Being introduced to the world of information ethics has probably been the most eye opening experience that I’ve had in a long time. In reading about ethics and the different theories through the writings of Ess and Tavani it really gives me a clear definition as to how to handle ethical dilemmas. I’m amazed that just by having an ethical debate can really open up critical thought on an issue, as well as change my absolute beliefs into questions.
Weeks two and three have taught me that in taking a “melting pot” approach to the use of different ethical theories is probably the best approach to take in ethical dilemmas. Tavani sums chapter 2 up with Moor’s Just-Consequentialist Framework which includes stages to deliberate on a topic, but then to select the best policy by ranking the ones agreed upon in the deliberation stage. This is the framework that will be used in the analysis of cyber ethics issues further examined by Tavani (p.71).
Week 4 covered copyright issues and intellectual property issues. I enjoyed this week, in that I am a huge music fan and I never get tired of the ongoing debate about downloading music. The discussions that interested me were the ones about illegal downloading. What was cool was that most of the discussions turned into discussions as to how the recording industry works, and in which direction it is going all because of the ability to download and new technology.
To top weeks 1-4 off I watched the videos of Paul Garrin. The first video about Internet Tyranny kind of set the tone as to what Mr. Garrin is talking about. If anyone has followed the debate about network neutrality and has taken a side then these videos are great to watch. The second video about digital fascism blew my mind. The internet is essentially being ruined by the government and corporations and us as citizens are the ones suffering. In watching this I believe people should open their eyes and become more knowledgeable as to what the internet actually is, and what it can do for us. Mr. Garrin makes a great comment at the end of the video. He says, “Forget about your 15 minutes of fame. What about 5 minutes of truth?”(Garrin, 8:15) This is in reference to how we are seduced into thinking that being famous on the internet is more important than grasping onto the power of the internet.
Works Cited:
Tavani, E. T. (2010). Ethics and technology, controversies, questions, and strategies for ethical computing. John Wiley & Sons Inc. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books/feeds/volumes?q=978047050950
Garrin, P. (2008, November 23). Digital Fascism [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/dVxwfFdo81o
No comments:
Post a Comment