Reference materials:
The first day of classes is Thursday, August 24, 2017. The last day to withdraw without failure is Monday, October 16, 2017. The last day of classes is Thursday, December 7, 2017. There will be no final exam for this course. See here (html version) for the fall 2017 academic calendar.
| Day | Topic |
|---|---|
| (1) August 24 | Philosophical inventory; Introduction; The Computer as a humanizing agent (Chs.1-2 [B]) |
| (2) August 31 | What is Computer Ethics? Definitions by Walter Maner, Deborah Johnson, James Moor, Terrell Ward Bynum, and Donald Gotterbarn (Ch.1 [B] and readings). |
| (3)September 7 | Talk on careers by a representative of the USC Career Center (either Chris Lewandowski or Kathryn Kinninburgh): Preparing for the Career Fair |
| (4) September 14 | Philosophic Belief Systems: Idealism and Realism (Ch 3 [B]) |
| (5) September 21 | Philosophic Belief Systems: Pragmatism and Existentialism (Ch 3 [B]). The possibility of a unifying ethical theory (Ch. 5 [B]) |
| (6) September 28 | Presentation on Risk and "Sophisticated Robots" by Prof. Patrick Hubbard. |
| (7) October 5 | The ethical decision-making process (Ch. 6 [B]). |
| (8) October 12 | Psychology and computer ethics (Ch.7 [B]). The computing field as a profession (Ch.8 [B]). |
| October 19 | Fall Break |
| (9) October 26 | Presentation by Prof. Duncan Buell on Voting Machines (confirmed). |
| (10) November 2 | Computer-related codes of ethics (Ch.9 [B]). Three case studies for the Joint Software Engineer's Code. |
| (11) November 9 | Presentation by Dr. Csilla Farkas on Computer Security and Information Assurance (confirmed; title is provisional) |
| (12) November 16 | Presentation by Dr. Ioannis Rekleitis on Ethical Issues in Robotics (confirmed). |
| (13) November 23 | Thanksgiving Recess |
| (14) November 30 | Student Presentations |
| (15) December 7 | Student Presentations |