CS 293

Social and Ethical Issues in Computing

Spring 2015

Prof. Patrick Gage Kelley

Schedule / all the important details

1. Monday 17 August Discussion: Introduction and class goals.
   Discussion: The Right to Be Forgotten.
   In class video:
   PBS Idea Channel
2. Monday 24 August Discussion: The Ethics of AdBlocking.
   Read for class:
   AdBlock (Wikipedia)
   Read for class:
   The ethics of modern web ad-blocking (marco.org)
   Read for class:
   AdBlock revisited (2006!)
   Read for class:
   Ad Blocking is Stealing (Tom's Guide)
   Read for class:
   Ethics of AdBlock (echochamber)
   Essay due:
   Your essays should involve adblocking: do you think it is ethical? what do you think would happen if adblocking became more prevalent? are there times/places where ads should not be blocked? do you block ads? or focus on other questions, do not try to answer multiple questions, go deep, not broad.
3. Monday 31 August 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.
4. Wednesday 7 September Labor Day Apparently you don't have to come to class.
   
5. Monday 14 September Discussion: Ashley Madison.
   Read for class:
   Paying $20 to delete your Ashley Madison profile was probably a bad idea
   Read for class:
   Almost None of the Women in the Ashley Madison Database Ever Used the Site
   Read this update:
   So most of the above analysis was wrong. Here's why...
   Read for class:
   Another error on my part, we thought those passwords were secure: Once seen as bulletproof, 11 million+ Ashley Madison passwords already cracked
   Consider:
   Organizational Doxing
   Essay due:
   What part of the Ashley Madison story interested you the most? Do you know anyone personally impacted? Do you think anyone's behavior will change after this hack? Do you think there need to be policy solutions in place to fight against similar events from happening in the future? (Again, reminder: focus!)
6. Monday 21 September Discussion: Codes of Ethics.
   Read for class: ACM Code of Ethics
   Consider: Ordine Geometria Demonstrata
   Consider:
   Defining Computer Ethics (Especially 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!
7. Monday 28 September Discussion: Drones.
   

   Choose a couple of the following readings. (At least two, and as always feel free to read *other* things as well).

   View for class:
   Chris Anderson, DIY Drones/3D Robotics, XOXO
   Read for class:
   New Details of Attack on Yemeni Wedding Prompt More Demands Obama Explain Drone Policy
   Read for class:
   KEEP CALM: The FAA and sUAVs/Drone Rules
   Read for class:
   The Killing Machines
   Read for class:
   Drone Home
   Read for class:
   Drones Could Revolutionize Agriculture, Farmers Say
   Read for class:
   twitter.com/drones
   Read for class:
   The loneliness of the long-distance drone pilot
   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!)
8. Monday 5 October Discussion: Project proposals
   Listen for class:
   Darkode -- Radiolab
   Ideas due: Project proposal ideas:
   

   Submit three topic 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. You want to describe the topic area (for example, say more than just drones) but also what your angle is / why you are interested in it (for example, drones that guard the US/Mexico border)

9. Monday 12 October Discussion: Privacy.
   Read for class: Common Data Project
   Optional:
   Android’s App Permissions Were Just Simplified — Now They’re Much Less Secure
   Optional:
   The Cost of Reading Privacy Policies
   Essay due:
   Read a privacy policy. Try to pick a company/organization that other people won't pick. Even better if this company has a mobile app and you can get a sense of what "permissions" that app has. 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.
10. Monday 19 October Project Proposals due
    

    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 three "hard decisions/questions" that you think might be in this space
11. Monday 26 October The Singularity (is near?)
    The Coming Singularity
    The AI Revolution: The Road to Superintelligence
    The AI Revolution: Our Immortality or Extinction
    Bill Gates Fears AI, but AI Researchers Know Better
    The Myth of AI (optional due to length, but this matters.)
    Of Daisies and the Robot Apocalypse
    Essay due:
    What's 2030 going to be like? 2050? 2100?
    Is this really going to happen? Why are some people so worried and others not? What exactly *is* the singularity? What are some people so afraid of? Try to understand the real technological fears that some people have, and explain in detail what they are (don't just refer to things as AI or the singularity, but explain how this tech could actually work/exist)
12. OUTLINE DUE Friday 30 October 6 November Email PGK your detailed outline Note this is not a class day
    Sample outline, VW


13. Monday 2 November Project Presentations I
    
    Noon – VR & 3D
    Thoa - 3D Printing
    Germaine - 3D Printing Organs
    James - VR
    Joe - Medical VR
    Robert - Medical VR
    3pm – New Technologies
    Mike - DNA Manipulation
    Shea - 3D Printing
    Christopher - Facial Recognition
    James - Stock Trading
    Thomas - Dark web
    
    
    
14. Monday 9 November Project Presentations II
    
    Noon – Hacking
    Dominic - Google Hacking
    Deb - Wifatch
    Bea - "Hacking"
    Austin - Biometrics
    3pm – Policy
    Erick - Brazil and Surveillance
    Audarius - Adblock
    Austin - CISA
    Anacaren - Border technology
    Chase - Gamergate
    
    
15. Monday 16 November Project Presentations III
    
    Noon – RobotCars and the Developing World
    Peter - Robots taking our jobs
    Rob - Cars are killing people
    Nathaniel - Cars are killing people
    Nicholas - The developing world
    3pm – Drones & Cars
    Corey - Surveillance Drones
    Candace - Military Drones
    Sherman - Self-driving cars
    Mario - Is insuring those cars
    Nathan - Wants to drive cars
    
    
16. Final Project Rubric What I am looking for in your final projects:
    
    • Questions: Thoughtful questions asked that show a relationship between science, technology, ethics, and society.
    • Answers: Well reasoned (and sourced) answers that allow the reader to think in depth on your topic questions.
    • Media/Data: Use of media and/or data to support your argument/analysis.
    • Technological understanding/explanation: Being able to *accurately* explain some element of your technology or a technology involved to a more general audience, but where an expert would still agree that you got it basically correct.
    • Audience: A complete project should be written at the level where I could give it to a class of UNM freshmen (not in CS) and they would learn and better understand your topic.

    Each of these five areas will be weighted equally, and I will give you scores on each area based on your first drafts (points will be taken across the board for grammatical errors and writing style).

17. FIRST DRAFT DUE Friday 20 November Email PGK your as complete as possible first draft. Note this is not a class day
18. Monday 23 November Project Presentations IV
    
    Noon - Tech Knowledge
    Justin - Economic Disadvantages in Tech
    Linh - Kids coding
    Matthew - Software patents
    Tim - Internet knowledge
    3pm – AI
    Jeffrey - We shouldn't AI
    Elias - AI is inevitable
    Ryan - AI decision making
    Clint - AI Rights
    
    
19. Monday 30 November Bonus Things Last Day
    
20. FINAL DUE Tuesday 8 December




Syllabus Details

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 Monday 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%