Social and Ethical Issues in Computing
Fall 2014
Tuesdays 1:00–1:50 — CENT 1030 § 002
Wednesdays 1:00–1:50 — CENT 1030 § 001
Prof. Patrick Gage Kelley
pgk @ unm.edu@patrickgage
Schedule / all the important details
- Tuesday/Wednesday 19/20 August
Discussion: Introduction and class goals.
Discussion: Note: You are all Philosophers. You are all Computer Scientists.Ferguson is how America deals with race and speech. #Ferguson is how we respond.
Today in class: What Happens to #Ferguson Affects Ferguson
Today in class: Today in class: Today in class: War Gear Flows to Police Departments
Learn more: Are Police Forces Excessively Armed?
Learn more: State of Emergency in Ferguson Quote:"More than 1,000,000 Ferguson tweets were sent before CNN covered the story in prime-time, 3 days after the shooting" - @conradhackett - Tuesday/Wednesday 26/27 August
Discussion: Facebook, Algorithms, User Experiments.
Read for class: Read for class: Read for class: Optional: Optional: Discussion: Facebook, Algorithms, User Experiments
Essay due: What do you think of Facebook manipulating the news feed? - Tuesday/Wednesday 2/3 September
Discussion: The new ethics of technology.
Read for class: Maner– Is Computer Ethics Unique?
Read for class: Johnson– Computer Ethics
Essay due:Do you agree with Maner or Johnson, or do you fall in between (note: this position is precarious)? Tell your story with, ideally, a single illustrated example of how a technology either: shows a new ethical issue -OR- shows where one would expect a new ethical issue to arise, one finds old issues reframed.- Tuesday/Wednesday 9/10 September
Discussion: Self driving cars.
Read for class: Read for class: Read for class: Essay due:Self-driving cars seem to be a matter of not if, but when. What do you think this will do? What do you think is the most interesting social/ethical/policy piece of this? Tell me about it.- Tuesday/Wednesday 16/17 September
Discussion: The ACM Code of Ethics.
Read for class: ACM Code of Ethics
Consider: Ordine Gemoetria Demonstrata
Consider:Defining Computer Ethics (Just Section 1.2 of this page)Essay due:What did you find most interesting? What did you learn? Was it useful? If you wanted other people to learn one thing from it, what would it be? Was any of it surprising? Did it confuse you? Do you disagree with any of it? (Don't answer all of these questions, reminder: focus!) This is your code!- Tuesday/Wednesday 23/24 September
Discussion: Project proposals
Ideas due: Project proposal ideas:
Submit three ideas. Each idea should be no more than three sentences. The project must be somehow related to a social/ethical issue that is a result of computing or technology broadly. You should submit three very different ideas, all of which you are interested in, so that we can find a good, new, compelling direction for your project. This project could be a book review, an original essay, an experimental study, an explanatory brochure, or something completely different.- Tuesday/Wednesday 30/1 September/October
Discussion: Drones.
Choose a couple of the following readings. (At least two).
View for class: Read for class: Read for class: Read for class: Read for class: Read for class: Essay due:"Drones" are coming, or are already here. But this term is too vague. Are we talking about farmers dusting their crops, the military targeting enemies of the state, or Amazon delivering you the next Harry Potter book? Pick some facet of the ongoing rush to drones and focus on what that could mean for our future (reminder, be focused! Don't try to cover everything in a page, it won't fit!)- Tuesday/Wednesday 7/8 October
No Class! -- Project Proposals due
Email them to pgk @ unm . edu by Wednesday at 1pm (for both classes)
Your goal here is to convince me that (1) your project is interesting (2) you are actually interested in it (3) you are going to say something/do something that hasn't been said/done before and (4) there are enough resources/information out there that this can actually happen
- your name
- your email address
- and a potential project name (you can change this later)
- a one paragraph description of the project (this is the one you are really going to want to do / commit to)
- at least five (5) links to starter ideas, arguments, facts, thoughts, essays (you don't need to have read these entirely, but they should be reasonable...)
- and a short description of what you will turn in (paper, website, comparison table, app, poster, etc.)
- Tuesday/Wednesday 14/15 October
Discussion: Privacy.
Read for class: Common Data Project
Optional: Optional: Essay due:Read a privacy policy. Try to pick a company/organization that other people won't pick. Take notes on what was interesting about it, what you learned. Consider the questions the Common Data Project asks. Consider how it interacts with the ACM Code of Ethics, or your own views on what is ethical. Note: you can turn this in as a privacy policy printed out that you have marked up - OR - a short two paragraph description of what you read/found interesting- Tuesday/Wednesday 21/22 October
Unknown Topic
Résumé help: Why I Won't Read YOUR Resume
Résumé help: Making a Good CS Resume Résumé help: Samples Résumés due.
- Tuesday/Wednesday 28/29 October
Project Presentations I
Tuesday
George - apple privacy
James - censorship
Kenneth - privoxy
Preet - internet safetyWednesday
Connor - snapchat
Tyler - facebook
Miri - gmail porn
Chris - adblock (unethical?)
Javier - mobile app permissions
- Tuesday/Wednesday 04/05 November
Project Presentations II
Tuesday
Nathan - smartphone encryption
Connor - bitcoin
Alfred - children at risk
Andrew - footballWednesday
Ben - self-driving cars
David - 3D printed guns
Michael - crowdfunding
Maria - army gaming
Sam - journalism
- Tuesday/Wednesday 11/12 November
Project Presentations III
Tuesday
Riley - bionic super legs
Josh Donckels - AI is taking over
William - cyberdine
Tyler - prosthetics
Brie - emma watsonWednesday
Hunter - neuroenhancement
Robert - toddlers
Truman - generational gap
Jessica - design obsoleteness
Tony - VR
- Tuesday/Wednesday 18/19 November
Project Presentations IV
Tuesday
Josh Demick - interstellar probes
Robin - mind control
Jonathan - deep web
Michael - creating things
Eric - !!!Wednesday
Atle - computer slaves
Auzy - AI/robots
Ana - deidentifying twitter
Kendall - internet void
Christiaan - internet a right?
- Monday 24 November
First draft due!
- Tuesday/Wednesday 25/26 November
No class because Thanksgiving!
- Tuesday/Wednesday 02/03 December
The Singularity
- Finals
The end is nigh.
If you want to [ get your résumé / get more feedback on your paper / just hang out ] I will be available :
Thurs. Dec. 4th from 1pm-4:30pm at Satellite Coffee across the street on Central
Mon. Dec. 8th from 1pm-4:30pm at Satellite Coffee
Tues. Dec 9th from 1pm-4pm in my office (Farris 301B)
Wed. Dec. 10th from 1pm-4:30pm at Satellite CoffeeYou can turn in your final papers at any of those times, or over email.
Final draft due by the end of Friday December 12th! (hard deadline! seriously!)
Syllabus Details
What is this?
Society is consistently challenged by new advances, inventions, and the repercussions of technology.This class explores these issues, from the philosophical foundations of ethics to the minutia of technology policy. Throughout the course we will cover privacy, databases, intellectual property, computer crime, safety and reliability, professional responsibility and codes, the Internet, electronic communities, smartphones, the cloud, and the social and legal impacts of these and other technologies.
Assignments
Nearly every week you will have to turn in a short (ideally 1 page) written essay. These should be turned in, printed out, each Tuesday/Wednesday in class.
Expectations
You are expect to attend class, to have completed the assigned readings, and to participate in class discussion. If you must miss a class, please send an email in advance. All assignments should be done individually.
Grade
- Class discussion – 30%
- Short weekly assignments – 40%
- Longer project – 30%
- Tuesday/Wednesday 9/10 September