COMPUTER ETHICS

Pre Midterm
 Professional Code of Ethics
• It is a set of guidelines which are designed to set
out acceptable behaviour of member of a
particular group, association or profession.
• Most codes of ethics created by professional
organizations have two main parts:
Outlines what the organizations aspires to become
Typically lists rules and principles by which members
of the organization are expected to abide
*Many codes also include a commitment to continuing
education for those who practice the profession.
 Professional Code of Ethics
Laws do not provide a complete guide to ethical
behaviour.
 An activity is not defined as illegal does not mean it
is ethical.
You also cannot expect a professional code of
ethics to provide an answers to every ethical
dilemma.
 No code can be definitive collection of behavioural
standards.
 Benefits of Code of Professional Ethics for
Individual, the profession and society as a whole
1. Ethical Decision Making: adherence to
professional code of ethics means that
practitioners use a common set of core values and
beliefs as a guideline for ethical decision making.

2. High Standards of Practice and Ethical Behaviour:

adherence to a code of ethics reminds
professionals of the responsibilities and duties that
they may be tempted to compromise to meet the
pressures of day-to-day business.
 Benefits of Code of Professional Ethics for
Individual, the profession and society as a whole
3. Trust and Respect from the General Public: Public
trust is built on the expectation that a professional
will behave ethically. Adherence to a code of ethics
enhances trust and respect for professionals and
their profession.

3. Evaluation Benchmark: a code of ethics provides

an evaluation benchmark that a professional can
use as a means of self-assessment. Peers of the
professional can also use the code for recognition
or censure.
 Code of Ethics for Filipino IT
Professionals
1. I will promote public, knowledge, understanding, and
appreciation of information technology;
2. I will consider the general welfare and public good in
performance of my work;
3. I will advertise goods and professional services in a clear
and truthful manner;
4. I will comply and strictly abide by the intellectual property
laws, patent laws and other related laws in respect of
information technology;
5. I will accept full responsibility for the work undertaken and
will utilize my skills with competence and professionalism;
 Code of Ethics for Filipino IT
Professionals
6. I will make truthful statements on my areas of competence as
well as the capabilities and qualities of my product or services;
7. I will not disclose or use any confidential information obtained
in the course of professional duties without the consent of the
parties concerned, except when required by law;
8. I will strive to attain the highest quality in both the products
and services that I offer;
9. I will not knowingly participate in the development of
information technology system that will promote the
commission of fraud and other unlawful acts;
10. I will uphold and improve the IT professional standards
through continuing professional development in order to
enhance the IT profession.
 Code of Ethics of Association of Information
Technology Professionals (AITP)
• I acknowledge:
• That I have an obligation to management, therefore, I shall promote
the understanding of information processing methods and
procedures to management using every resource at my command.
• That I have an obligation to my fellow members, therefore, I shall
uphold the high ideals of AITP as outlined in the Association Bylaws.
Further, I shall cooperate with my fellow members and shall treat
them with honesty and respect at all times.
• That I have an obligation to society and will participate to the best
of my ability in the dissemination of knowledge pertaining to the
general development and understanding of information processing.
Further, I shall not use knowledge of a confidential nature to further
my personal interest, nor shall I violate the privacy and
confidentiality of information entrusted to me or to which I may
gain access.
 Code of Ethics of Association of Information
Technology Professionals (AITP)
• That I have an obligation to my College or University,
therefore, I shall uphold its ethical and moral principles.
• That I have an obligation to my employer whose trust I
hold, therefore, I shall endeavor to discharge this obligation
to the best of my ability, to guard my employer's interests,
and to advise him or her wisely and honestly.
• That I have an obligation to my country, therefore, in my
personal, business, and social contacts, I shall uphold my
nation and shall honor the chosen way of life of my fellow
citizens.
• I accept these obligations as a personal responsibility and
as a member of this Association. I shall actively discharge
these obligations and I dedicate myself to that end.
 Some Strengths and Weaknesses of
Professional Codes
Strengths Weaknesses
Codes inspire the members of a profession to Directives included in many codes tend to be
behave ethically. too general and too vague.

Codes guide the members of a profession in Codes are not always helpful when two or more
ethical choices. directives conflict.

Codes educate the members of a profession A professional code’s directives are never
about their professional obligations. complete or exhaustive.

Codes discipline members when they violate Codes are ineffective (have no “teeth”) in
one or more of the code’s directives. disciplinary matters.

Codes “sensitize” members of a profession to Codes do not help us distinguish between

ethical issues and alert them to ethical aspects micro-ethics issues and macro-ethics issues.
they otherwise might overlook.
Codes inform the public about the nature and Directives in codes are sometimes inconsistent
roles of the profession. with one another.

Codes enhance the profession in the eyes of the Codes can be self-serving for the profession.
public.
 The Ten Commandments
By: Computer Ethics Institute
1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's computer files.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you
have not paid.
7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without
authorization or proper compensation.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program
you are writing or the system you are designing.
10.Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure
consideration and respect for your fellow humans.
 What is Computer Ethics?
• It is a new branch of ethics that is growing and
changing rapidly as computer technology also grows
and develops.
• Computer Ethics in the broadest sense can be
understood as that branch of applied ethics which
studies and analyzes such social and ethical impacts
of information technology.
• In the age of the WWW, computer ethics is quickly
being transformed into “global information ethics”.
• Computer ethics deals with practical problems and
focuses on the nature of moral action and
responsibility.
 According to Moor, computer revolution
will occur in two stages
1. “Technological introduction”, in which computer
technology is developed and refined.
 Already occurred during the first 40years after
the Second World War.
2. “Technological permeation”, one that the
industrialized world has only recently entered
 In which technology gets integrated into
everyday human activities and into social
institutions, changing the very meaning of
fundamental concepts, such as money,
education, work, and fair elections.
Three properties that make computers a special case:

Computers Special
Case

Logical Invisibility Impact on

Malleability Factor Society

Invisible Invisible Invisible Complex

Abuse Programming calculation

Figure 1. Moor makes the case that characteristics of computer-based technologies

are such that they raise ethical issues that are somewhat unique. Others suggested
that computer no different from any other branch of professional ethics.
 Logical Malleability
• Computers can be shaped and molded to do any activity that
can be characterized in terms of inputs, outputs and connecting
logical operations. This is in contrast to the majority of
manufactured products. Ex. Car, Television or Refrigerator has
well-defined and quite specific functions.
• The logic of computers, however, can be shaped in infinite ways
through changes in hardware and software and in terms of their
usage. This enables computer-based technologies to exhibit
tremendous flexibility.
Just as the power steam engine was the raw resource of the Industrial
Revolution so the logic of a computer is a raw of Information Revolution.
Because the logic applies everywhere, the potential applications of computer
technology appear limitless. The computer is the nearest thing we have to a
universal tool. Indeed, the limits of computers are largely the limits of our own
creativity.
 Impact on Society
• The extensive impact of computerization on society is
clear.
• Naturally, in 1985, when Moor wrote his paper, relatively
few could foresee the extent of that impact, nor did
anyone envisage the Internet and the World Wide Web.
• Moor did, however, foresee the changing workplace, and
the nature of work:
Computers have been used for years by business to expedite routine
work, such as calculating payrolls. However, as personal computers
become widespread and allow executives to work at home, as robots do
more and more factory work, the emerging question will not be merely
How well do computers help us work? But What is the nature of this
work?
 Invisibility Factor
• An important fact about computers is that
most of the time, and under most conditions,
computer operations are invisible.
• Moor identifies three kinds of invisibility that
can have ethical significance.
1. Invisible abuse
2. Invisible programming
3. Invisible complex calculation
 Invisible abuse
• Moor describes this as: “the intentional use of
the invisible operations of a computer to
engage in unethical conduct”. He cites an
example:
The programmer who realized he could steal excess interest
from a bank. When interest on a bank account calculated, there is
often a fraction of a cent left over after rounding off. This
programmer instructed a computer to deposit these fractions of a
cent to his own account.

The invasion of the property and privacy of others,

computers can be programmed to surreptitiously remove or alter
confidential information.
 Invisible programming values
• These are values which, according to Moor,
are embedded into a computer program:

A programmer makes some value

judgements about what is important and what is
not. These values become embedded in the final
product and may be invisible to someone who runs
the program.
 Invisible complex calculation
• In this context, Moor writes:
Computer today are capable of enormous calculations
beyond human comprehension. Even if a program is understood, it
does not follow that the respective calculations are understood.
Computers today perform… calculations which are too complex for
human inspection and understanding.

• He argues that the issue is how much we

should trust computer’s invisible calculation.
This becomes a significant issue as the
consequences grow in importance.
 Three Levels of Computer Ethics
• Computer ethics questions can be raised and
studied at various levels.
• Each level is vital to the overall goal of
protecting and advancing human values.
1. “pop” computer ethics
2. “para” computer ethics
3. “theoritical” computer ethics
“pop” computer ethics