- Oct 2022
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uwmil.instructure.com uwmil.instructure.com
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Brey's concerns regarding the gap between the ethics associated with the uses of cyber technologies verses the ethics associated with the development of cyber technologies is warranted. Cyber technology development is a unique field, as highlighted by the section regarding smart computers and AI, thus new ethical codes must be enacted to help guide individuals who take part in the creation and proliferation of cyber technologies.
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Huff and Finholt bring up interesting points relating to the intersections sociological ethics and cyberethics. Because cyber technologies intersect so many other aspects of our society it is important to study cyberethics in relation to other areas of ethics to get a bigger picture of what policies are needed.
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Regarding the categorization of a blog in the Washintonienne scenario, as the internet and its features have expanded the ability to compare things online to things predating the internet has become more and more difficult. Finding anologs during the early days of the internet may have been possible but today most of what exists online is new and thus new policies must also exist.
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Gotterbarn suggests that cyber ethics is not necessary because other innovations such as the printer press, automobiles, and airplanes were not given separate branches of ethics. But what evidence is there to show that creating new branches of ethics for each of these fields would not have been positive? He also argues that professional ethics is the most relevant field however this branch of ethics would only analyze ethics from the perspective of the creator and not the user.
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The Napster case highlights an important issue that arose with the spread of the internet. Protecting the rights of creators helps to incentivise more individuals to create and sell goods and services on the internet however doing so could hurt the overall happiness of society (a fundamental concept in utilitarianism).
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Moor's reasoning regarding the malleability of computers and the complexity of computer related issues shows why there is a need for a separate branch of ethics dealing directly with cybertechnologies. The many policy vacuums that were created during the spread of the internet show that our existing code of ethics is not extensive enough to govern all cybertechnologies.
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Although piracy has always existed, the internet has given a new definition to the term. The ease in which individuals can download or share pirated materials online makes the issue very different from earlier forms of piracy. Certain individuals would not even be familiar with the concept of piracy if it weren't for the prevalence of pirated material all over the internet.
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The ethical issue relating to choosing whether or not to work for a certain company has always existed. However, since the proliferation of the internet and computer technologies these decisions have added layers of complexity. The interconnectedness of certain technologies means that someone could be working on a project with implications they are not fully aware of. These new issues require the need for new laws regarding the transparency of software use, data, and all other internet features.
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In the case of cyber bullying, not only can one bully target many people but many bullies can also converge on one individual.
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Phase 4 or the current state of computer technology development has many unique issues. Because of the proliferation of computers and internet devices our definitions of the internet and computers have already become dated. Many new benefits of computing have been introduced such as biotechnology and nanocomputing. Balancing the benefits of these new fields while also being cautious of the new pitfalls is an important aspect of cyberethics. The utilitarian belief would suggest that the potential positive our society could achieve through these new technologies far outweigh the potential negatives and thus these advancements are ethical.
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Phase 3 brought about many of the issues that still exists in cyberethics. Ethical issues such as those present within deontology relating to duty of governing bodies began to surface. Because the internet was universal, policies needed to also be universal.
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Phase 2 of computing technology development introduced new concerns such as hacking and piracy. Also during this time individuals began to become more vary of government agencies using computers to store and share large amounts of user data.
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Even during Phase 1 of computing technology developments, individuals were already concerned about the possible downsides of creating a "smart" machine. Many of these same concerns exists today regarding AI. While computers contribute greatly to human productivity they can also be used to cause harm. Balancing these positives and negatives while also considering any potential harm down the line is why cyber ethics is such an important field of study.
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Defining cyber ethics is an important step in educating the public. Because all other forms of computer related ethics relate to specific features of the internet and computing, these definitions would not suffice when creating a field to encompass all these topics.
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While computer ethics may only apply to individuals who use computing devices professionally, cyber ethics is a field of study that effects all members of society.
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Because the United States Defense Department has defined WANs and LANs differently than the Internet, do different laws apply to them?
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Jessica Cutlers situation is unique in that it addresses the duties certain internet users inherit. Because of the real world position Jessica Cutler was in, the contents of her digital diary could be incredibly damaging. Her diary could be used for espionage, blackmail and many other types of attacks. Jessica could argue that her diary contents were not legitimate or that she should have the ability to post whatever she chooses like many other internet users.
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Ownership of a Twitter account, or any other social media account, is another issue that our current laws do not address. While Kravitz may argue that because he created and operated the Twitter account he is the owner, PhoneDog could argue that the customer list was their property. Laws regarding social media ownership must be balance the power dynamic between individual users and large corporations in a way that allows the internet to be fair for all users.
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The anonymity Lori Drew was provided by the internet and social media is a gap in our current policies. Authenticating social media users could help combat cyber bullying but at the cost of decreasing online privacy.
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