Princeton University |
Computer Science 291 |
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Course Plan
All readings are required and should be completed prior to relevant sections of the syllabus. Exceptions are signaled as follows:
/R means recommended
/S means skim
Introductory Lecture (February 1)
What is Computer Ethics? (February 3, 8)
Moor, What is Computer Ethics? CESV
Barlow, Coming into the Country CESV
Gotterbarn, Computer Ethics: Responsibility Regained CESV
Winograd, Computers, Ethics, and Social Responsibility CESV
Mosco, Myth-ing Links: Power and Community on the Information Highway CR
Speech (February 10)
Case: The Communications Decency Act (Read about it at EPIC, ACLU and/or EFF websites, accessible via the course homepage.)
Greenawalt, Rationales for Freedom of Speech CESV
Mill, On Liberty (excerpt) CR
Mill, Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion CR
Risk and Responsibility (February 15, 17, 22)
Risk
/S Borning, Computer System Reliability and Nuclear War CESV
/R Parnas, et. al. Evaluation of Safety-Critical Systems CESV
Smith, The Limits of Correctness CESV
Littlewood and Strigini, The Risks of Software CESV
Rochlin, Trapped in the Net (excerpt) CR
Weizenbaum, On the Impact of the Computer on Society CESV
Responsibility
Nissenbaum, Accountability in a Computerized Society HVCT
Friedman and Millet, Reasoning about Computers as Moral Agents: A Research Note HVCT
Samuelson, Liability for Defective Information CESV
/R Ripstein, Equality, Luck, and Responsibility CR
Y2K
Guest Lecturer: Ira Fuchs
Cappel and Kappelman, The Year 2000 Problem and Ethical Responsibility: A Call for Action CR
Feder, Barnaby and Pollack, Computers and the Year 2000 CR
Privacy (February 24, March 1, 3)
Databases and Personal Records
Clarke, Information Technology and Dataveillance CR
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board: National Research Council, For the Record: Protecting Electronic Health Information (excerpt) CR
Gostin et. al. The Public Health Information Infrastructure CR
Murray, Genetic Exceptionalism and ‘Future Diaries’ CR
Hunter, Public Image CESV
The Value of Privacy
Records, Computers, and the Rights of Citizens. Report of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems CR
James Rule et. al., Preserving Individual Autonomy in an Information-Oriented Society CESV
/S Berman and Goldman, A Federal Right of Information Privacy CESV
Gottlieb, Privacy: A Concept Whose Time Has Come and Gone CR
Perry, Professional Philosophy: What It Is and Why It Matters, Chapter 11 CR
Gavison, Privacy and the Limits of the Law CESV
Ethical Theory (March 8, 10)
Mill, What Utilitarianism Is CR
Goodin, Utilitarianism as a Public Philosophy (excerpt) CR
Feinberg, The Nature and Value of Rights CR
Rawls, A Theory of Justice (excerpt) CR
Paper I Due (March 22)
The Internet (March 22, 24)
Gore, Global Information Infrastructure CESV
Chapman and Rotenberg, The National Information Infrastructure: A Public Interest Opportunity CESV
Hoffman and Novak, Bridging the Racial Divide on the Internet CR
Yunus, Alleviating Poverty Through Technology CR
Walzer, Security, Welfare, and the Communal Provision CR
Property (March 29, 31)
Computer Software
Snapper, Intellectual Property Protections for Computer Software (pp. 186-190) CESV
Stallman, Why Software Should be Free CESV
Samuelson, How to Interpret the Lotus Decision (and how not to) CESV
Nissenbaum, Should I Copy My Neighbor’s Software CESV
Kuflik, Moral Foundations of Intellectual Property Rights CESV
Expression in the Digital Electronic Medium
Barlow, The Economy of Ideas CR
Samuelson, Intellectual Property Rights and The Global Information Economy CR
Hammer, Memorandum: Update on Copyright Legislation CR
Values in Design (April 5, 7)
Winner, The Whale and the Reactor, Chapter 1 CR
Friedman, Introduction HVCT
Friedman and Nissenbaum, Bias in Computer Systems HVCT
Perry, Macken, Scott, and McKinley, Disability, Inability and Cyberspace HVCT
Friedman and Kahn, Human Agency and Responsible Computing HVCT
Schneiderman and Rose, Social Impact Statements: Engaging Public Participation in Information Technology Design HVCT
Tang, Elimination a Hardware Switch: Weighing Economics and Values in a Design Decision HVCT
Guest Lecture: Philip Agre, UCLA (April 12)
Designing the Internet; Promoting Values (April 14,19)
Privacy, Security, and Speech In a Networked World
Froomkin, Anonymity and Its Enmities CR
Levy, Battle of the Clipper Chip CESV
Rivest, The Case Against Regulating Encryption Technology CR
Are Computer Property Rights Absolute CESV
Are Computer Hacker Break-Ins Ethical CESV
Case: Web tracking. (Read about Intel case in EPIC website.)
Case: AOL and free speech (Handouts in class)
/S Chaum, A New Paradigm for Individuals in the Information Age CESV
Governance of the Internet: By Whom? And How? (April 21, 26)
Lessig, The Law of the Horse: What Cyberspace Law Might Teach CR
Marshall, Will Free Speech Get Tangled in the Net? CR
Dibbell, A Rape in Cyberspace CR
Foster, Rutkowski and Goodman, Who Governs the Internet? CR
Conclusion and Review (April 28)
E.M. Forster, The Machine Stopped CESV
Paper II Due (April 30)