Assignment Due: Find an article in the “reputable” media (an outlet that researches its stories, and is quick to acknowledge and correct any factual errors) that appeared in the last month and that addresses social implications of computing. Write a one-page (~300 word) summary of/reaction to the article, and post to the class discussion board on Blackboard. Articles already appearing on the articles page don’t count.
To facilitate browsing by fellow students, please post your essay as in-line text, rather than an attachment.
Assignment Due: Pick one of the following topics and address it in an essay of at least 1000 words. Try to stake out a position, but be sure to discuss arguments for both sides. Are there useful non-cyber analogies? Identify the negative and positive rights involved. Which side do you think is stronger? Why?
- [exercise in previous editions of the book] Advocacy groups have sued certain companies because blind people cannot use their websites. The suits argue that the Americans With Disabilities Act requires that the sites be accessible. Should a law require all business and government websites to provide full access for disabled people?
- Kim Dotcom was the founder of the now-defunct megaupload.com, alleged by US authorities to have “generated more than $175M in criminal proceeds and caused more than $500M in harm to copyright owners.” In 2010, Dotcom fled Hong Kong for New Zealand, where he has been fighting attempts to extradite him to the US (he lost the latest round just over a year ago). In 2013 he launched mega.nz, which offers what it characterizes as secure, encrypted, anonymous cloud storage. Is Dotcom a hero or a criminal, or something in-between? To what extent should governments (in the US or elsewhere) hold people responsible for (merely?) facilitating illegal activity?
Please generate PDF (not .txt, .doc, .rtf, .dvi, or any other format), and submit your assignment through Blackboard.
Assignment Due: Learn about privacy on Facebook. Read the privacy policy in its entirety. If you are a member of Facebook, examine your settings for security, privacy, timeline and tagging, apps, and ads. Update these settings if they strike you as inappropriate. Explain the principles you use to decide what should be visible to whom—both by default and for individual posts. If you are not a member of Facebook, and prefer not to join, describe the settings you would choose if you were a member, or would recommend to a friend. (You may need to look over a friend’s shoulder to see what the options are.) Again, explain the principles behind your choice. Finally, do an Internet search to find information on one or more of the public controversies regarding changes to Facebook’s privacy policy in recent years. Summarize the controversy, discuss your position on it, and explain how it was resolved.
The length of this assignment is up to you: take as much space as you need for a clear response. Please submit your essay, in PDF format, via Blackboard.
Assignment Due: “Whistleblowing” has a long tradition prior to the Internet, but modern technology has substantially increased both its feasibility and its potential impact. Clearly it can be a powerful force for good. It also has the power for substantial collateral damage.
As an example of whistleblowing in the digital age, read up on the history of Wikileaks, and the scope of its activities since its founding in 2006. Drawing examples from this history (but without necessarily passing judgement on any specific case(s)), discuss the underlying ethical issues in an essay of at least 1000 words. As usual, bolster your arguments with facts from reputable sources, cite those sources appropriately, and turn in PDF. Questions you may wish to consider include:
- Is the public disclosure of private information, without permission, ever ethically acceptable? Ethically obligatory?
- What ethical obligations, if any, does a whistleblowing site have to verify the accuracy of the information it posts?
- What ethical obligations, if any, does it have to redact or delay the disclosure of information to minimize any potential harm that may result?
- What obligations does a government have to take action if a whistleblowing site breaks its laws? What should be the response of the international community when the laws of different nations conflict?
- In general, what should be our reaction to whistleblowers who break the law in order to expose evil things? Must they be punished for the law breaking, or does the value to society of the disclosure ever mitigate the offense? Who decides?
(Prof. Scott out of town)
Reading:
Assignment Due: In December of 2015, the FBI acquired an iPhone 5C that had been used by one of the shooters in a terrorist attack in San Bernardino, CA. Under the All Writs Act of 1789 (yes, 1789), a US magistrate judge ordered Apple to create a new version of iOS and upload it to the phone, allowing the FBI to unlock it by brute force. Apple refused. The standoff—but not the underlying legal principle—was resolved when the FBI managed to hack the phone with the help of a third party whose identity has never been officially disclosed.
Read up on the San Bernardino stand-off, the historical background, the technical issues, and the ongoing controversy over similar unresolved cases. In an essay of at least 1000 words, discuss what you have learned and address the following question: should the law require companies like Apple to engineer “back doors” into their devices that can be used by law enforcement to circumvent encryption and other privacy controls? As usual, bolster your arguments with facts from reputable sources, cite those sources appropriately, and turn in PDF through Blackboard.
Please bring a smart phone, tablet, or laptop to class.
Reading:
(1) Please read carefully (requires Blackboard access):
River Campus Libraries Strategic Plan.
(2) Please skim (at least) the following:
- Banks, Marcus. We need librarians today more than ever: How an ancient profession stays on top of the digital age. Digital Culturalist, Issue 5, March 5, 2017.
- Cox, Krista. Springer, Censorship and the need for open access. ARL Policy Notes, January 22, 2018.
- Hunt, James B. Jr. The Library of the Future. Library, North Carolina State University.
- Najmabadi, Shannon. What the 21st-century library looks like. The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 02, 2017.
- Sowa, Jennifer. Transforming the role of academic libraries in multidisciplinary research. UToday, University of Calgary, March 30, 2017.
- SPARC. Open Access.
- Straumsheim, Carl. The library has never been more important. Inside Higher Education, March 24, 2017.
- Straumsheim, Carl. Out of the stacks. Inside Higher Education, January 13, 2016.
Mitigating the Negative Impacts of Computing
- China’s most notorious e-waste dumping ground now cleaner but poorer
- Where your computer goes to die
- Illegally Traded and Dumped E-Waste (UN Environmental Programme)
- Global E-waste Monitor 2017 (This is long; feel free to just skim it. A local copy is also available.)
- The Basel Convention At A Glance
- The Rare-Earth Elements (US Geological Survey)
- Recipe for Efficiency: Principles of Power-Aware Computing, by Partha Ranganathan. (May require a UR IP address for access.) This article is 10 years old now, but still a reasonable summary of the issues. The author, formerly at HP Labs, is now a member of the Platforms group at Google. The subject material may be a bit dense for non-CS majors; don't worry if you don't understand it all.
- GeSI Smarter 2030: ICT Solutions for 21st Century Challenges. The latest report of the UN-chartered Global e-Sustainability Initiative. Read chapters 1 & 2 carefully; skim the rest.
- Computing Research for Sustainability. 2012 report of the National Academy of Science. Read the summary (pages 1–12) carefully; skim the rest.
Reading: Please also skim the following:
Note: Students taking the course for upper-level writing credit will receive their papers back no later than Sunday evening, May 6. They will have until Sunday evening, May 13, to submit revisions. That will give me less than 48 hours to submit grades and writing certification for graduating seniors. In other words, there is no slack in this schedule, so please don’t ask for an extension unless you’re prepared to argue for an incomplete in the course.
Also skim 9.3.2–9.3.15, and pick the three scenarios you find most interesting.
Last but not least: PLEASE be sure to fill out your on-line course evaluation.
