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D333 Study Guide
Ctrl + click HERE for Supplemental Resources
(If the links are not working, all the videos and quiz resources can be found under
“course search” on your course page.)
Section 1
This section overviews the course layout.
Section 2
In this section, three competencies are covered across four modules. This
section of the course contains Modules 1, 2, and 3, as follows:
● Module 1: An Overview of Ethics
● Module 2: Introduction to Ethical Frameworks
● Module 3: Professional Ethics
● Module 3: Cyberattacks and Cybersecurity
Module 1 An Overview of Ethics
From Computing and Technology Ethics: Engaging Through
Science Fiction, Chapter 1
Define the following terms:
- Normative statement: assessment of how things should be rather than how they
are. for example, “he was wrong to do that” or “being kind is more important than being
the most successful.”
- Descriptive statement: furnishing you, the decision maker, with a critical framework
that enables you to understand what is happening in a given situation and what is at
stake in any action you might take.
- Ethical framework: frameworks that include important features of some ethical
theories.
Why is fostering good business ethics (also known as Corporate Social
Responsibility or CSR) important?
CSR practices help companies mitigate risk by avoiding troubling situations. This
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includes preventing adverse activities such as discrimination against employee groups,
disregard for natural resources, unethical use of company funds, and activity that leads
to lawsuits, and litigation
What are three basic/perennial problems in ethics discussed in the chapter?
Limited Resources
Competing kind of goods
Different ideas about what is good
What trends have increased the risk that information technology will be used in an
unethical manner?
When the ancient Greeks argued over the ideal values to instill in their children and
which methods of education that would be most effective, they were grappling with
many of the same issues that roboticists and programmers grapple with today when
they contemplate the value and risks of artificial intelligence (AI). When educators and
scholars in fifteenth-century Europe debated how the printing press might democratize
(or destroy) established bodies of knowledge, they were struggling with many of the
same issues that, in contemporary times, plague social media platforms like Facebook
and Twitter (Greenfield 2017).
What is the "invisibility factor" of computing technologies, as described by James
Moor? List the three issues stemming from this factor.
One of the features of computing technologies that Moor argued makes them unique is
what he called the “invisibility factor.” Think for instance of the numerous computer
chips and programs running silently in your car or on your smartphone.
Invisible Abuse
Invisible Programming Values
Invisible Complex Calculations
Why does the chapter argue that computing professionals have a particular
responsibility to consider ethical issues?
As a professional who works with the design, implementation, and deployment of
computing technologies, you will be able to do far more good in the world if you take
the time to understand what other people value and why, instead of trying to make
them conform to your own assumptions about what they should need or want. Although
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programs can specify value in a single variable, human values are complex. Although
human desires and values can be influenced, they are deeply embedded, and humans
often make decisions on the basis of deeply held values without analyzing those values
or even being aware of their role in the decision.
Define “Moral imagination”
By watching a story’s characters make decisions (and, in many cases, mistakes), we
can gain perspective on how we might react in a similar situation, and why. Stories can
also help us understand how a particular person might have interests, concerns, or
vulnerabilities that we might not share and that are affected by the story’s situation in
ways that we otherwise might not have noticed. This combination of qualities also helps
an engaged reader develop the moral imagination that is a key component of
successful ethics education (Callahan 1980).
What does the chapter say about the role of professional societies in articulating ethical
norms for a field?
But as a practicing professional, you may face situations in which you do not have the
luxury of deferring your judgment. In some cases, there are applicable principles that
have been agreed upon by much of the profession or by a governing authority, even
though you may personally disagree. In addition to the ethical norms of society at large,
it is important to be familiar with the ethical norms of your field.
What is the Hippocratic Oath, and how does it serve as an example of a professional
code of ethics?
One of the roles of professional societies in any field is to articulate a code of ethics for
practitioners in that field as well as to articulate the collective wisdom of the people who
work in that field (Johnson 1998). Perhaps the most famous example of such a code is
the Hippocratic Oath, which requires medical professionals to “use treatment to help
the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and
wrong-doing” (American Medical Association, n.d.). These codes can provide guidance
when the most accepted way to proceed needs to be stated unequivocally, or
sometimes because the way forward is unclear.
Module 2 Introduction to Ethical Frameworks
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From Computing and Technology Ethics: Engaging Through
Science Fiction, Chapter 2
Define the following terms:
- Habitus: virtue ethics focuses on the whole person: the qualities of character
that they have and the patterns of living that issue from and reveal those
qualities. That pattern of being is called a habitus
- Practical wisdom: practical wisdom, or the ability to judge what the best
action would be in any given situation.
- Heuristics of fear: “heuristics of fear,” a strategy of thought that might be
described as a more pessimistic form of utilitarianism. The heuristics of fear
requires that, when confronted with a choice, we assume that the worst of all
possible future scenarios is what will come about as a result of whatever it is we
do.
Briefly describe the core focus of each of the four ethical frameworks:
Framework Description
Deontology The word “deontology” comes from the Greek word
deon, meaning duty, obligation, or “that which is
binding,” and -ology, indicating a particular branch of
knowledge.
deontology emphasizes the rightness or wrongness of
an action by reference to certain action-guiding
principles. Depending on the context, these principles
can be described as laws, rules, maxims, imperatives,
or commands.
A law, rule or duty will matter only if it is rooted in an
authority that is recognized as legitimate.
Political Authority: Most political systems and leaders
claim to operate from a position of legitimate
authority, serving the interests of the people, even if in
practice they operate from a position of power.
Divine Authority (god): authority from God or gods. If
a set of laws is understood to have been given or
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D333 Study Guide
Ctrl + click HERE for Supplemental Resources
(If the links are not working, all the videos and quiz resources can be found under
“course search” on your course page.)
Section 1
This section overviews the course layout.
Section 2
In this section, three competencies are covered across four modules. This
section of the course contains Modules 1, 2, and 3, as follows:
● Module 1: An Overview of Ethics
● Module 2: Introduction to Ethical Frameworks
● Module 3: Professional Ethics
● Module 3: Cyberattacks and Cybersecurity
Module 1 An Overview of Ethics
From Computing and Technology Ethics: Engaging Through
Science Fiction, Chapter 1
Define the following terms:
- Normative statement: assessment of how things should be rather than how they
are. for example, “he was wrong to do that” or “being kind is more important than being
the most successful.”
- Descriptive statement: furnishing you, the decision maker, with a critical framework
that enables you to understand what is happening in a given situation and what is at
stake in any action you might take.
- Ethical framework: frameworks that include important features of some ethical
theories.
Why is fostering good business ethics (also known as Corporate Social
Responsibility or CSR) important?
CSR practices help companies mitigate risk by avoiding troubling situations. This
Downloaded by damaris mutuli ()
, lOMoARcPSD|46240884
includes preventing adverse activities such as discrimination against employee groups,
disregard for natural resources, unethical use of company funds, and activity that leads
to lawsuits, and litigation
What are three basic/perennial problems in ethics discussed in the chapter?
Limited Resources
Competing kind of goods
Different ideas about what is good
What trends have increased the risk that information technology will be used in an
unethical manner?
When the ancient Greeks argued over the ideal values to instill in their children and
which methods of education that would be most effective, they were grappling with
many of the same issues that roboticists and programmers grapple with today when
they contemplate the value and risks of artificial intelligence (AI). When educators and
scholars in fifteenth-century Europe debated how the printing press might democratize
(or destroy) established bodies of knowledge, they were struggling with many of the
same issues that, in contemporary times, plague social media platforms like Facebook
and Twitter (Greenfield 2017).
What is the "invisibility factor" of computing technologies, as described by James
Moor? List the three issues stemming from this factor.
One of the features of computing technologies that Moor argued makes them unique is
what he called the “invisibility factor.” Think for instance of the numerous computer
chips and programs running silently in your car or on your smartphone.
Invisible Abuse
Invisible Programming Values
Invisible Complex Calculations
Why does the chapter argue that computing professionals have a particular
responsibility to consider ethical issues?
As a professional who works with the design, implementation, and deployment of
computing technologies, you will be able to do far more good in the world if you take
the time to understand what other people value and why, instead of trying to make
them conform to your own assumptions about what they should need or want. Although
Downloaded by damaris mutuli ()
, lOMoARcPSD|46240884
programs can specify value in a single variable, human values are complex. Although
human desires and values can be influenced, they are deeply embedded, and humans
often make decisions on the basis of deeply held values without analyzing those values
or even being aware of their role in the decision.
Define “Moral imagination”
By watching a story’s characters make decisions (and, in many cases, mistakes), we
can gain perspective on how we might react in a similar situation, and why. Stories can
also help us understand how a particular person might have interests, concerns, or
vulnerabilities that we might not share and that are affected by the story’s situation in
ways that we otherwise might not have noticed. This combination of qualities also helps
an engaged reader develop the moral imagination that is a key component of
successful ethics education (Callahan 1980).
What does the chapter say about the role of professional societies in articulating ethical
norms for a field?
But as a practicing professional, you may face situations in which you do not have the
luxury of deferring your judgment. In some cases, there are applicable principles that
have been agreed upon by much of the profession or by a governing authority, even
though you may personally disagree. In addition to the ethical norms of society at large,
it is important to be familiar with the ethical norms of your field.
What is the Hippocratic Oath, and how does it serve as an example of a professional
code of ethics?
One of the roles of professional societies in any field is to articulate a code of ethics for
practitioners in that field as well as to articulate the collective wisdom of the people who
work in that field (Johnson 1998). Perhaps the most famous example of such a code is
the Hippocratic Oath, which requires medical professionals to “use treatment to help
the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and
wrong-doing” (American Medical Association, n.d.). These codes can provide guidance
when the most accepted way to proceed needs to be stated unequivocally, or
sometimes because the way forward is unclear.
Module 2 Introduction to Ethical Frameworks
Downloaded by damaris mutuli ()
, lOMoARcPSD|46240884
From Computing and Technology Ethics: Engaging Through
Science Fiction, Chapter 2
Define the following terms:
- Habitus: virtue ethics focuses on the whole person: the qualities of character
that they have and the patterns of living that issue from and reveal those
qualities. That pattern of being is called a habitus
- Practical wisdom: practical wisdom, or the ability to judge what the best
action would be in any given situation.
- Heuristics of fear: “heuristics of fear,” a strategy of thought that might be
described as a more pessimistic form of utilitarianism. The heuristics of fear
requires that, when confronted with a choice, we assume that the worst of all
possible future scenarios is what will come about as a result of whatever it is we
do.
Briefly describe the core focus of each of the four ethical frameworks:
Framework Description
Deontology The word “deontology” comes from the Greek word
deon, meaning duty, obligation, or “that which is
binding,” and -ology, indicating a particular branch of
knowledge.
deontology emphasizes the rightness or wrongness of
an action by reference to certain action-guiding
principles. Depending on the context, these principles
can be described as laws, rules, maxims, imperatives,
or commands.
A law, rule or duty will matter only if it is rooted in an
authority that is recognized as legitimate.
Political Authority: Most political systems and leaders
claim to operate from a position of legitimate
authority, serving the interests of the people, even if in
practice they operate from a position of power.
Divine Authority (god): authority from God or gods. If
a set of laws is understood to have been given or
Downloaded by damaris mutuli ()
