ACSJEC@SEMASSU.BITNET (Jim Cusson) (02/23/90)
It seems that everybody responding to this topic is overly concerned with students cheating on programs. While this is definitely an ethical concern, I feel the main point is a bit broader. Where is the student exposed to the effects, or possible effects, his/her software may have? How much thought is given to the idea of 'spitting out missile code', as on professor here puts it? And of course, there's always the effects of VIRUS's, especially on systems that are vital to our well being. What happens if the hospital database gets infected, and the fact that the patient is allergic to penicillin is no longer evident? If that patient gets treated with penicillin it could have disasterous effects. And what about TRW's credit database? What happens to our credit if this 'comprehensive consumer credit' database gets infected and all the data is lost? Or how about the simple question of whether or not I should have access to the data they have on me. Shouldn't I be able to tell them their information is wrong? The system probably isn't even set up for quick and easy modifications. However, maybe these question should be addressed to the ETHICS-L list as suggested by Ken Mueller. But the answers to these question have a significant impact on society, and isn't that what *this* list is about too? It seems to me that the code we generate, or the systems we design once we graduate can have a very large effect on society, and ethical issues raised in this respect should be examined, discussed and students exposed to them. Jim Cusson
gunnar@cs.uit.no (Gunnar Hartvigsen) (10/13/90)
Dear colleagues, As the chairman of the committee for "Ethics in Computer Science" at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Tromsoe, Norway, I would like to receive information concerning ethical rules and statements of ethics (related to the use of computers) at other universities and institutions around the world. Our committee is currently working on ethical guidelines for undergraduate and graduate students' use of the Department's UNIX workstations. In addition, we are in the process of writing a report on ethical issues in computer science. The report discusses: o Ethics (general) o Ethics in computer science o Ethics in - teaching - exercises - international communication o Ethics in system administration o Ethics in research (computer science) The result of this discussion will (hopefully) be o Ethical guidelines for undergraduate and graduate students' use of the Department's computers. (Mainly UNIX workstations) o Reactions to unethical/unacceptable use. I will be grateful to receive information concerning what's going on at other universities/institutions around the world related to these issues. I will post a summary of the received materials. Thanks, Gunnar Hartvigsen E-mail: gunnar@cs.uit.no Department of Computer Science University of Tromsoe Phone: +47 83 44049 N-9000 Tromsoe, NORWAY Telefax: +47 83 44580