This is an important book. Ethics is not an easy topic, and arguably the ethics of IT is less so—not leastdue to its potential for developing and evolving in ways that are either unforeseen or unimaginable . . . . Use this book as a practical resource, an informative and educational source of material in developing expertise, but also as an invaluable toolkit to support practical application of ethical thinking.
—Declan Brady, President of the Irish Computer Society and a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies
Digital technology is about people. It is about those who plan, develop and implement applications which other people use and are affected by. It is about the impact on all these people as well as on the world at large. Ethical Digital Technology in Practice takes a real-world perspective to explore these impacts over time and discover ways in which to promote ethical digital technology through good practice. It draws upon the author’s published articles in trade magazines, professional journals and online blogs. These are synthesised into a blueprint which addresses, in a practical manner, the societal issues surrounding the increasing use and abuse of digital technology. It is a follow-up book to the author’s book The Evolving Landscape of Ethical Digital Technology, which has a researcher’s perspective.
This book is a hands-on account of the computer revolution from 1995 to the current day when the world is increasingly dependent on digital technology. It explores some of the social and ethical issues that are part of this revolution. This is not a book about deep philosophical and technical concepts. Nor does it claim to be comprehensive. It is the author’s personal account of technological change and its effects on people. It is written by a boy who was smitten by computer technology at the age of 15, became a computer professional and subsequently spent many years showing young people how to develop and use digital technology in a good way. It is a book based upon the author’s engagement with practitioners, academics and students during the period as well as his continued fascination with this fantastic technology. Ethical Digital Technology in Practice is a book about the real world, of what has happened and what might happen as digital technology continues to pervade.
1 Setting the Scene
The Beginning of My Digital Technology Odyssey
The First ETHIcol
Ethics Man
Making a Difference
ENIGMA
Outline of the Book
2 Data and Information
How to Create Waffle!
Information for All
Information Provenance
Information Integrity in the Information Age
Trustworthy Publishing
The Data Shadow
Guernica Info
3 Systems and Applications
Information Superhighway
Making BPR a Success
People Issues
Smart Cards
Surveillance
Electronic Commerce
Identity Crisis Online
Keeping Records Safe
Health Warning
Facing Up to the Issues
Clear and Present Danger
At Cross Purposes
Matching Cases
Going, Going … Gone!
Playing Your Cards Right
Trusting the System
What is Wrong with Mobile Phones?
Market~ing Forces
Tag Ethics
A Lesson from History
Let the Games Begin
Ethics of the Blogosphere
Voicing Concern
Ethics of the Street
Ensuring Ethical Insurance
The Social Side of Wireless
The Way to Healthy ICT?
Ethical Robots
Ethics Omission Increases Gases Emission
People are Data in the Connected World
Hospital Safety
4 Practice and Method
Training for Ethics
Social Responsibility
New Horizons
Women in IT
IS in the workplace
Closer to Y2K
Use and Abuse
E-mail Etiquette
Doing One’s Civic Duty
Integrity and Knowledge
Make Your Actions Count
Risky Business
All-inclusive Opportunities
Women in the IT Industry Today
Framing up to Ethics
The Need for Ethical Leadership
Ethical Dilemmas
Coding Ethics into Technology
5 Regulation and Policy
Data Matching
Privacy
Corporate Issues
Data Protection for the People
Serving Two Masters
New Code of Ethics
Police Intelligence?
Justice for All
Waking Up to a Surveillance Society
The Ethics of E-Inclusion
Data Profiling in the European Information Society
Ethics and ICT Governance
The Surveillance Society
Identity and DNA
Responsibilities in Product Creation
Ethics of ICT
Ethics and the IT Profession
References
6 Practical Considerations
Teleworking
Alternative Views
Understanding in the Community
Internet Ethics are Not Optional at Business or at Home
Beware of False Gods
A Week is a Long Time
Student Rights
A Global Phenomenon?
Safety on the ‘net
Reflections from China
Digital Slavery
Inclusive ICT
That Was the News that Was!
Assessing All the Risks
Academic Publishing in theInformation Age
Digital Outcasts & COVID-19
Is the Digital Divide of the Past, Present or Future?
References
7 Synthesis
Computers and Human Values
Practice and Virtual Behaviour
IS IT Ethical? 1998 Report
The Impact of Change
IS IT Ethical? 2000 Report
IS Staff and Privacy and Data Protection
Human Rights in the Electronic Age
IS IT Ethical? 2002 Report
IS IT Ethical? 2004 Report
IS IT Ethical? 2006 Report
Beyond Technology
Direction of Change
IS IT Ethical? 2010 Report
Social Impact of Social Networks
An Ethics Progress Litmus Test
Computing by Everyone for Everyone
Digital Ethics is The Paradigm Shift
Rebooting Ethics Education in the Digital Age
Biography
Simon Rogerson has an industrial and academic background. He became Europe’s first Professor in Computer Ethics in 1998 and in 2010 became lifetime Professor Emeritus in Computer Ethics at De Montfort University, UK. He was the founding Director of the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility (CCSR), launching it in 1995 at the first ETHICOMP conference which he conceived and co-directed until 2013. He was the founder and editor until 2021 of the Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society. He sits on several international ICT-related advisory boards and has served on governing bodies in education and ICT.