Transcript Online Privacy Issues Overview

Ethics
Week 2 - January 22, 24
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
1
Why study ethics?
Ethical analysis can provide a structured
way to evaluate an issue and choose a
course of action
Ethical analysis can help illuminate multiple
sides of an issue
Ethical analysis can help produce
persuasive arguments
In your personal and professional life you
will confront difficult decisions
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
2
Quinn 2, Scenario 4
 You are the senior software engineer at start-up
developing software for handheld computers to
help nurses keep track of patients
 Sales force has promised product by next week
 Product still contains many minor bugs
 No major bugs have been found, but QA
recommends another month of testing
 A competitor plans to release a similar product in
a few weeks
 If your product is not first to market your start-up
will probably go out of business
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
3
Scenario 4
 Should you recommend release of the product
next week?
 Who will benefit if the company follows your
recommendation?
 Who will be harmed if the company follows your
recommendation?
 Do you have an obligation to any group of people
that may be affected by your decision?
 Do any of your answers change if the target
users were not medical, but, say, the
entertainment or retail industry?
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
4
Subjective Relativism
Relativism
• No universal norms of right and wrong
• One person can say “X is right,” another can
say “X is wrong,” and both can be right
Subjective relativism
• Each person decides right and wrong for
himself or herself
• “What’s right for you may not be right for me”
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
5
Subjective relativism evaluation of spam
Spammers say spam is good
• Spam brings advertisements to the attention of
some people who want to buy their products
• Spammers make money
• Purchasers are happy to buy their products
• Claim: “Direct mail” via email is a means to
“level the playing field”
Most spam recipients and ISPs say spam is
bad
• Spam wastes time and computer resources,
congests networks, slows processing of nonspam email
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
6
Case for Subjective Relativism
Well-meaning and intelligent people
disagree on moral issues
Ethical debates are disagreeable and
pointless
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
7
Case Against Subjective Relativism
Blurs distinction between doing what you
think is right and doing what you want to do
Makes no moral distinction between the
actions of different people
SR and tolerance are two different things
Decisions may not be based on reason
Not a workable ethical theory
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
8
Cultural Relativism
What is “right” and “wrong” depends upon a
society’s actual moral guidelines
These guidelines vary from place to place
and from time to time
A particular action may be right in one
society at one time and wrong in other
society or at another time
• International issues may especially dominate,
e.g., copying HIV drugs (“generics”)
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
9
Case for Cultural Relativism
Different social contexts demand different
moral guidelines
It is arrogant for one society to judge
another
Morality is reflected in actual behavior
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
10
Case Against Cultural Relativism
 Because two societies do have different moral
views doesn’t mean they ought to have different
views
• Location and time both affect societal norms
 Doesn’t explain how moral guidelines are
determined
 Doesn’t explain how guidelines evolve
 Provides no way out for cultures in conflict
 Societies do, in fact, share certain core values
 Only indirectly based on reason
 Not a workable ethical theory
Source: Adapted from Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
11
Divine Command Theory
Good actions: those aligned with God’s will
Bad actions: those contrary to God’s will
Holy books reveal God’s will
We should holy books as moral decisionmaking guides
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
12
Case for Divine Command Theory
We owe obedience to our Creator
God is all-good and all-knowing
God is the ultimate authority
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
13
Case Against Divine Command Theory
Different holy books disagree
Society is multicultural, secular
Some moral problems not addressed in
scripture
• Issues of interpretation abound
“The good” ≠ “God”
Based on obedience, not reason
Not a workable theory
Source: Adapted from Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
14
Kantianism
Good will: the desire to do the right thing
Immanuel Kant: Only thing in the world
good without qualification is good will
Reason should cultivate desire to do right
thing.
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
15
Categorical Imperative (1st Formulation)
Act only from moral rules that you can at the
same time will to be universal moral laws
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
16
Illustration of 1st Formulation
 Question: Can a person in dire straits make a
promise with the intention of breaking it later?
 Proposed rule: “I may make promises with the
intention of later breaking them”
 The person in trouble wants his promise to be
believed so he can get what he needs
 Universalize rule: Everyone may make & break
promises
 Everyone breaking promises would make promises
unbelievable, contradicting desire to have promise
believed
 The rule is flawed; the answer is “No”
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
17
Categorical Imperative (2nd Formulation)
Act so that you treat both yourself
and other people as ends in themselves
and never only as a means to an end.
This is usually an easier formulation to work
with than the first formulation of the
Categorical Imperative.
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
18
Kantian evaluation of spam (1st formulation)
 Proposed rule:
• I can send advertisements to as many email addresses as I want
 Spammers want people to read their email and buy their products
 Universalize rule:
• Everyone can send advertisements to as many email addresses as they
want
 Consequence
• If everyone sent advertisements to as many email addresses as they
wanted to, email would be so clogged with spam that it would no longer
be useful and people would stop using it
 The rule is flawed -> spamming is not ethical
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
19
Kantian evaluation of spam (2nd formulation)
 Spammers send ads for a product to many
people, knowing only small number will be
interested
 Most message recipients will waste time and
money
 Spammers do not respect recipients’ time or
money, and are only interested in using spam
recipients to make a profit
 Thus spammers treat recipients as means to an
end
 Conclusion: Spamming is wrong
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
20
Case for Kantianism
Rational
Produces universal moral guidelines
Treats all persons as moral equals
Workable ethical theory
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
21
Case Against Kantianism
Sometimes no rule adequately
characterizes an action
• Finding the right formulation can be difficult
There is no way to resolve a conflict
between rules
Kantianism allows no exceptions to moral
laws
Source: Adapted from Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
22
Utilitarianism
 Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill
 An action is good if it benefits someone
 An action is bad if it harms someone
 Utility: tendency of an object to produce
happiness or prevent unhappiness for an
individual or a community
 Happiness = advantage = benefit = good =
pleasure
 Unhappiness = disadvantage = cost = evil = pain
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
23
Principle of Utility
(Greatest Happiness Principle)
An action is right (or wrong) to the extent
that it increases (or decreases) the
total happiness of the affected parties
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
24
Act Utilitarianism
Utilitarianism
• Morality of an action has nothing to do with
intent
• Focuses on the consequences
• A consequentialist theory
Act utilitarianism
• Add up change in happiness of all affected
beings
• Sum > 0, action is good
• Sum < 0, action is bad
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
25
Bentham: Weighing Pleasure/Pain
Intensity
Duration
Certainty
Propinquity (proximity)
Fecundity
Purity
Extent
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
26
Highway Routing Scenario
State may replace a curvy stretch of
highway
New highway segment 1 mile shorter
150 houses would have to be removed
Some wildlife habitat would be destroyed
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
27
Evaluation
 Costs
• $20 million to compensate homeowners
• $10 million to construct new highway
• Lost wildlife habitat worth $1 million
 Benefits
• $39 million savings in automobile driving costs
 Conclusion
• Benefits exceed costs
• Building highway a good action
Subtlety: not just to whom but when costs (benefits) accrue
Source: Adapted from Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
28
Act utilitarian evaluation of spam
 Spam sent to 100 million people
 1 in 10,000 buy product
 90% of people who buy product are happy with it,
other 10% feel ripped off
 People who don’t buy product waste time and
money, get annoyed, etc. - unhappy
 Spammer makes lots of money and is VERY
happy
 9001 happy people, 99,990,000 unhappy people
 Conclusion: 99.991% of people are unhappy, so
spam is wrong
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
29
Case for Act Utilitarianism
Focuses on happiness
Down-to-earth (practical)
Comprehensive
Workable ethical theory
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
30
Case Against Act Utilitarianism
Unclear whom to include in calculations
Too much work
Ignores our innate sense of duty
Susceptible to the problem of moral luck
Sometimes actions do not have
intended consequences - Moral
worth of action is dependent on
consequences that may not be under
control of moral agent
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
31
Rule Utilitarianism
We ought to adopt moral rules which, if
followed by everyone, will lead to the
greatest increase in total happiness
Act utilitarianism applies Principle of Utility
to individual actions
Rule utilitarianism applies Principle of Utility
to moral rules
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
32
Anti-Worm Scenario
August 2003: Blaster worm infected
thousands of Windows computers
Soon after, Nachi worm appeared
• Took control of vulnerable computer
• Located and destroyed copies of Blaster
• Downloaded software patch to fix security
problem
• Used computer as launching pad to try to
“infect” other vulnerable PCs
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
33
Evaluation using Rule Utilitarianism
 Proposed rule: If I can write a helpful worm that removes a
harmful worm from infected computers and shields them from
future attacks, I should do so
 Who would benefit
• People who do not keep their systems updated
 Who would be harmed
• People who use networks
• People who’s computers are invaded by buggy anti-worms
• System administrators
 Conclusion: Harm outweighs benefits. Releasing anti-worm is
wrong
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
34
Case for Rule Utilitarianism
Compared to act utilitarianism, it is easier
to perform the utilitarian calculus.
Not every moral decision requires
performing utilitarian calculus.
Moral rules survive exceptional situations
Avoids the problem of moral luck
Workable ethical theory
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
35
Case Against Utilitarianism in General
All consequences must be measured on a
single scale
Utilitarianism ignores the problem of an
unjust distribution of good consequences.
• Utilitarianism does not mean “the greatest
good of the greatest number”
• That requires a principle of justice
• What happens when a conflict arises between
the Principle of Utility and a principle of justice?
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
36
Principle of Utility
(Greatest Happiness Principle)
An action is right (or wrong) to the extent
that it increases (or decreases) the
total happiness of the affected parties ??
We’ll deal with these issues later in economics, which is
a mechanism for dealing with tradeoffs
Source: Adapted from Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
37
Social Contract Theory
Thomas Hobbes
• “State of nature”
• We implicitly accept a social contract
 Establishment of moral rules to govern relations
among citizens
 Government capable of enforcing these rules
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• In ideal society, no one above rules
• That prevents society from enacting bad rules
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
38
James Rachels’ Definition
“Morality consists in the set of rules,
governing how people are to
treat one another, that rational
people will agree to accept, for their
mutual benefit, on the condition that
others follow those rules as well”
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
39
People act out of self-interest w/out agreement
Morality is the result of an implicit
agreement among rational beings who
understand that there is a tension between
self-interest and the common good
The common good is best realized when
everyone cooperates
Cooperation occurs when those acting
selfishly suffer negative consequences
Examples: Recycling, energy conservation
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
40
Kinds of Rights
Negative right: A right that another can
guarantee by leaving you alone
Positive right: A right obligating others to do
something on your behalf
Absolute right: A right guaranteed without
exception
Limited right: A right that may be restricted
based on the circumstances
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
41
John Rawls’s Principles of Justice
Each person may claim a “fully adequate”
number of basic rights and liberties, so long
as these claims are consistent with
everyone else having a claim to the same
rights and liberties
Any social and economic inequalities must
• Be associated with positions that everyone has
a fair and equal opportunity to achieve
• Be to the greatest benefit of the leastadvantaged members of society (the difference
principle)
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
42
Social contract theory evaluation of spam
 Everyone has right to free speech
• You can send email to anyone you want
• No requirement that people listen to your speech
• People can send you angry replies if they don’t like your email
 If 99,990,000 people are unhappy with a spam message,
they should be able to send an angry reply to the
spammer, which should have cost to spammer
 But spammers forge headers so they do not get angry
replies
 This violates social contract, thus spamming is wrong
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
43
Case for Social Contract Theory
Framed in language of rights
Explains why people act in self-interest
without common agreement
Provides clear analysis of certain
citizen/government problems
Workable ethical theory
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
44
Case Against Social Contract Theory
No one signed contract
Some actions have multiple
characterizations
Conflicting rights problem
May unjustly treat people who cannot
uphold contract
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
45
Objectivism vs. Relativism
Objectivism: Morality has an existence
outside the human mind
Relativism: Morality is a human invention
Kantianism, utilitarianism, and social
contract theory examples of objectivism
Source: Slides for Chapter 2 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
46
Mail Abuse Prevention System
 MAPS is a not-for-profit organization
 Contacts marketers who violate MAPS standards for
bulk email
 Puts marketers who violate standards on a Realtime
Blackhole List (RBL)
 Some mail relays refer to RBL list
• Looks up email host name on RBL list
• If name on list, the email gets bounced back
 All email from blacklisted hosts gets bounced, even
email from non-spammers
Source: Slides for Chapter 3 of Ethics for the Information Age by Michael J. Quinn. Copyright © 2005 Pearson Addison-Wesley. All rights reserved.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
47
Was the creation of the RBL ethical?
 Utilitarian evaluation:
• ISP using RBL benefits by getting better network performance, fewer
angry users
• But their users are unable to receive email from innocent users of
blacklisted ISPs, reducing their utility
• Innocent users of blacklisted ISPs unable to communicate with ISPs that
user RBL
• Conclusion depends on magnitude of benefit and ratio of blacklisted
innocent users to total email users
 Kantian evaluation:
• MAPS puts ISPs on RBL with goal of getting innocent users to complain
and pressure ISP to drop spammers
• Innocent users are treated as means to an end
• This violates Categorical imperative -> RBL is unethical
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
48
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
49
Research and Communication Skills
Finding info with search engines
General purpose search engines
• Google, Yahoo, Altavista, A9, etc.
Clustered searching
• Vivisimo, Dogpile
Search CS research literature
•
•
•
•
http://portal.acm.org
http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/
http://scholar.google.com/
When you find a useful
paper, look at its
reference list for other
possibly relevant sources,
also use “cited by”
features in search engines
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Research and Communication Skills
Advanced searching
 Boolean searching
•
•
•
•
•
Operators: AND, OR, NOT, NEAR
Implied operators: AND is often implied
Parentheses for grouping
Wildcards
Quotes
 Getting to know the ins and outs of your favorite
search engines
• Many search engines do not use pure boolean
searching
• Most search engines have some special syntax
• Search engines use different algorithms to determine
best match
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Advanced Googling
 See
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/G
oogle.html
 Ranks results using PageRank algorithm, taking into
account popularity, importance, word proximity
 Special syntax
•
•
•
•
intitle, inurl, site, intext, filetype, daterange, numrange
Boolean operators: OR, Fuzzy searching: ~, .., *
Exact phrases: “”
 10-term limit
 Special searches
 Definitions (define), calculator, area codes, flight
searches, and more
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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CMU’s Library Resources
Indices and Catalogs
• Articles – ArticleFirst, WebOfScience,
EICompendex, etc.
• Books – WorldCat, domain specific databases
Full text resources
• Reference shelf
• Statistical
InterLibrary Loan (ILL)
Hoovers (financial and corporate)
Lexis-Nexis (news and legal)
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Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Applyyourself.com incident
 In March 2005, someone posted a message to the Business Week
Online message board that explained how a student who had applied
to a business school using the application form at applyyourself.com
could login to the site and find out early whether or not they had been
admitted
• Procedure involved logging in using the student’s own username and
password and then appending a special string to the end of a URL to
view a page that had been posted but had not yet been linked in
 Dozens of students who had applied to several top business schools
followed this advice
• Some were able to find out whether they had been admitted, others saw
only a blank screen
• Students viewed early information that they would later have been
authorized to see
 The press reported that the students had “hacked” into
applyyourself.com
 Most of the business schools decided to reject all the students who
tried this
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Applyyourself.com continued
It is generally agreed that:
• The students did not break any laws
• What the students did was not really hacking
and did not require much technical expertise
But, was it unethical? Did they deserve to
be punished?
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Class debate #1
Software piracy is ethical in third world
countries
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Creating a bibliography and citing sources
Do you know how to create a properly
formatted bibliography?
Why is a list of URLs not a proper
bibliography?
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Importance of Proper Referencing
 Intellectual Property issues
 Intellectual honesty
 Substantiation
• Is this your opinion, well-accepted fact, or somewhere
in between?
 Clarity for the reader
• Assumptions
• Methodology
 Disclosure of bias (implicit/explicit)
• Who funded the work (or institution)?
• Context matters
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Citing sources
 Whenever you take words, images, or ideas from another source you
need to cite that source
• Direct quotes and paraphrases
• Images,photographs, tables, graphs
• Ideas, measurements, computations
 Also use citations as evidence to back up assertions
 If you use somebody else’s words, you must quote them
• Short excerpts appear in quotes
• Long excerpts (3 or more lines) are introduced and then appear as
indented text, often in a smaller font, single spaced
• If you leave out words in the middle use …
• If you leave out words at the end use ….
• If you substitute or add words, put them in square brackets []
• If you add italics say [emphasis added]
 Failure to cite sources = plagiarism
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Paraphrasing
 Usually paraphrasing ideas is preferable to quoting unless
•
•
•
•
Exact wording is important
You are quoting famous words
You are critiquing or comparing specific words rather than ideas
The original words say what you want to say very well and
succinctly
 Usually paraphrasing lets you convey an idea more
succinctly because you can focus on the part of the idea
most relevant to your paper
 If you end up using some of the original words in your
paraphrase, use quotes around those words
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Forms of citation
Full bibliographic citation inline
• Typically used on a slide
Footnote or endnote
• Used in legal writing, many books, some
conferences and journals
Inline short citation with bibliography,
references cited section, or reference list
• Used by most technical conferences and
journals, some books, most dissertations
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Citations in text
 Format depends on style you are using
• Usually a number or author and date, sometimes a page number
reference too
 Citation usually goes at the end of the sentence
• Privacy is not “absolute,” (Westin 1967).
• Privacy is not “absolute,” [3].
 If Author is mentioned, in sentence, name does not
appear in citation
• Westin (1967, p. 7) claims that individuals must balance a desire
for privacy with a desire to participate in society.
 Multiple citations can appear together
• [3, 4, 5]
• (Westin 1967; Cranor 2002)
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Footnotes
Used heavily in legal writing
Usually used sparingly in technical writing
Each footnote appears only once
If you reference the same source multiple
times you must repeat the reference
information, however you can abbreviate it
on second and subsequent references and
use ibid to indicate same as previous
reference
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Creating a bibliography
 Similar rules apply to other forms of citation (footnotes,
etc.)
 Pick an appropriate style and use it consistently
throughout your paper
• Most conferences and journals have style requirements
• Popular styles: Chicago/Turabian, MLA, APA, APSA
 Complete bibliographic entry includes author, title, date,
publisher, place of publication, pages, volume number,
etc.
 Bibliographic entries should be ordered - usually either
alphabetically or in order referenced in the text
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Chicago/Turabian reference-list
 This is the format documented in The Chicago Manual of
Style and Kate Turabian’s A Manual for Writers of Term
Papers, Theses, and Dissertations
 Summarized many places online, including
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocChi_WC_artic
le.html
 Turabian lists four formats for each type of citation - in
this class use the parenthetical reference (PR) for the
short citation in the text and the reference-list (RL) for
the full citation in the reference list at the end of your
paper
 Note that underline and italics are interchangeable back in the days of typewriters most people underlined,
but now that we are all using computers with printers that
can italicize, you should italicize instead
 Reference list should be alphebatized
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Chicago/Turabian PR and RL example
Students who take computers and society are
required to read Ethics for the Information Age
(Quinn 2006). For the second homework
assignment, they must also read a paper by
Munro and Meeks (1997).
Reference List
Munro, Neil, and Brock N. Meeks. 1997. Debating (What
Once Was) the CDA. Communications of the ACM,
September, 25-28.
Quinn, Michael J. 2006. Ethics for the Information Age.
Boston: Pearson Addison Wesley.
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
ACM reference style
For journal:
ABDELBAR, A.M., AND HEDETNIEMI, S.M. 1998. Approximating MAPs
for belief networks in NP-hard and other theorems. Artificial
Intelligence 102, 21-38.
For book:
GINSBERG, M. 1987. Readings in Nonmonotonic Reasoning. Morgan
Kaufmann, Los Altos, CA.
For article in a book of collection:
GREINER, R. 1999. Explanation-based learning. In The Encyclopedia of
Cognitive Science, R. WILSON AND F. KEIL, Eds. MIT Press,
Cambridge, MA, 301-303.
For Conference Proceedings:
MAREK, W., AND TRUSZCZYNSKI, M. 1989. Relating autoepistemic
and default logics. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference
on Principles of Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, Toronto,
Canada, May 1989, H. BRACHMAN AND R. REITER, Eds. Morgan
Kaufmann, San Mateo, CA, 276-288.
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Research and Communication Skills
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
Word processing tools
Microsoft Word
• Word has built in support for footnotes and
endnotes
• Use cross reference feature for numbered
reference lists
• Third party bibliographic add-ons may be
useful
LaTeX
• Built in support for footnotes and endnotes
• Use Bibtex!
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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Research and Communication Skills
ACM templates and style files
 ACM has templates and style files for LaTeX and
MS Word
 ACM Journal style:
• http://www.acm.org/pubs/submissions/submission.htm
• Author names in small caps
• Author/date style [Cranor 2007]
 ACM Proceedings style:
• http://www.acm.org/sigs/pubs/proceed/template.html
• Author/date or numbered style
 ACM DL provides properly formatted references!
Ethics and Policy issues in Computing • Carnegie Mellon University • Spring 2008 • Tongia • http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia/sp08/08-200/
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HW1 discussion
http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~tongia
/sp08/08-200/homework/hw1.html
Interactions with computers
• List
• Most significant changes if interactions took
place without computers
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