Transcript Session 27

Ethics of Computing
MONT 113G, Spring 2012
Session 27
Ethics in IT Societies III
Privacy
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Democracy and the Internet
What is democracy?
Political power is in the hands of the citizens.
Government is accountable to the citizens.
Moral justification for democracy:
"Individuals are sovereign over themselves." (Johnson)
Therefore, they must have some say in their government.
Deontological justification:
Utilitarian justification:
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Is the Internet Democratic?
Is the internet inherently democratic?
•Does the adoption of internet technology lead to the
adoption of democratic practices?
Arguments for:
• Individuals produce and distribute information
• Internet provides many forums for discussion
• Internet provides access to more sources of
information
• Internet facilitates associations independent of
geography.
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Is the internet democratic?
Arguments against:
•Too much information is available--filtering is required.
•"Net neutrality" is not a given
•Surveillance capabilities
•Global Scope
ACLU:
Filtering software can greatly limit which sites are accessed.
What are their arguments?
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Privacy in IT societies
What's new?
What's different about information flow in IT societies from
previous societies?
Previous modes of information flow:
Characteristics of IT information flow:
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What Else is New?
Tools for Data Mining and Managing Databases.
• Did not emerge in a vacuum (technological determinism)
• Emerged in response to government and corporate
interests.
New Kinds of information.
• Transaction generated information (TGI)
Examples:
Credit card
Clickstream
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Merging and Mining Data
When different types of information is merged and then mined for
patterns, this can produce new types of information.
Examples:
Clickstream profile
Amazon.com recommendations
Facebook friends--gaydar
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Other Issues
•Distribution of information is broader and more extensive
than before.
Example: Credit rating.
•Once on a server, information can be bought, sold, given
away or stolen.
•Information endures.
Example: Images on Facebook.
•Errors are very hard to correct.
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IT Societies are Surveillance
Societies
IT allows people to be easily tracked and monitored.
Examples?
Data can be used to create profiles of individuals.
The data can be "mined" for patterns of behavior.
Questions raised:
What is the value of privacy?
How does surveillance affect us and our society?
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