Week 1- Ethics and Ethical Issues

“Ethics involves systemising, defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong behaviour” (Fieser, 2009). Ethics can be divided into 3 main areas:

1.       Metaethics: where our ethics come from

2.       Normative ethics: moral standards that regulate right or wrong conduct

3.       Applied ethics: examining specific controversial issues

Although the distinction between each area is vague as, for example the issue of abortion is an applied ethical topic however it is dependent upon general normative ethics. The issue also involves metaethics as we try to determine where rights come from. Ethics are important as they are essential for human life. Ethics guides us through life with direction, by knowing the difference between right and wrong we are able to understand limits and boundaries and achieve goals with great success.

Ethical issues that are associated with technology include:

-          Privacy= the use and misuse of data about individuals, which is stored in computer systems

-          Accuracy= inaccurate data has the potential to ruin people’s lives, whether it be their career or livelihood

-          Property= “electronic information on different media makes property right for information and software a difficult legal and ethical question. Intellectual property law is now a specialty in the legal profession” (Computer related ethical issues, n.d.)

-          Access= the ability for individuals to gain restricted information

An example of an ethical issue is ATM fraud. ATM fraud involves cards being skimmed of money by people who have created devices that can take money straight out of your bank account whilst you enter you details, such as member numbers and pins. This ethical issue raises ideals of privacy invasion, stolen property and access.

References:

·         Fieser, J. (2009). Ethics. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/#SH3b

·         Landauer, J., Rowlands, J. (2001). Ethics. Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Main.html

·         Computer-Related Ethical Issues. (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www.blurtit.com/q248732.html

·         Social and ethical issues in computer science. (n.d.) Retrieved March 2, 2012, from http://www.fixedpoint.org/sarah/seweb.pdf

·         http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p6Ff7DcnBc