The concerns about the inappropriate use of computers have risen rapidly due to job losses which have proven to be detrimental to society. Concerns regarding computer ethics began in the early 1940s with the work of MIT professor N. Wiener and his colleagues as they helped develop an anti-aircraft cannon capable of taking down high-speed warplanes. They proceeded with research such as cybernetics and ICT that made Wiener predict social and ethical issues (Herold 1).
Social and ethical issues such as computer failure disasters, among others, concerning IT were being discussed in the 1980s in both America and Europe, which saw many books published in that decade (Herold 1). Consequently, a historical multidisciplinary conference concerning computer ethics was held by T. Bynum in 1991, thereby attracting scholars, government officials, and business leaders, among other participants. The U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organisations (FSGO) outlined sections and subsections of ethical requirements in the same year responsible for reducing penalties in criminal cases (Herold 2).
There are several topics of concern in computer ethics. First, many people believe that computers pose a threat to jobs in the workplace. However, computers have generated numerous new jobs or altered jobs. Secondly, trusted personnel often commit computer crimes and security threats to embezzle funds from their organizations or companies, hackers, and fraud schemes. Other topics include privacy and anonymity, which involves sharing of personal information, which has led to consideration of the concept of privacy, intellectual property rights which involves software ownership, and finally, professional responsibility and globalization (Herold 3, 4).
Computer fallacies often change as technology advances. They include the computer game, law-abiding citizen, shatterproof which involves inappropriate use of computers such as sending emails to the wrong group of people, the candy-from-a-baby, the free information, and hacker’s fallacies apply to many computer users. In addition, the hacker ethic is mandated to promote the belief in an individual activity and the belief that computers are capable of changing lives and supporting a free-market approach to exchanging and accessing information (Herold 4, 5).
Most organizations have adopted a code of ethics for their members to observe and practice. For instance, the Code of Fair Information and Practices that deals with securing the privacy and rights of citizens, the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and RFC 1087 involve appropriate use of internet resources, Computer Ethics Institute (CEI), National Conference on Computing and Values which provides an ethical foundation and a guide to computer security, the Working Group on Computer Ethics, (ISC)2 Code of Ethics preamble and canons responsible for conflict resolution, and National Computer Ethics and Responsibility Campaign (NCERC) responsible for the provision of resources or learning materials on the internet while fostering ethical computer awareness and education (Herold 6, 7, 8).
In Computer ethics, there are ethical bases responsible for IT decision-making in several organizations. They include equity, Kant’s categorical imperative, Descartes’s Rule of Change, universalism and Risk Aversion Principles, Professionalism, Avoid Harm, and the No Free Lunch Rule, among other ethical bases. (Herold 9, 10). The ethical principles that apply in the workplace include informed consent, that is, pure intentions, higher ethics in the worst case, change of scale test, owner’s conservation and ownership, and finally, users’ conservation of ownership (Herold 11).
Computer crime has become a major issue in the world today. It ranges from viruses to hackers who want to be known as computer Gurus or when they are bored. In addition, computer crime is mostly motivated by greed and desperation by some individuals to obtain goods or money. Some computer crimes include copyright violation, cyberbullying, and terrorism. Therefore, we are all mandated to protect the world from computer crimes by adhering to computer ethics and creating awareness for future generations so that they can become responsible citizens.
Work Cited
Herold, Rebecca. “Introduction to Computer Ethics.” Source: http://www. infosec today. com/Articles/Intro_Computer_Ethics. htm (2015).
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