Morality And Ethics And Computers :: essays research papers fc

Morality and Ethics and Computers     There are many a(prenominal) an(prenominal) different sides to the discussion on moral and ethicaluses of calculating machines. In many situations, the morality of a particular use of acomputer is up to the individual to decide. For this reason, absolute laws rough ethical computer usage is almost, entirely not entirely, impossible to define.     The introduction of computers into the lopplace has introduced manyquestions as wholesome Should employers make sure the workplace is designed tominimize health risks such(prenominal) as back strain and carpal tunnel syndrome for peoplewho work with computers? Can employers prohibit employees from sending personalmemos by electronic get off to a friend at the other side of the office? Shouldemployers superintend employees work on computers? If so, should employees bewarned beforehand? If warned, does that make the practice O.K.? According toKenneth Goodm an, director of the Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy at theUniversity of Miami, who teaches courses in computer ethics, "Theres hardly abusiness thats not using computers."1 This makes these questions any the moreimportant for todays society to answer.     There are also many moral and ethical problems dealing with the use ofcomputers in the medical field. In one particular case, a technician trustedwhat he thought a computer was telling him, and administered a deadly dose ofradiation to a hospital patient.2 In cases like these, it is difficult to decidewhos fault it is. It could eat up been the computer programmers fault, butGoodman asks, "How much responsibility can you place on a machine?"3Many problems also occur when computers are used in education. Shouldcomputers replace actual teachers in the classroom? In some schools, computersand computer manuals have already started to replace teachers. I would ingestthis an unethical use of compu ters because computers do not have the ability to speculate and interact on an interpersonal basis.     Computers "dehumanize human activity"4 by taking away many jobs andmaking many others " ho-hum exercises in pushing the buttons that make thetechnology work." 5     Complete concealment is almost impossible in this computer age. By using acredit card or check cashing card, entering a raffle, or subscribing to amagazine, people provide information about themselves that can be sold tomarketers and distributed to data bases throughout the world. When people usethe world-wide web, the sites they visit and transfer things from, make a recordthat can be traced back to the person.6 This is not protected, as it is whenbooks are checked out of a library. Therefore, information about someonespersonal preferences and interests can be sold to anyone.