- [Craig] When new computer technologies are introduced, a number of issues need to be considered
in addition to the technical feasibility of any solution.
These include ethical, privacy, legal, environmental and cultural issues.
In this video, we take a brief look at ethical issues of computer science.
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Ethics is not so much about whether something is legal or illegal but more about whether something is morally right or wrong.
For example, consider jumping a queue.
It's obviously not illegal but it's also not considered ethical in our society.
The continual development of computing technologies continues to change and shape the world we live in.
It often creates new issues that were not there before.
The law is often slow to catch up and when it does,
there are often still arguments about who has responsibility for data and the use of computer systems.
The internet is a classic example of this.
There can be no doubt that the internet has many benefits, from having the world's largest encyclopedia at your fingertips,
keeping in touch with friends, online shopping and of course, even watching this video to prepare yourself for exams.
However, the internet has also given rise to an increase in piracy, distribution of illegal content, offensive images, fraud, trolling
and other inappropriate actions and behaviour.
This has led some people to think that the internet should be regulated.
People argue that data centres should be responsible for the data held in their servers, even though they didn't upload it.
Some people argue that internet service providers should have a responsibility for content delivered to their customers.
Some people also argue that social network providers should be responsible for the content that's being posted on their sites by others.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the world wide web,
said people who have created various social media networks need to sit back and look at the way they're being built.
False things tend to propagate more than truth, and everyone has a responsibility to address this,
including the major technological companies.
Typical arguments for internet regulation include
the internet should be treated no differently to other media like radio, TV and newspapers.
The internet does have harmful, offensive and illegal content.
Most users do want some kind of regulation to protect children.
And social networks who make huge profits should share a large part of the responsibility for policing content.
People who argue against internet regulation state that freedom of expression is an absolute right.
And the internet is different to other media, everyone can author to it.
The internet is simply too large and grows too quickly and therefore, automatic filtering is not effective and often a waste of money.
Censorship is fundamentally bad for democracy and that parents should be taking responsibility.
There is not necessarily a right or wrong answer here and you will have your own opinions,
and that is typical of ethical issues.
There is no clear answer, there are simply ethical arguments.
For example, should government agencies have access to decryption keys for crime prevention?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee has said moves to undermine encryption would be a bad idea and represent a massive security breach.
In 2016, the then-UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd said there should be no safe space for terrorists to be able to communicate online.
But Sir Tim said giving the authorities a key to unlock coded messages would have series consequences.
He says if you're trying to catch terrorists, it's really tempting to demand to be able to break all the encryption.
but if you break that encryption, then guess what?
So could other people and that may end up with them being better at it than you are.
Some other ethical questions you might want to consider include
is the impact of social media on teenage mental health damaging
to the extent that all people under the age of 18 should be prevented from using it,
and if so, how?
Do computer games have a negative impact on the social behaviour of children?
Is the advancement of computer technology creating a digital divide?
Should DNA sequencing of every person be kept on an international database for crime prevention?
Should employees be expected to carry a mobile phone and be sent emails outside of work time?
And is trolling ever acceptable?
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