August 18 (Thu), 2016 HW1 assigned: exercises at the end of chs. 1 and 2 of textbook (referred to as [B]), due on September 1, 2016. See elsewhere for details of submission. Administrative information: objectives, textbook, syllabus, grading policy. Ch.1 [B] (Introduction): What is Ethics? The subject of ethics. Ethics and law. The students take the Ross-Barger philosophic inventory (cf. ch.4 [B]).
August 25 (Thu), 2015 Definitions of computer ethics. Notes based on: James H. Moor. "What is Computer Ethics?" _Metaphilosopthy_, 16, 4 (October 1985), 266-275, and James, H. Moor. "Reason, Relativity, and Responsibility in Computer Ethics." In: Terrell Ward Bynum and Simon Rogerson (eds.). _Computer Ethics and Professional Responsibility_. ISBN 1-85554-844-5. Blackwell Publishing, 2004. (In addition to Moor's article, the paper also contains historical and introductory material on the topic of Computer Ethics.)
September 1, (Thu), 2016 HW1 collected. Announcement of the publication of the first report of the "One Hundred Year Study on Artificial Intelligence," entitled "Artificial Intelligence and Life in 2030," and linked to the course website under "Some useful links." Philosophical belief systems (ch.3 [B]): introduction, metaphysics (ontology), epistemology, axiology (ethics and aesthetics), idealism.
September 8, (Thu), 2016 HW3 (professional activity-related) assigned, due Thursday, October 6, 2015. See elsewhere on the course website for details. Presentation by Ms. Emma Waugh of the CEC Satellite Office of the USC Career Center.
September 15, 2016 (Thu), 2016 Idealism, continued. An example of use of Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative, expressed as the Formula of Universal Law: "Act only according to the maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law": testing the maxim "May I not, when I am in distress, make a promise with the intention not to keep it?" The example is from pp.48-51 of: Roger J. Sullivan. _An Introduction to Kant's Ethics_. Cambridge University Press, 1994. Philosophical belief systems, part II: realism, pragmatism and existentialism.
September 22, 2015 (Thu), 2016 Review of existentialism. Passages on Conscience (pp.107-108) and Permissible Actions (pp.95-96) from Roger J. Sullivan. _An Introduction to Kant's Ethics_. Cambridge University Press, 1994. Ch.5 (Mohr's proposal for a unified ethical theory); quotes from Mohr's "Reason, Relativity, and Responsibility in Computer Ethics" (linked to course website). Mohr's paper, "Just Consequentialism and Computing" is also linked to the course website. An example of reconceptualization due to computing: Money, as described in the 2016-09-20 episode of the BBC World Service program The Inquiry, entitled "Who Wins in a Cashless Economy," and available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p047p4dj.
September 29, 2016 (Thu) HW2 collected: exercises at the end of chapters 3 and 5 [B] Three short ethical dilemmas: absolutist (idealistic and realistic) and relativistic (pragmatic and existentialist) position. Ch.6 [B]: The Ethical Decision-Making Process. Brief comments on IRAC, a methodology for legal analysis. A framework for ethical decision making in journalism, from: Stephanie Craft and Charles N. Davis. Principles of American Journalism: An Introduction. Routledge, 2013. A Framework for Ethical Decision Making from Santa Clara University's Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. The case study in the chapter was started, but not completed.
October 6, 2016 (Thu) Class canceled due to inclement weather.
October 13, 2016 (Thu) Fall Break.
October 20, 2016 (Thu) HW4 collected. Presentation by Prof. Duncan Buell on the security of electronic voting.
October 27, 2016 (Thu) HW5 collected. Presentation by Dr. Ioannis Rekleitis on Ethical Issues in Robotics.
November 3, 2016 (Thu) HW7 assigned: exercises 1 and 4 at the end of Ch.9[B]. HW8 assigned: student presentation; see description elsewhere on the course website. Psychology and Computer Ethics: brief review of Ch.7[B], with mention of Papert (the Logo language) and Piaget's role. The Computing Field as a Profession (Ch.8[B]). Computer-Related Codes of Ethics (Ch.9[B]). Three case studies for the Joint Software Engineer's Code.
November 10, 2016 (Thu) HW6 collected. Four cases by Robert Barger. (See slides in Notes section of course website.)
November 17, 2016 (Thu) Presentation by Prof. Farkas on Legal and Ethical Issues in Computer Security.
December 1, 2016 (Thu) Student presentations (three). End of course survey.