Ethical Ethics In Technology

Ethics in Technology

As part of our module, Computer Services Management, we have been assigned with the task of writing an ethical essay on any ethical aspect within CSM. This was not an easy task, for many reasons like, the wide area within I.T. ethics and the various fields within I.T. it effects. This assignment was very educational, I spent quiet an amount of time researching this topic, and I could have changed my mind on several occasions, but decided to stick with “Ethics in Technology”. It may seem broad initially, I grasped the points that I believe to be relevant to the topic and that should become apparent later.

From the first computer programmable computer of our time called “ENIAC” to today’s everyday powerful computers

In many cases, the security vulnerabilities in computers and Information Technology software can be and are exploited by the “Black Hats” or cybercriminals as they are known, to invade people’s privacy, and steal people’s identity. We know that computers have no moral compass; they cannot make moral decisions for themselves. Essentially, people make moral decisions that affect others positively or negatively depending on how they use computer technology. Some of the biggest ethical issues facing people in the computing environment include privacy concerns on the web and identity theft.

Privacy concerns and identity theft are two ethical issues that increase with the rapid advancement of computer and cyber technology. Some people lose their moral intuition when using computer technology because they assume that their actions do not have real consequences to others. The lack of physicality on the internet can alter one’s ability to empathize with other, which makes them feel that cybercrime morally acceptable. The moral imperatives in the ACM code of ethics can help people make moral choices with their use of computer

General imperatives such as avoid harm to others, respect the privacy of others, honour confidentiality can help people re-establish their personal responsibilities on the web. Today’s technologies do not change ethics. Most of the ethical issues that people face with computer technology are rooted in the general ethical issues that people in society deal with daily. For example, the ethical issues such as invasion of privacy, theft, and fraud have been around since human beings began interacting with each other. The fact is that elements of these ethical issues are not unique to society or the field of Computer science/technology alone. I believe that when Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, he didn’t foresee the huge ethical issues, it’s my opinion that Tim Berners-Lee was someone who wanted to give this platform to the world for free and hence was being ethical and not hungry for financial