Morality, Ethics And Computers Essay, Research Paper

There are many different sides to the discussion on moral and ethical uses of computers. In many situations, the morality of a particular use of a computer is up to the individual to decide. For this reason, absolute laws about ethical computer usage is almost, but not entirely, impossible to define.

The introduction of computers into the workplace has introduced many questions as well: Should employers make sure the workplace is designed to minimize health risks such as back strain and carpal tunnel syndrome for people who work with computers? Can employers prohibit employees from sending personal memos by electronic mail to a friend at the other side of the office? Should employers monitor employees’ work on computers? If so, should employees be warned beforehand? If warned, does that make the practice okay? According to Kenneth Goodman, director of the Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy at the University of Miami, who teaches courses in computer ethics, “There’s hardly a business that’s not using computers.”1 This makes these questions all the more

important for today’s society to answer.

There are also many moral and ethical problems dealing with the use of computers in the medical field. In one particular case, a technician trusted what he thought a computer was telling him, and administered a deadly dose of radiation to a hospital patient.2 In cases like these, it is difficult to decide who’s fault it is. It could have been the computer programmer’s fault, but Goodman asks, “How much responsibility can you place on a machine?”3

Many problems also occur when computers are used in education. Should computers

replace actual teachers in the classroom? In some schools, computers and computer manuals have already started to replace teachers. I would consider this an unethical use of computers because computers do not have the ability to think and interact on an interpersonal basis.

Computers “dehumanize human activity”4 by taking away many jobs and making many

others “boring exercises in pushing the buttons that make the technology work.” 5

Complete privacy is almost impossible in this computer age. By using a credit card or check cashing card, entering a raffle, or subscribing to a magazine, people provide information about themselves that can be sold to marketers and distributed to data bases throughout the world. When people use the world-wide web, the sites they visit and download things from, make a record that can be traced back to the person.6 This is not protected, as it is when books are checked out of a library. Therefore, information about someone’s personal preferences and interests can be sold to anyone. A health insurance company could find out if a particular person had bought alcohol or cigarettes and charge that person a higher rate because he or she is a greater health risk. Although something like this has not been reported yet, there are no laws against it, at this point. More and more data base companies are monitoring individuals with little regulation. “Other forms of monitoring-such as genetic screening-could eventually be used to discriminate against individuals not because of their past but because of statistical expectations about their

future.”7 For instance, people who do not have AIDS but carry the antibodies are being discharged from the U.S. military and also fired from some jobs. Who knows if this kind of medical information could lead employers to make decisions of employment based on possible future illnesses rather than on job qualifications. Is this an ethical use of computers?

One aspect of computers that is surely immoral and unethical is computer crime, which has been on the rise lately. There are many different types of computer crime. Three main types of crimes are making computer viruses, making illegal copies of software, and actually stealing computers. Computer viruses have been around for a decade but they became infamous when the Michelangelo virus caused a scare on March 6, 1992.

According to the National Computer Security Association in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, there are 6000 known viruses worldwide and about 200 new ones show up every month.8 These viruses are spread quickly and easily and can destroy all information on a computer’s hard drive. Now, people must buy additional software just to detect viruses and possibly repair infected files.

Making illegal copies of software is also a growing problem in the computer world. Most people find no problem in buying a computer program and giving a copy to their friend or co-worker. Some people even make copies and sell them to others. Software companies are starting to require computer users to type in a code before using the software. They do this in many ways. Sometimes, they require you to use a “code wheel” or look in a book for the code. The software companies go through this trouble to discourage people from making illegal copies because every copy that is made is money the company lost.

One other thing that is just starting to become a problem is actual computer theft. With the introduction of notebook computers came a rise in computer theft. The same qualities that make these computers perfect for business travelers-their small size and light weight- make them very easy for thieves to steal as well. In 1994, 295,000 computers were reported stolen with resulting losses totaling over 981 million dollars. 9 The amount lost to theft is about twice the amount lost in all forms of computer malfunction or breakage.

The biggest news related to computers lately seems to always be about the Internet. The Internet began decades ago, but is just becoming popular with the general public now that technology is advancing and becoming cheaper. There are many aspects of the Internet that can lead people into discussions concerning morality and ethics. Much of the discussion of the Internet has to do with freedom of speech and the First Amendment.

Most Americans probably believe that the First Amendment is moral because it is a national law. The problems arise because different people interpret the First Amendment in different ways. In most cases since 1776, the First Amendment has been easily defined and understood, but every once in a while, a situation appears which blurs the lines. The Internet has caused one of these situations. There is information on the Internet about everything from drugs to making bombs. The United States government is trying to decide whether they should or should not censor material on the Internet. The government does not censor information like this in public libraries, so why should it censor this information on the Internet? The government censors information like this on television though, so why wouldn’t it censor this on the Internet? If the government goes strictly by the First Amendment, it would not censor anything on the Internet because that would be a violation of free speech. It is obvious though, that the government does not always go directly by the First Amendment, so this leaves the topic open to discussion. Some people argue that this information would be dangerous if it got into the wrong hands. Much of the

information in the world would be dangerous if it got into the wrong hands. Does this mean that we should perform background checks and psychiatric tests on everyone before we give them any information? I believe it is unethical to withhold information from anyone. All information should be given out freely. It is up to the individual to decide how to use the knowledge they have. Many people complain that there is a large number of sick and demented people on the Internet. There are a large number of sick and demented people in the “real” world as well. In fact, the same people who are on the Internet are in

the real world, too. There is not much we can do about them except arrest the people who take their sickness and dementia too far and break the law.

Computers can be harmful and beneficial to people in many different ways. The ways computers are beneficial are the most obvious. Computers can entertain us, they can save us time and energy, as well as saving us from performing boring and laborious tasks. Computers also can be physically harmful to people. People who use computers too much can suffer from vision loss, to varying degrees, due to staring at the screen for extended lengths of time . They can also have problems with the muscles in their hands from typing so often. They can acquire back problems from sitting in chairs behind desks at computer screens, all day long. Some people say that computers allow humans to cheat. They give us the answers. They allow us to stop thinking. They believe it is unethical for the

computers to do the work for us. These people may be right in that some humans allow computers to do work for them, but then if people did not make use of the new inventions and time-savers, farmers would still be plowing with a horse and we’d still be cooking on an open fire. Until computers exhibit actual artificial intelligence, though, we are still the ones doing the thinking. We program the computers to do what we want them to do.

In conclusion, I believe that, in most situations involving computers, the morality or immorality of an action is up to the individual to decide, as it would be if computers were not involved. We have seen, though, that there are many instances in which people have, without a doubt, acted immorally and unethically.

1 Timothy O’Conner, “Computers Creating Ethical Dilemmas,” USA Today Magazine

(September 1995) 7

2 Max Frankel, “Cyberrights,” The New York Times Magazine (February 12, 1995) 26

3 O’Conner 7

4 James Coates, “Unabomber Case Underscores an On-Line Evil,” Chicago Tribune (April

14, 1996) 5

5 Coates 5

6 O’Conner 7

7 Tom Forester, Computers in the Human Context (Cambridge: The MIT Press,1989) 403

8 Stephen A. Booht, “Doom Virus,” Popular Mechanics (June 1995) 51

9 Philip Albinus, “Have You Seen This PC?,” Home Office Computing (February 1996)

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