INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
A very short history of computer ethics
‘A very short History of computer ethics’ was adapted from the article ‘From the internet’ by Terrell ward Bynum. Published in the summer 2000 issue of the American Philosophical Association’s newsletter on philosophy and computing. Terrell ward Bynum is professor of philosophy at southern Connecticut state university& visiting professor at De- mont fort university in Leicester (England).On the topic of computing and human values Dr. Bynum has published many articles & books. He organized conferences and work shops. He has given speeches, addresses and developed a website. In 1968 he created the scholarly journal ‘metaphilosoply’ which he edited for 25 years. He was co- creator and co – director of the ‘ethicomp’ series of international computer ethics conferences held in many countries.
Computer ethics as a field of study was founded by Norbert Wiener, a professor in the MIT. In 1940, while developing an anti-aircraft cannon capable of shooting down fast warplanes, he dealt with a new branch of science. The engineering challenge of developing a cannon which could track an airplane and calculate its likely trajectory and inform to another part of the cannon to fire shells caused Wiener and some of his colleagues to create a new branch of science. Wiener called this science of information feed back system as cybernetics. The concept of cybernetics, when combined with the digital computers led wiener to draw some remarkably insightful ethical conclusions. He foresaw revolutionary social and ethical consequences. In his book cybernetics : or control and communication in the animal and the machine, he pointed that we were in a position to construct artificial machines of high degree performance that was to say, that we were in the presence of another social potentiality for good and for evil.
Wiener published his monumental book “ The Human use of Human Being” which established him as the founder of computer ethics. It laid down a comprehensive computer ethics foundation which remains today a powerful basis for research and analysis in the field. According to wiener, the integration of computer technology into society would result in second industrial revolution, which affects every major aspect of life. Computer aided bank robberies and other crimes attracted the attention of Donn parker, who wrote books and articles on computer crime. He created a code of ethics for the members of the association for computing machinery. Also computer enabled invasions of privacy became a public worry and led to books, articles and government studies which proposed privacy legislation. Organizations of computer professionals also adapted codes of conduct for their members. Joseph weizenbaum,
a computer scientist in MIT, created a computer program called ‘ELIZA’, which provided automated psychotherapy. Concerned by the ethical implications, weizenbaum wrote the book ‘computer power and human reason’ which is now considered a classic in computer ethics.
Walter Maner, while teaching a medical ethics course, noticed the need for a separate branch of applied ethics which he named ‘computer’ ethics. Maner defined computer ethics as that branch of applied ethics which studies ethical problems aggravated transformed created by computer technology. He offered guidelines for dealing with the subject in the classroom in ‘A starter kit for teaching computer ethics’. Inspired by his work, Terrell ward Bynum not only developed curriculum material for a university course but also conducted essay competition to generate interest in computer ethics. James Moor, the winner of the essay competition, described computer ethics in his essay ‘ what is computer ethics ?’ He says that the computers provide us with new capabilities and these in turn give us new choices for action. Computer ethics includes consideration of both personal and social policies for the ethical use of computer technology. The year 1985 was a watershed year for computer ethics because Deborah Johnson published the first major text book in the field of computer ethics. In her book Johnson defined ethics as a field which examines new versions of standards and moral problems and moral dilemmas placed by computers. She forces us to apply ordinary moral norms. Johnson did not think like Maner that computer created wholly new ethical problems but rather gave a ‘new twist’ to already familiar issues such as ownership, power, privacy and responsibility. New university courses, research centres, articles and text books have appeared. A wide diversity of additional scholars and topics has involved. International conferences such as the ‘ethicomp’ series of conferences were being organized.
Gorniak has predicted that computer ethics, which is considered just as a branch of applied ethics will evolve into a new system of global ethics, applicable in every culture on earth. Computer ethics, then will become the ordinary ethics, of the information age. According to Johnson ethical theories and principles will remain the bedrock foundation of ethical thinking and analysis and the computer revolution will not lead to a revolution in ethics. At the dawn of the 21st century, the thinkers of computer ethics have offered the world two very different views. According to Wiener- Maner- Gorniak the revolution in computer technology may lead to revolution in ethics and forces human beings to reexamine the foundation in ethics and the very definition of a human life. Johnson believes that fundamental ethical theories will remain unaffected and computer ethics as a distinct branch of applied philosophy will ultimately disappear.
A very short history of computer ethics
‘A very short History of computer ethics’ was adapted from the article ‘From the internet’ by Terrell ward Bynum. Published in the summer 2000 issue of the American Philosophical Association’s newsletter on philosophy and computing. Terrell ward Bynum is professor of philosophy at southern Connecticut state university& visiting professor at De- mont fort university in Leicester (England).On the topic of computing and human values Dr. Bynum has published many articles & books. He organized conferences and work shops. He has given speeches, addresses and developed a website. In 1968 he created the scholarly journal ‘metaphilosoply’ which he edited for 25 years. He was co- creator and co – director of the ‘ethicomp’ series of international computer ethics conferences held in many countries.
Computer ethics as a field of study was founded by Norbert Wiener, a professor in the MIT. In 1940, while developing an anti-aircraft cannon capable of shooting down fast warplanes, he dealt with a new branch of science. The engineering challenge of developing a cannon which could track an airplane and calculate its likely trajectory and inform to another part of the cannon to fire shells caused Wiener and some of his colleagues to create a new branch of science. Wiener called this science of information feed back system as cybernetics. The concept of cybernetics, when combined with the digital computers led wiener to draw some remarkably insightful ethical conclusions. He foresaw revolutionary social and ethical consequences. In his book cybernetics : or control and communication in the animal and the machine, he pointed that we were in a position to construct artificial machines of high degree performance that was to say, that we were in the presence of another social potentiality for good and for evil.
Wiener published his monumental book “ The Human use of Human Being” which established him as the founder of computer ethics. It laid down a comprehensive computer ethics foundation which remains today a powerful basis for research and analysis in the field. According to wiener, the integration of computer technology into society would result in second industrial revolution, which affects every major aspect of life. Computer aided bank robberies and other crimes attracted the attention of Donn parker, who wrote books and articles on computer crime. He created a code of ethics for the members of the association for computing machinery. Also computer enabled invasions of privacy became a public worry and led to books, articles and government studies which proposed privacy legislation. Organizations of computer professionals also adapted codes of conduct for their members. Joseph weizenbaum,
a computer scientist in MIT, created a computer program called ‘ELIZA’, which provided automated psychotherapy. Concerned by the ethical implications, weizenbaum wrote the book ‘computer power and human reason’ which is now considered a classic in computer ethics.
Walter Maner, while teaching a medical ethics course, noticed the need for a separate branch of applied ethics which he named ‘computer’ ethics. Maner defined computer ethics as that branch of applied ethics which studies ethical problems aggravated transformed created by computer technology. He offered guidelines for dealing with the subject in the classroom in ‘A starter kit for teaching computer ethics’. Inspired by his work, Terrell ward Bynum not only developed curriculum material for a university course but also conducted essay competition to generate interest in computer ethics. James Moor, the winner of the essay competition, described computer ethics in his essay ‘ what is computer ethics ?’ He says that the computers provide us with new capabilities and these in turn give us new choices for action. Computer ethics includes consideration of both personal and social policies for the ethical use of computer technology. The year 1985 was a watershed year for computer ethics because Deborah Johnson published the first major text book in the field of computer ethics. In her book Johnson defined ethics as a field which examines new versions of standards and moral problems and moral dilemmas placed by computers. She forces us to apply ordinary moral norms. Johnson did not think like Maner that computer created wholly new ethical problems but rather gave a ‘new twist’ to already familiar issues such as ownership, power, privacy and responsibility. New university courses, research centres, articles and text books have appeared. A wide diversity of additional scholars and topics has involved. International conferences such as the ‘ethicomp’ series of conferences were being organized.
Gorniak has predicted that computer ethics, which is considered just as a branch of applied ethics will evolve into a new system of global ethics, applicable in every culture on earth. Computer ethics, then will become the ordinary ethics, of the information age. According to Johnson ethical theories and principles will remain the bedrock foundation of ethical thinking and analysis and the computer revolution will not lead to a revolution in ethics. At the dawn of the 21st century, the thinkers of computer ethics have offered the world two very different views. According to Wiener- Maner- Gorniak the revolution in computer technology may lead to revolution in ethics and forces human beings to reexamine the foundation in ethics and the very definition of a human life. Johnson believes that fundamental ethical theories will remain unaffected and computer ethics as a distinct branch of applied philosophy will ultimately disappear.
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