Ethics For People Who Work In Tech

This book is for people who work in the tech industry—computer and data scientists, software developers and engineers, designers, and people in business, marketing or management roles. It is also for people who are involved in the procurement and deployment of advanced applications, algorithms, and AI systems, and in policy making. Together, they create the digital products, services, and systems that shape our societies and daily lives. The book’s aim is to empower people to take responsibility, to ‘upgrade’ their skills for ethical reflection, inquiry, and deliberation. It introduces ethics in an accessible manner with practical examples, outlines of different ethical traditions, and practice-oriented methods. Additional online resources are available at: ethicsforpeoplewhoworkintech.com.

This book provides students with a toolbox for the study of the ethics of technology, exploring the methods available for ethical assessments of technologies and their social introduction.

Ethics in Information Technology, Second Edition is a timely offering with updated and brand new coverage of topical issues that we encounter in the news every day such as file sharing, infringement of intellectual property, security risks, Internet crime, identity theft, employee surveillance, privacy, and compliance.

In recent years, new and more intrusive surveillance technology has found its way into workplaces. New medical tests provide detailed information about workers' biology that was previously unthinkable. An increasing number of employees work under camera surveillance. At the same time, computers allow for a detailed monitoring of our interactions with machines, and all this information can be electronically stored in an easily accessible format. What is happening in our workplaces? Has the trend towards more humane workplaces been broken? From an ethical point of view, which types and degrees of surveillance are acceptable, and which are not? From a policy point of view, what methods can be used to regulate the use of surveillance technology in workplaces? These are some of the questions that have driven the research reported in this book. Written by an interdisciplinary group of researchers in Computer Ethics, Medical Ethics and Moral Philosophy, this book provides a broad overview that covers both empirical and normative aspects of workplace privacy.

Autonomous cars, drones, and electronic surveillance systems are examples of technologies that raise serious ethical issues. In this analytic investigation, Martin Peterson articulates and defends five moral principles for addressing ethical issues related to new and existing technologies: the cost-benefit principle, the precautionary principle, the sustainability principle, the autonomy principle, and the fairness principle. It is primarily the method developed by Peterson for articulating and analyzing the five principles that is novel. He argues that geometric concepts such as points, lines, and planes can be put to work for clarifying the structure and scope of these and other moral principles. This geometric account is based on the Aristotelian dictum that like cases should be treated alike, meaning that the degree of similarity between different cases can be represented as a distance in moral space. The more similar a pair of cases are from a moral point of view, the closer is their location in moral space. A case that lies closer in moral space to a paradigm case for some principle p than to any paradigm for any other principle should be analyzed by applying principle p. The book also presents empirical results from a series of experimental studies in which experts (philosophers) and laypeople (engineering students) have been asked to apply the geometric method to fifteen real-world cases. The empirical findings indicate that experts and laypeople do in fact apply geometrically construed moral principles in roughly, but not exactly, the manner advocates of the geometric method believe they ought to be applied.

A lively and entertaining guide to ethics in a technological age. Most people have a strong sense of right and wrong, and they aren't shy about expressing their opinions. But when we take a polarizing stand on something we regard as an eternal truth, we often forget that ethics evolve over time. Many shifts in the right versus wrong pendulum are driven by advances in technology. Our great-grandparents might be shocked by in vitro fertilization; our great-grandchildren might be shocked by the messiness of pregnancy, childbirth, and unedited genes. In Right/Wrong, Juan Enriquez reflects on what happens to our ethics as technology makes the once unimaginable a commonplace occurrence.

It seems that just about every new technology that we bring to bear on improving our lives brings with it some downside, side effect or unintended consequence. These issues can pose very real and growing ethical problems for all of us. For example, automated facial recognition can make life easier and safer for us - but it also poses huge issues with regard to privacy, ownership of data and even identity theft. How do we understand and frame these debates, and work out strategies at personal and governmental levels? Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics addresses one of today's most pressing problems: how to create and use tools and technologies to maximize benefits and minimize harms? Drawing on the author's experience as a technologist, political risk analyst and historian, the book offers a practical and cross-disciplinary approach that will inspire anyone creating, investing in or regulating technology, and it will empower all readers to better hold technology to account.

Explore the moral and ethical issues which arise at the intersection of novel technology and engineering In Ethics, Technology, and Engineering: An Introduction, a team of distinguished researchers delivers an insightful and thought-provoking exploration of some of the toughest ethical questions found at the crossroads of engineering and technology. The book demonstrates the skills necessary to effectively grapple with ethical issues that arise from the practice of engineering. The authors introduce the “ethical cycle,” a unique and systematic approach to dealing with ethical problems. They utilize numerous real-life case studies from the United States, Europe, and elsewhere to shed important light on the ethical issues that arise in the daily work of practicing engineers. They also provide a comprehensive overview of various ethical frameworks used in engineering, including utilitarianism, deontological ethics, virtue ethics, Ubuntu, and Confucianism. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to a practice-oriented approach to ethical decision-making in engineering Comprehensive explorations of the “ethical cycle,” an approach that encourages students to consider a diversity of ethical viewpoints and come to reasoned and justified judgments Practical discussions of ethical issues in engineering design, technological risks, and moral responsibility Treatments of sustainability and how it affects professionals working in engineering, as well as responsible innovation Perfect for engineers, technologists, and entrepreneurs, Ethics, Technology, and Engineering: An Introduction will also benefit businesspeople and founders interested in the ethical implications of a variety of fascinating new technologies.

Our social, educational, professional, and political ethics play a significant role in every aspect of our life. As technology continues to influence our society, these principles needs to be valued. Moral, Ethical, and Social Dilemmas in the Age of Technology: Theories and Practice highlights the innovations and developments in the ethical features of technology in society. This comprehensive collection brings together research in the areas of computer, engineering, and biotechnical ethics. These theoretical studies and innovative methodologies are essential for researchers, practitioners and philosophers.

This thoroughly revised and expanded fourth edition of the successful Ethical and Social Issues in the Information Age provides an up-to-date examination of the ethical, social, and policy challenges stemming from the emergence of cyberspace, the convergence of telecommunication and computing technologies, and the miniaturization of computing, telecommunication, and information-enabling devices. This accessible textbook/reference broadly surveys thought-provoking questions about the impact of these new technologies, with particular emphasis on the rapid growth of a multitude of computer networks, including the Internet. It assumes only a very modest familiarity with basic computer literacy. Students at all levels who need to learn about computer ethics, the legal aspects of computing, network security, computer crime investigation, and biometrics will find this well-documented work an invaluable resource. The book is also highly useful for practitioners needing such insights for their work.