CS201: Computers, Ethics, and Social Responsibility

The analysis of ethical and social issues related to the development and use of computer technology. Topics include: Ethical Analysis of Computer-Related Problems; Computer Crime and Hackers; Intellectual Property; Risks, Reliability and Liability in Computer Systems; Professional Responsibility and Accountability; Privacy; and, Internet Issues.

Goals:

  1. To sensitize students to computer ethics issues
  2. To provide tools and methods for analyzing cases
  3. To provide practice in applying the tools and methods to actual or realistic cases
  4. To develop in the student "good judgment" and "helpful intuitions" for spur-of-the-moment decision making as computer professionals and computer users.
(From: Bynum, T. 1992. "Human values and the computer science curriculum." In Computing and Human Values, T. Bynum, W. Maner, and J. Fodor. New Haven/RCCS.)