Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!apple!desnoyer
From: desnoyer@Apple.COM (Peter Desnoyers)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: CALL FOR VOTES:  DID HE DO US A SER
Message-ID: <20719@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 16 Nov 88 16:54:05 GMT
References: <1330@stiatl.UUCP> <79700016@p.cs.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 16

In article <79700016@p.cs.uiuc.edu> gillies@p.cs.uiuc.edu writes:

>Why?  Consider this.  Ten years from now, a graduate student in
>biology decides to make a *REAL* virus. [...] Millions of deaths 
>follow.
>
>What would you do to this person?  How can you (ethically)
>differentiate between this graduate student and Robert Morris?

Trivially. Count the number of human deaths. 0 vs. millions. Count the
number of potential, forseeable deaths. 0 vs. millions. If Morris had
destroyed (shot, blown up, whatever) each of those thousands of
computers - none of which were performing life-critical functions - he
still would not be guilty of a single attempted or successful murder.

				Peter Desnoyers