Ethics in the Information Age -- Discussion Project -- Surveillance and Data Mining

Discuss and try to agree on answers to the following questions:

1. (Adapted from Sarah Baase, Gift of Fire) If voter registration records included party identification, and if a small political party opposed an existing law (perhaps they opposed the income tax or the laws against smoking pot), would it be a good idea to let law enforcement agencies use the voter registration data-base to initiate investigations of party members to determine whether or not they were violating the laws their party opposed? Give reasons both for and against this practice and try to justify your answer.

2. In 2001 Tampa police used a computer and camera system to scan the faces of all the people attending the Super Bowl. The system then searched data-bases of criminals, looking for matches. When ‘matches’ were found, they were checked by a human operator. This was only a test, and no one was arrested, but 19 wanted criminals were allegedly identified. Should this technology be used? (Everywhere? In certain settings?) Give reasons both for and against this practice and try to justify your answer.

3. (Adapted from Herman Tavanni, Ethics and Technology) Data mining techniques can sometimes reveal surprising correlations between individual characteristics. Suppose, for example, that data mining revealed the following: Marketing executives making between $100,000 and $150,000 per year, who buy luxury cars and who take expensive vacations, are very likely to go into business for themselves within five years, and are very likely to declare bankruptcy soon thereafter (when their business fails). A person who fit that profile might be very credit-worthy when judged by more traditional standards (income, debt-burden, payment history), but, considered as a member of this rather odd group, is a bad risk. Suppose a customer comes to a bank seeking a loan to buy a BMW. The individual earns $120,000 working at a marketing firm, has nearly finished paying off a $15,000 loan taken out to finance a family vacation trip to Europe, and otherwise has a very modest debt to income ratio and an excellent credit history. Would it be acceptable for a bank to turn such a person down for a loan? Give reasons both for and against this practice and try to justify your answer.