Computer Ethics assignment

Convergence of Ethical and Social Analysis

 Sociology is dedicated to the study of human social existence. Many important issues relate society and technology e.g. National computerized medical data system, ID chips, online gambling and the effect on family and community.

It is particularly in tune with socially-imaginative ethical theories:

1. Ethics of consequence and the need to assess social impact at all levels of social life.

2. Ethics of principle and the notion of duty to collective ideals or to the social contract.

3. Ethics of purpose/Virtue ethics and the importance of training in the practice of cultural virtues.

4. Moor's hybrid with its built-in protection against the exploitation of the powerless by the powerful.

5. Winograd's troupe of jugglers.

Our approach takes into account the continuum between individual----society.

Begin  with society: We must know about the following to understand implications for individuals:

· power structure

· culture

· social organization

· demographics

· social inequality

Begin with the individual: We  must know about the following to recommend course of action

· social obligations

· social roles

· values and beliefs

Sociologists have discovered that:

· Humans interact and are influenced by other humans

·

. Regulation of cheaters by the honor code systems

. Peer pressure

· Humans are influenced by social context

·

. Prison

. University

· Power and organization, social phenomena, decide things

·

. Centralized power like China

. Social contracts

Given this approach, sociology also rejects this "stopper" or "roadblock" of ethical theories:

· Ethical egoism (morality is simply a private matter)

· Moral relativism (people and cultures disagree)

In ethical analysis, we try to:

· know the relevant facts

· identify social and ethical values

· ask "What are the principles?"

· ask "Who are the stakeholders?"

· ask "What alternerative courses of action maximize good and minimize evil?"

Skills of ethical analysis:

· argue from analogy

· use counter examples

· apply ethical codes to concrete situations

· use ethical theories to support your value judgments and courser of action, and empirical data to support your observations.

Skills of social analysis:

· identify and interpret social context of a particular implementation. 

· identify stakeholders

· identify assumptions and values embedded in a particular design

· evaluate by use of empirical data, a particular implementation

Note how similar these are:  Field of STS   Science and technology studies brings these two together in looking at technology through the lens of   social, political, and cultural values  that affect scientific research and technological innovation.   Sciene and technology do not exist independently.  They always require a context.

Multiple Perspectives

 What is the relevance of these professions to the issue of human social existence? 1. engineers and scientists 2. ethicists 4. public servants 5. sociologists or social scientists in general