1st Edition

Ethical Digital Technology in Practice

By Simon Rogerson Copyright 2023
    258 Pages
    by Auerbach Publications

    258 Pages
    by Auerbach Publications

    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.