Ethics is a topic that is slowly gaining importance in computing circles. A few short years ago, little literature existed to support the teaching of ethics in computing courses. Indeed, some argued that such teaching was unnecessary. Unfortunately, the recent discovery of a number of illegal or unethical activities is causing educators to reexamine the need for ethics education. Moreover, managers are realizing that their employees require ethics training.

The six books reviewed differ in focus, scope, sources, and content. While some of the differences can be attributed to the date of publication, most of the variation results from the authors’ different perspectives, intended audiences, and stated purposes. The books present the reader with a wide range of ideas and materials to assist in the process of ethics education and training.

Dejoie, Fowler, and Paradice

This anthology was compiled “to assist the MIS professor…to provide a more structured approach to covering ethical issues in the information systems field.” Chapter 1, “Ethical Issues in Business,” contains three articles on general ethical issues in business from the Journal of Business Ethics. The second chapter looks at information systems issues. The articles by Mason, Forcht, and Couger are among the better treatments of these issues in the recent literature. A second set of readings looks at traditional issues such as privacy, accuracy, property, and access. In chapter 3, Arthur Miller discusses “Computers and Privacy” and Kenneth Laudon examines issues of data quality, a topic of growing importance. The main focus of chapter 4 is software piracy. Both these chapters end with sets of ethical scenarios. The final part of the book focuses on artificial intelligence. Two essays by Steven Frank examine “What AI Practitioners Should Know About the Law.” To add currency, the book contains a number of articles from the CPSR Newsletter, produced by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.

Ermann, Williams, and Gutierrez

All of the authors are professors at the University of Delaware, in the departments of sociology, philosophy, and computer science, respectively. This book was written for third- and fourth-year students taking computer-related courses. The selections are a subset of the readings the authors used in interdisciplinary courses in computers, ethics, and society. The first part of this text focuses on developing “ethical frameworks for discussing computer-related issues.” The first three essays examine general ethical theory: utilitarian theory, the concept of justice, and the ethical theories of Emmanuel Kant. Additional essays examine the ethical contexts for three present-day problems: personal privacy, the relationship between the law and moral behavior, and the morality of whistle-blowing. A final set of essays examines the nature of the “good life” through selections from Aristotle and Augustine.

The second part is entitled “Computers and the Ideal Life.” Essays deal with privacy, the quality of personal life, the quality of work life, and justice in the nature and distribution of work. The discussion on personal life focuses on artificial intelligence, with essays by Minsky and by Dreyfus and Dreyfus. The discussion of work life looks at the mechanization of office work, using computers to work at home, and the impact of computing technology on women. The section on justice and the nature of work contains an essay on “Information Technology and the Third World.”

The final part of the book contains 11 chapters on the distribution of rewards, legal issues, and moral responsibility. The first essays examine the “look and feel” issue with respect to copyright and innovation. The second section examines liability for software malfunctions, the IBM/Hitachi sting, and computer crime. The final section contains the ACM code of conduct and two essays on the Strategic Defense Initiative, by David Parnas and Walter Morrow.

Forester and Morrison

The authors’ principal argument is “that computer systems by their very nature are insecure, unreliable, and unpredictable--and that society has yet to come to terms with the consequences.” This book evolved out of their experiences in teaching two courses on the human and social contexts of computing to computer science students. Accordingly, it reflects their focus on undergraduate computer science students and the goal of developing their ethical consciousness. The authors’ style is to discuss societal issues, with numerous references to actual problems appearing in the literature. Forester and Morrison acknowledge a special debt in this regard to Peter G. Neumann’s efforts to document risks to the public in ACM SIGSOFT’s Software Engineering Notes.

After a short introduction to “Our Computerized Society,” the remaining chapters discuss “Computer Crime,” “Software Theft,” “Hacking and Viruses,” “Unreliable Computers,” “The Invasion of Privacy,” “AI and Expert Systems,” and “Computerizing the Workplace.” An appendix covers “Autonomous Systems: the Case of ‘Star Wars’.” Although the authors present the basic facts of the stories they are telling, their tone defeats their objective. If these stories are to be “cautionary tales” (such as the tale of Pinocchio: if you tell a lie, your nose will grow), then much of the narrative has the wrong tone and gives the wrong message. For example, the section on “Some ‘Great’ Hacks” lauds convicted criminals. Indeed, what can the authors be thinking when they tell computer science students, “For those who are interested in further details of the techniques that hackers use, a particularly clear and comprehensive guide can be found…?” How is this going to deter undergraduates from hacking? Later on, Forester and Morrison rationalize this by opining that “we might therefore ask ourselves whether, for the sake of balance, a truly democratic society should possess a core of technically gifted but recalcitrant people. Given that more and more information about individuals is now being stored on computers…is it not reassuring that some citizens are able to penetrate these databases and find out what is going on?” This tone permeates most of the discussion and defeats the purpose of the book, judging from the title.

Johnson

Johnson believes that most ethical dilemmas occur at work and that employees are sometimes called upon to act in ways that conflict with their personal values. Her purpose is thus to provide a foundation for ethical thinking in the context of specific computer-related issues. She believes that “new technologies often call upon us to extend ordinary moral and legal rules to novel situations created by use of the new technology.” The author is a professor of philosophy. Her book, one of the first on the subject, is divided into six chapters, each of which contains suggested readings.

Chapter 1, “Ethical Theory,” is an overview of the philosophical foundations for two types of ethical theories: consequentialism and deontological theory. The author discusses utilitarian philosophy as an example of consequentialism and Kant’s categorical imperative as a deontological theory. While the discussion may prove difficult for some readers, the material is important to developing a framework for examining ethical problems and making ethical decisions.

Chapter 2, “Professional Ethics,” states that since professionals acquire power by virtue of their expertise, they also have additional responsibilities. These responsibilities may be to their clients, their peers, their employers, or society in general. Johnson briefly discusses the ACM Code of Professional Conduct in this context.

Chapter 3, “Liability for Malfunctions in Computer Programs,” looks at the legal liabilities for software as a product and as a service. Aspects of contracts, warranties, torts, and negligence are discussed in sufficient detail to give the reader some insight into these complex issues. Although everyone believes that they know something about computers and privacy, in chapter 4 Johnson focuses on balancing the need for information with the right to have some control over the information about us. If information is power, then those who control the machinery of information acquire power. Chapter 5 focuses on the locus of power in organizations, the problems of the haves and have nots, and the responsibilities of computer professionals. The final chapter looks at “The Ownership of Computer Programs.” The large number of lawsuits on “look and feel” have made this subject increasingly interesting to both students and practitioners.

Johnson and Snapper

This volume was the first anthology of readings that attempted to explore ethical issues resulting from the widespread use of, and dependence on, computers. While it is unfortunately out of print, it makes an important contribution to the literature and should be available in most libraries. Although it is not a companion to Johnson’s text, it follows similar lines. The first part, “Codes of Conduct for the Computer Professions,” contains five codes of ethics, promulgated by the British Computer Society, the Data Processing Management Association, the ACM, the IEEE, and the Institute for the Certification of Computer Professionals. This section also contains two essays on the problems inherent in creating codes of professional ethics.

Part 2 examines issues of responsibility. Brannigan looks at “Liability for Personal Injury Caused by Defective Medical Computer Programs,” Nycum discusses liability from a general legal perspective, and Prince discusses “Negligence: Liability for Defective Software.” Part 3, on “Privacy and Security,” contains contributions by Turn, Ware, Burnham, and Westin, all of whom are well-known for their privacy research. It concludes with the introduction to a report to the Privacy Protection Study Commission.

Part 4, “Computers and Power,” looks at how computers affect the distribution of power. It begins with excerpts from Weizenbaum’s Computer power and human reason [1] and Mowshowitz’s Conquest of the will: information processing in human affairs [2]. Essays by Simon, Kling, Faflick, and Schiller round out the discussion. The final section, “Software as Property,” looks at the notion of intellectual property as it applies to software. Three chapters taken from law reviews consider different aspects of software protection, and two court cases examine software patents and software copyrights.

Parker, Swope, and Baker

Donn Parker has been studying intentionally caused losses associated with computers since 1958. In 1977 he served as principal investigator on a National Science Foundation project to develop ethics and computing scenarios that could be used to help raise the ethical consciousness of students and practitioners. The research proceeded in two stages: the creation of ethical scenarios was followed by the discussion of those scenarios at an extended workshop. Scenarios are short stories in which individuals are presented as acting in certain ways; the actors and their actions can then be judged, discussed, and related to ethical guidelines. The results of that research were published as Ethical conflicts in computer science and technology [3].

The information industry has changed in the past decade. The explosive growth of microcomputers and networking has presented new ethical problems to a wider range of individuals and organizations. This book is the result of a second workshop held in 1987. The process was repeated, using both scenarios from the 1977 workshop and material reflecting new problems based on current technology and practice. The book contains 54 scenarios grouped into five categories:

• Professional Standards, Obligations, and Accountability

• Property Ownership, Attribution, Piracy, Plagiarism, Copyrights, and Trade Secrets

• Confidentiality of Information and Personal Privacy

• Business Practices Including Contracts, Agreements, and Conflict of Interest

• Employer/Employee Relationships

Comparison

Johnson’s book is very good for introducing ethical theory in the classroom. Unfortunately, due to constant identification of new legal and ethical questions over the past few years, Johnson needs to expand and update her material. The Johnson and Snapper reader contains excellent source material for instructors. The Ermann and Dejoie books are newer and spring from related goals: to provide material for students taking computer-related courses (Ermann) and for business students majoring in management information systems (Dejoie). While both contain interesting readings on a wide range of issues, they lack the ethical theory and philosophy of Johnson’s text and the Johnson and Snapper book. Ermann may be better suited for general audiences, while instructors in business schools may prefer Dejoie. The first edition of the Parker book was used to support a wide range of teaching and training. The addition of newer scenarios to the latest edition makes it a valuable resource for educators. The Forrester and Morrison book, as the authors state, is not about computer ethics. Its focus is on insecure and unreliable computers and on people who acted irresponsibly or illegally.

I have used Johnson, Johnson and Snapper, and both editions of Parker to teach ethics at the graduate and undergraduate levels. Many of the papers in the Ermann and Dejoie texts are excellent and should prove useful to those seeking to increase students’ sensitivity to ethical issues in computing.