of query Requested page (including term searched) Browser and operating system used Persistent and unique cookie ID Google also records Clickstream data Which search results and ad links a user clicks Records different kinds of data searched Images News stories Videos Blog posts Book Search Incomplete, not enough for perfect recall! Cloud Computing and Google Google at forefront of cloud computing a suite of over 45 products and services: • • • • Google Mail (stores email) Google Calendar (organizes events) Google Docs (documents, spreadsheets, and presentations) Google Mobile (Search, Maps, Gmail, YouTube and other Google products on mobile device) account-based used to track user activity across products and services Google combines user search data with info collected in the Google cloud! Case Study - Google Philosophical considerations What kind of privacy does Google violate? (accessibility, decisional, informational) Case Study - Google Philosophical considerations Is this monitoring of personal information justified? What kind of ethical argument are you offering? (utilitarian, deontological,etc) Which argument is most persuasive? Case Study - Facebook What does Facebook know? Social graph – sum total of connections, profile data, wall posts, preferences, recommendations Case Study - Facebook 'blow forward' or 'here now, privacy later' Social games Beacon December changes (your networks and friends, everyone) Open Graph (like don't take it personal!) Case Study - Facebook Philosophical considerations Is this monitoring of personal information justified? What kind of ethical argument are you offering? (utilitarian, deontological,etc) Which argument is most persuasive? Case Study - Government Surveillance for national security USA Patriot Act Case Study - Government Philosophical considerations Is this surveillance justified? What kind of ethical argument are you offering? (utilitarian, deontological,etc) What about political freedom? HWK (Due Monday 9/13) Journal #2 (on Wiki) Read Chapter 3