Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!munnari.oz.au!metro!grivel!gara!pmorriso From: pmorriso@gara.une.oz.au (Perry Morrison MATH) Newsgroups: comp.society.futures Subject: New Book in Computer Ethics Message-ID: <3217@gara.une.oz.au> Date: 17 Aug 90 01:10:17 GMT Organization: University of New England, Armidale, Australia Lines: 126 Subject: New Book in Computer Ethics Newsgroups: comp.society I'm pleased to announce the availability (like NOW) of a new book designed for teaching courses in computer ethics. It is available from MIT Press in the States and Basil Blackwell in the UK. Contents and Preface follow. Computer Ethics Cautionary Tales and Ethical Dilemmas in Computing by Tom Forester and Perry Morrison CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Our Computerized Society Some Problems Created for Society by Computers - Ethical Dilemmas for Computer Professionals and Users 2. Computer Crime The Rise of the High-Tech Heist - Is Reported Crime the Tip of an Iceberg? - Targets of the Computer Criminal - Who Are the Computer Criminals? - Improving Computer Security - Suggestions for Further Discussion 3. Software Theft The Growth of Software Piracy - Revenge of the Nerds? Intellectual Property Rights and the Law - Software Piracy v. Industry Progress - Busting the Pirates - Suggestions for Further Discussion 4. Hacking and Viruses What is Hacking? - Why Do Hackers 'Hack'? - Hackers: Criminals or Modern-Day Robin Hoods? - Some "Great" Hacks - Worms,Trojan Horses and Time-Bombs - The Virus Invasion - Ethical Issues - Suggestions for Further Discussion 5. Unreliable Computers Most Information Systems are Failures - Some Great Software Disasters - Warranties and Disclaimers - Why are Complex Systems So Unreliable? - What are Computer Scientists Doing About It? - Suggestions for Further Discussion 6. The Invasion of Privacy Database Disasters - Privacy Legislation - Big Brother is Watching You - The Surveillance Society - Just When You Thought No One was Listening - Computers and Elections - Suggestions for Further Discussion 7. AI and Expert Systems What is AI? - What is Intelligence? - Expert Systems - Legal Problems - Newer Developments - Ethical Issues: is AI a Proper Goal? - Conclusion: the Limits of Hype - Suggestions for Further Discussion 8. Computerizing the Workplace Computers and Employment - Computers and the Quality of Worklife: 'De-skilling' - Productivity and People: Stress, Monitoring, Depersonalization, Fatigue and Boredom - Health and Safety Issues: VDTs and the RSI Debate - Suggestions for Further Discussion APPENDIX A Autonomous Systems: the Case of "Star Wars" Index ('Notes and References 'are included at the end of each Chapter) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preface and Acknowledgements The aim of this book is two-fold: (1) to describe some of the problems created for society by computers and (2) to show how these problems present ethical dilemmas for computer professionals and computer users. The problems created by computers arise, in turn, from two main sources: from hardware and software malfunctions and from misuse by human beings. We argue that computer systems by their very nature are insecure, unreliable and unpredictable - and that society has yet to come to terms with the consequences. We also seek to show how society has become newly vulnerable to human misuse of computers in the form of computer crime, software theft, hacking, the creation of viruses, invasions of privacy, and so on. Computer Ethics has evolved from our previous writings and in particular our experiences teaching two courses on the human and social context of computing to computer science students at Griffith University. One lesson we quickly learned was that computer science students cannot be assumed to possess a social conscience or indeed have much awareness of social trends and global issues. Accordingly, these courses have been reshaped in order to relate more closely to students' career goals, by focussing on the ethical dilemmas they will face in their everyday lives as computer professionals. Many college and university computer science courses are now including - orwould like to include - an ethics component, but this noble objective has been hampered by a lack of suitable teaching materials. Computer Ethics has therefore been designed with teaching purposes in mind in an effort to help rectify the shortage of texts. That is why we have included numerous up-to-datereferences, as well as scenarios, role-playing exercises and 'hypotheticals' in the 'Suggestions for Further Discussion' at the end of each chapter. The creative teacher should be able to build on these. Readers will notice that we have not adopted an explicit theoretical framework and have avoided philosophical discussion of ethical theory. The reason is that this book is but a first step, with the simple aim of sensitizingundergraduate computer science students to ethical issues. Neither will readers find a detailed account of the legislative position around the world on the various topics discussed. This is because in each country the legal situation is often complex, confused and changing fast - and again this is not the purpose of the book. Finally, a note on sources. First, we have to acknowledge an enormous debt to Peter G. Neumann, whose "Risks to the Public in Computer Systems" sections in Software Engineering Notes, the journal of the Association of Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group on Software (ACM-SIGSOFT) have provided inspiration, amusement and a vast amount of valuable information. Long may he continue. Second, we have to caution that many of these and other sources are newspaper and media reports, which, like computers, are not 100 per cent reliable. Tom Forester, Perry Morrison School of Computing & Information Technology Griffith University, Queensland, Australia