Computer Ethics assignment
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EssayFour-Fall2018.docxCS 319 Essay 4
Fall 2018
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR PAPER WITH A RUBRIC STAPLED TO THE PAPER AS THE TOP SHEET. Attach the outline to the beginning of your paper.
Structure: 5-6 pages (typed, 1.5 spacing, proofread, and grammatically correct),
Defend your argument according to an ethics of purpose, an ethics of principle, and an ethics of consequence (or just consequentialism). In your essay, be sure to do the following: Make clear that you have done the relevant assigned readings by critically reflecting on them and using 5 citations (at least 3 from 3 different assigned articles. Remember that this is NOT a descriptive research paper.
Do an ethical analysis on one of the scenarios below:
I. In the movie “Blade Runner”, the Tyrell Corporation creates robot “replicants” that are almost impossible to distinguish from humans. They have superior strength and agility, and equal or greater intelligence than the genetic engineers who created them. Replicants are used for slave labor on other planets and space stations. The replicants mutinied and are not allowed to return to Earth. Special police squads-blade runners-have orders to shoot to kill any replicant found on Earth. This is not called execution; it is called “retirement”. Comment on the morality of creating and using such entities this way. Address the following questions in your paper: What is the socio-technical environment (society and technologies)? Is it an ethical place? What type of community is promoted? Make sure you use ethical theories, articles and the ACM Code of Ethics to support your positions.
II. Are we ready for semi-autonomous vehicles like Tesla or fully autonomous vehicles like the autonomous Ubers? Two crashes are attributed to Teslas using the Auto pilot system. The National Transportation Safety Board said Tesla should bear some of the blame for selling a system that is too easy to misuse.
“The death of Elaine Herzberg, struck by a self-driving Uber in Tempe, Arizona, two weeks ago, felt like a shock…California is the only state that requires reports on autonomous vehicle accidents. According to the California DMV’s website, 43 autonomous vehicle accidents have occurred so far. A self-driving car was rear-ended in 13 of those accidents and almost all accidents occur at intersections at low speeds with no injuries. The companies developing self-driving cars are in the process of figuring out how to make autonomous cars integrate better with human-operated cars.”
“Do robots need to drive more like humans or do humans need to drive more like robots?”
Should Tesla share the blame for the deaths caused in part by its autopilot system? Should Uber continue to put autonomous vehicles on the road? Make sure you use ethical theories, articles and the ACM Code of Ethics to support your positions.
III. A start- up company called Medick has been developing a new product for hand held 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 the hospital administrators to believe the product will be available next week as originally scheduled. Unfortunately, the package still contains a few bugs. All of the 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 that product appears first, Medick will probably go out of business. Represent one of these groups: software engineers programming the device; the sales force promoting the device; or the managers of Medick. Plan a course of action and defend your position using ethical theories, articles and the ACM Code of Ethics. (Quinn,Ethics for the Information Age)
IV. A state highway patrol keeps records of stolen cars in its computer system. There is no routine process for updating records when stolen cars are recovered. The system still listed a car as stolen a few years after it had been recovered and the owner sold it. A highway patrol officer shot and killed the new owner of the car during a traffic stop. The officer thought the car was stolen and the driver was acting suspiciously. An investigation concluded that the officer acted “in good faith”. (Baase, Gift of Fire). You are the attorney for the family pursing a wrongful death lawsuit. Build the case against the highway patrol and the software company that designed the computer software. Make sure you use ethical theories, articles and the ACM Code of Ethics to support your positions.
