Ethics in the Information Age First Paper Assignment Due: Saturday, February 24 by 12 noon midnight
[Please save your paper as a Word document and submit it to the D2L assignment folder (drop-box).]
General Directions:
Write a total of 4-6 pages, typed, double-spaced. Write as clearly and concisely as you can. Explain any technical terms you use. Pretend that, instead of being read by a teacher who has read all the class readings, your essay will be read by an intelligent and well-informed person who has read no such material, and who needs to have the issues explained in a way that does not assume any acquaintance with academic writing about ethics. For example, do not assume that your reader already knows what ‘utilitarianism’ or ‘Kantianism' is. Assume that they need brief clear explanations of these views. Answer mainly in your own words. Put quotations in quotation marks (and use quotes sparingly, if at all). When you borrow a phrase or argument or idea from another writer, be sure to give them credit.
Specific assignment:
Choose one of the following scenarios (all borrowed from Quinn's textbook):
1. Millions of American homes are equipped with wireless networks. If the network is not made secure, any nearby computer with a wireless card can use the network. The range of home wireless networks often extends into neighboring homes, particularly in apartment complexes. If your neighbor’s wireless network extends into your home, is it wrong to use that network to get free Internet access?
2. A start-up company called Medick has been developing an exciting new product for handheld computers that will revolutionize the way nurses keep track of their hospitalized patients. The device will save nurses a great deal of time doing routine paperwork, reduce their stress levels, and enable them to spend more time with their patients. Medick’s sales force has led hospital administrators to believe the product will be available next week as originally scheduled. Unfortunately, the package still contains quite a few bugs. All of the known bugs appear to be minor, but some of the planned tests have not yet been performed. Because of the fierce competition in the medical software industry, it is critical that this company be the first to market. It appears a well-established company will release a similar product in a few weeks. If its product appears first, Medick will probably go outof business. What should Medick do?
3. Two weeks ago you started a new job as system administrator for a computer lab at a small college. Wanting to make a good impression, you immediately set out to learn more about the various applications provided to the users of the lab. One of the packages, an engineering design tool, seemed way out of date. You looked through the lab’s file of licensing agreements to see how much it would cost to get an upgrade. To your horror, you discovered that the college never purchased a license for the software—it is running a bootlegged copy! When you bring this to the attention of your boss, the college’s director of information technology, he says, “The license for this software would cost us $10,000, which we don’t have in our budget right now. This software is absolutely needed for our engineering students, though. Maybe we can get the license next year. For the time being, just keep the current version running.” How should you respond to your manager?
Analyze your chosen scenario from the point of view of each (that is, all three) of the following perspectives/theories:
a. act utilitarianism,
b. Kantianism (use the first, universal law formulation of the Categorical Imperative),
c. The Software Engineering Code of Ethics.
That is, explain how you could use each of these approaches to ethics to decide what to do in the hypothetical situation you have chosen, and explain what decision you think each would endorse. (If you think that one or more of these approaches would not give a clear answer to what to do in your case, explain that.) The important thing here is not to get “the right answer” but to show that you understand the process of reasoning that each approach recommends. The discussion projects that we did in class on each theory provide a set of instructions for how to do this. Use those as a guide.
Then, say a bit about which approach you find best and why. (Perhaps you find them all unsatisfactory. If so, explain why.)