Western Governors University | D333 Ethics in Technology
WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective
Assessment Comprehensive Examination
2026/2027 | Verified Questions
Western Governors University | D333 Ethics in Technology | University-Level Information Technology
Students
100 Verified Questions | 4 Core Domains | Academic Year 2026/2027
Prepared by
Western Governors University | D333 Ethics in Technology
Objective Assessment Comprehensive Examination Actual Exam | Academic Year
2026/2027
WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective Assessment Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
,INTRODUCTION
This comprehensive examination contains 100 original verified questions designed for university-level
information technology students preparing for the WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective
Assessment. The questions are distributed equally across four core domains: Ethical Theories and
Frameworks (25 questions), Privacy, Security, and Data Ethics (25 questions), Artificial Intelligence and
Emerging Technologies (25 questions), and Professional Responsibility and Corporate Ethics (25
questions). Content is original and structured to reinforce official Western Governors University D333
course objectives for actual exam readiness and professional proficiency, aligned to the 2026/2027
academic year. Each question includes a correct answer and a rationale grounded in ethical theory, data-
protection principles, and professional codes of conduct.
ACTUAL QUESTIONS
Domain 1: Ethical Theories and Frameworks
Question 1. Utilitarianism evaluates the morality of an action primarily by examining:
A. Whether the action conforms to a universal duty
B. The character of the person performing the action
C. The consequences of the action for overall happiness or welfare
D. Whether the action respects individual rights regardless of outcome
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Utilitarianism, associated with Bentham and Mill, judges actions by their tendency to
produce the greatest net happiness or utility for the greatest number.
Question 2. Deontological ethics, as developed by Immanuel Kant, emphasizes:
A. Maximizing overall pleasure
B. Acting according to moral duties and universalizable maxims, independent of consequences
C. Cultivating virtuous character traits only
D. Following the customs of one’s culture
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Kantian deontology holds that the moral worth of an action lies in its conformity to duty
derived from pure reason, not in its outcomes.
Question 3. Virtue ethics focuses primarily on:
A. Calculating net social benefit
B. The moral character and virtues of the agent rather than isolated acts or rules
C. Strict adherence to legal codes
D. Minimizing harm to the least advantaged
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Virtue ethics, rooted in Aristotle, asks what kind of person one should become and which
character traits (virtues) constitute a good life.
Question 4. The principle of autonomy in ethical decision-making requires that:
A. All decisions be made by a central authority
B. Individuals be treated as capable of self-determination and their informed choices be respected
C. Consequences always outweigh personal choice
D. Privacy be sacrificed for security
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Autonomy affirms the capacity of rational agents to make their own decisions and obligates
others to respect those decisions when informed and voluntary.
WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective Assessment Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
, Question 5. A key criticism of pure act-utilitarianism is that it may:
A. Always protect minority rights
B. Justify harming a few individuals if doing so produces greater aggregate utility
C. Require rigid adherence to rules regardless of outcomes
D. Ignore consequences entirely
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Act-utilitarianism can, in principle, sanction sacrificing the interests of a minority when the
overall balance of happiness is increased.
Question 6. Rule-utilitarianism differs from act-utilitarianism by:
A. Evaluating each individual act solely by its immediate consequences
B. Evaluating the consequences of adopting a general rule that everyone would follow
C. Rejecting all consideration of consequences
D. Focusing only on the agent’s intentions
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Rule-utilitarianism asks which rules, if generally followed, would produce the best overall
consequences, rather than calculating utility for each separate act.
Question 7. The concept of “rights” in ethical theory typically implies that:
A. Rights are merely social conventions with no moral force
B. Individuals possess claims that others have a duty to respect, even when doing so reduces overall
utility
C. Rights exist only when granted by positive law
D. Rights are identical to personal preferences
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Moral rights create corresponding duties; they constrain the pursuit of aggregate welfare
when that pursuit would violate the right-holder’s claim.
Question 8. Cultural relativism holds that:
A. There are universal moral truths independent of culture
B. Moral judgments are true or false only relative to the standards of a particular culture
C. All cultures share identical ethical codes
D. Ethics is determined solely by individual preference
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Cultural relativism denies trans-cultural moral standards and treats each culture’s norms as
authoritative within that culture.
Question 9. The “harm principle,” associated with John Stuart Mill, asserts that:
A. Any action that offends others may be prohibited
B. The only legitimate reason to restrict individual liberty is to prevent harm to others
C. The state may enforce morality for its own sake
D. Self-regarding actions are never protected
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Mill’s harm principle limits the coercion of the state or society to cases where an individual’s
conduct harms other persons.
Question 10. In ethical analysis of technology, a stakeholder is:
A. Only the shareholders of a corporation
B. Any individual or group that can affect or is affected by a decision or system
C. Only government regulators
WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective Assessment Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective
Assessment Comprehensive Examination
2026/2027 | Verified Questions
Western Governors University | D333 Ethics in Technology | University-Level Information Technology
Students
100 Verified Questions | 4 Core Domains | Academic Year 2026/2027
Prepared by
Western Governors University | D333 Ethics in Technology
Objective Assessment Comprehensive Examination Actual Exam | Academic Year
2026/2027
WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective Assessment Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
,INTRODUCTION
This comprehensive examination contains 100 original verified questions designed for university-level
information technology students preparing for the WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective
Assessment. The questions are distributed equally across four core domains: Ethical Theories and
Frameworks (25 questions), Privacy, Security, and Data Ethics (25 questions), Artificial Intelligence and
Emerging Technologies (25 questions), and Professional Responsibility and Corporate Ethics (25
questions). Content is original and structured to reinforce official Western Governors University D333
course objectives for actual exam readiness and professional proficiency, aligned to the 2026/2027
academic year. Each question includes a correct answer and a rationale grounded in ethical theory, data-
protection principles, and professional codes of conduct.
ACTUAL QUESTIONS
Domain 1: Ethical Theories and Frameworks
Question 1. Utilitarianism evaluates the morality of an action primarily by examining:
A. Whether the action conforms to a universal duty
B. The character of the person performing the action
C. The consequences of the action for overall happiness or welfare
D. Whether the action respects individual rights regardless of outcome
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Utilitarianism, associated with Bentham and Mill, judges actions by their tendency to
produce the greatest net happiness or utility for the greatest number.
Question 2. Deontological ethics, as developed by Immanuel Kant, emphasizes:
A. Maximizing overall pleasure
B. Acting according to moral duties and universalizable maxims, independent of consequences
C. Cultivating virtuous character traits only
D. Following the customs of one’s culture
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Kantian deontology holds that the moral worth of an action lies in its conformity to duty
derived from pure reason, not in its outcomes.
Question 3. Virtue ethics focuses primarily on:
A. Calculating net social benefit
B. The moral character and virtues of the agent rather than isolated acts or rules
C. Strict adherence to legal codes
D. Minimizing harm to the least advantaged
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Virtue ethics, rooted in Aristotle, asks what kind of person one should become and which
character traits (virtues) constitute a good life.
Question 4. The principle of autonomy in ethical decision-making requires that:
A. All decisions be made by a central authority
B. Individuals be treated as capable of self-determination and their informed choices be respected
C. Consequences always outweigh personal choice
D. Privacy be sacrificed for security
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Autonomy affirms the capacity of rational agents to make their own decisions and obligates
others to respect those decisions when informed and voluntary.
WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective Assessment Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
, Question 5. A key criticism of pure act-utilitarianism is that it may:
A. Always protect minority rights
B. Justify harming a few individuals if doing so produces greater aggregate utility
C. Require rigid adherence to rules regardless of outcomes
D. Ignore consequences entirely
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Act-utilitarianism can, in principle, sanction sacrificing the interests of a minority when the
overall balance of happiness is increased.
Question 6. Rule-utilitarianism differs from act-utilitarianism by:
A. Evaluating each individual act solely by its immediate consequences
B. Evaluating the consequences of adopting a general rule that everyone would follow
C. Rejecting all consideration of consequences
D. Focusing only on the agent’s intentions
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Rule-utilitarianism asks which rules, if generally followed, would produce the best overall
consequences, rather than calculating utility for each separate act.
Question 7. The concept of “rights” in ethical theory typically implies that:
A. Rights are merely social conventions with no moral force
B. Individuals possess claims that others have a duty to respect, even when doing so reduces overall
utility
C. Rights exist only when granted by positive law
D. Rights are identical to personal preferences
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Moral rights create corresponding duties; they constrain the pursuit of aggregate welfare
when that pursuit would violate the right-holder’s claim.
Question 8. Cultural relativism holds that:
A. There are universal moral truths independent of culture
B. Moral judgments are true or false only relative to the standards of a particular culture
C. All cultures share identical ethical codes
D. Ethics is determined solely by individual preference
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Cultural relativism denies trans-cultural moral standards and treats each culture’s norms as
authoritative within that culture.
Question 9. The “harm principle,” associated with John Stuart Mill, asserts that:
A. Any action that offends others may be prohibited
B. The only legitimate reason to restrict individual liberty is to prevent harm to others
C. The state may enforce morality for its own sake
D. Self-regarding actions are never protected
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Mill’s harm principle limits the coercion of the state or society to cases where an individual’s
conduct harms other persons.
Question 10. In ethical analysis of technology, a stakeholder is:
A. Only the shareholders of a corporation
B. Any individual or group that can affect or is affected by a decision or system
C. Only government regulators
WGU D333 Ethics in Technology Objective Assessment Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
