Ethics and Technology: This is a bit of a strange one for me! Brief intro, since a lot of you haven't had me in class Office hours, how to find me, etc My background: Not really in ethics I did teach it once before, at Western Washington University Crummy class that time, but I was inexperienced Show of hands: How many of you want to learn about ethics? Be honest! You don't get a better grade either way We have to cover ethics But I do have some secondary goals: Philosophize about the nature of computers, and better understand them Explain some security topics that don't fit anywhere else, like blockchain Give you a chance to practice writing opinions Emphasis of tentative schedule: First time for this class at LCSC Last homework: Essay on what was wrong with the class? I'm certainly considering it! Homework expectations, and writing: I did not major in English My background is not in literature or writing in any way I do practice technical writing as I need to for work I can use a semicolon in writing, not just C-family languages I'm not planning to make detailed grading of grammar part of this class But, your logic should be solid and well-explained That's often the more important part of writing A lot of higly-ranked scientific papers have poor grammer, usually ESL Discussion Boards: They've become a staple of online courses In older days, the teacher would go around calling on people in class And you had to be there, not on Zoom Anyway...we'll try it I reserve the right to move to turned-in essays or some such Justification for inflicting this misery upon you: Some people will actually want to discuss these issues Practice writing an opinion that others will view is important Learning to write in a manner that does not repel others is important Part of disagreeing well So I think we should all practice Justification for not grading online discussions: I think it's more misery than it's worth Homework format and grading: I'll reveal it week-by-week, as I make it up Probably will consist of: 1. Something to read, watch, or listen to 2. Some sort of writing assignment, discussion post, etc. Presentations: If you're online: You can do it on zoom, send a recording, or do it in-person Any of those are fine Live helps fear of public speaking, if you're thus afflicted Recording a video is a valuable skill to learn Midterm and Final Exam Format: I'm debating unifying it so in-person and online are the same It would be an essay, most likely, in that case Let's discuss disagreement for a minute There are a lot of types. I made up this list: Technical: Microkernel vs. Monolithic kernel Stylistic/trivial: Brace placement in C-family languages Worldview: These are the ones that people get mad about Politics, religion, money Friends separate over this kind of thing Of course, ethics tends to fall into this category Humans will kill each other over this Unhealthy ways to disagree (according to me): Unhealthy: Do you disagree with this term? Memes, most of the time Internet rants Yard signs Echo chambers These can provide peace and community Talking about people who aren't present Let's talk about diversity for a minute What's it really mean? Not quite the same as equal opportunity What could be diverse? Morphological characteristics? Place of origin? Educational background? Viewpoints? In many ways, this is hard to accomplish Academia values diversity So we're full of academics who value diversity! Some might say LCSC is not very diverse A very high percentage of us are from around here We've all got time and money to attend college I realized that might mean via financial aid We have financial aid because of where we are But we very likely have highly diverse viewpoints Let's talk a minute about ethics: What authority do they have? Take an example: It's not ethical to murder people for profit Anybody disagree? It's ok...you can disagree! It'll mess up the lecture, but no worries Why do we all agree on this? (assuming we do) Should a person have freedom to act on their disagreement? What right do we have to impose this viewpoint on others? So the force of law may back up ethics I ride a bike, and appreciate traffic laws In the rule of tonnage, I'm certain to lose My brother likes speeding a lot Does being illegal make it unethical? An important question: Is there any other basis behind ethics? Disclosure, and bias, and where I'm coming from: Christian, individualist, academic, libertarian, environmentalist In something like that order So I fit in everywhere and nowhere Not that uncommon really, most of us are that way to some extent What I think about the world affects my opinions Shouldn't it? I promise you don't have to agree with me to get a good grade Or recommendation, or anything else Remember, academics value diversity (do they really?) Christians (should try to) value people and justice So I have opinions that may differ from others on many topics Hardship: Good for growth Fears: To be faced, not avoided Work: To be embraced and accepted Fun: Not a direct goal (life is more fun this way!) Summers... Money: Too many possessions become deadweight Good considering where I work! People: Inherantly valuable and worth investing in That's something I really like about LCSC Alright, so what is ethics, and why should we care? Off to Wikipedia (note about that...) First homework assignment: TV thing? Read the wikipedia article on "Ethics of technology" Write a discussion board post on something from the article (include a reference to what)