Unethical technology Essay Example
Unethical technology Essay Example

Unethical technology Essay Example

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  • Pages: 11 (2909 words)
  • Published: March 12, 2018
  • Type: Essay
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Technology plays a crucial role in people's daily lives, in businesses and organizations around the world . We are in a phase that we can no longer stop the human mind from creating new needs and new inventions everyday . This obsession is clearly prevailing and despite all the positive aspects it holds for us . We should highlight the dangers of letting artificial intelligence become way beyond human Intelligence. In modern society, we use computer and cyber technology to communicate with friends and family via social networking sites , participate in business transactions, and get current news.

However , Although these inventions re claimed to be legal it does not mean they are ethical in all ways . People should be aware that Information technology (IT) can be highly

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dangerous if it is misused . It might cause a person to lose his Job , his family , his money or even his life . There is ethics that build up the standards and rules of conduct In using IT for decision making . But who is controlling and monitoring over this ? Starting at the creators, the researchers have every right to expand their knowledge and be creative and productive.

But, Like any other situation, researchers do not have the right to create something that is destructive to the human race. Or do they? We have after all allowed the creation of weapons of mass destruction such as the atomic bomb. The primary difference here Is that humans will always control the use of such weapons. When dealing with artificial intelligence, we are potentially dealing with an entity that could be out

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of human control. Humankind is the last stakeholder. Humans have always made Innovating Inventions to make their own lifestyle more comfortable.

Humans will always have the right to create new and innovating resources to make life as easy as possible. But, at the same time, humans also have the right to continue o exist, which Is why the researchers have an ethical obligation to the rest of humanity. There are many professional Issues that surround the field of artificial Intelligence. Companies are after the newest and best product to take to the market. They are constantly pushing researchers to find the newest gadget to interest the public. But, the researchers should have an ethical standard to ensure safety within the field.

There is a fine balance in technological advancement between over protection and loss of innovation and creativity. Some of the most important negative consequences of misuse of Information technology Is Privacy : It Is so hard today for a country to provide their citizens with total privacy with all the new electronic technologies being invented. Currently there are no laws or government policies that protects information online . In corporations it is claimed that they choose well known IT managers and employees who are honest and ethical .

However, there is a lot of data brokers who collect and sell information about their consumers for marketing purposes. The article states that most ethical issues obtain everything a specific person has typed, or screen capture programs to monitor everything they have looked at, have not even been confronted by law, nor is there a standard that any IT professional has to follow. Some of the

IT professionals even help employees to get others fired. An example of this would be: At this particular business the IT department receives all the e-mails to be screened before they leave to the recipient.

If employee wanted someone else fired they could pay the IT professional to change words or even send whole e-mails that do not represent what the sender wants. It's time for the government to take a step forward on this issue. Identity fraud is one of the major criminal charges today. If the IT professionals are not bound by a law they have the free will to decide what is ethical or not on the Job. This article is not to condemn all IT professional. There are many IT employees that are ethical and make just decisions on the Job. It was mainly written to make people aware of the possibilities of the unjust to happen to them.

Several initiatives are in the works at both national and international levels of government to address consumer privacy rights. Public records, once the domain of country courthouses, can now be made available to anyone over the internet for a price, via an online data broker. Unfortunately, selling this information is not currently illegal. Obtainable information includes; current addresses, phone numbers, aliases, property ownership, bankruptcies, tax liens, civil Judgments, relatives or roommates names, and even a criminal background check (www. As-people-search. Com). Once such company, called Cellular Trace, can provide a cellular phone trace for a fee. This company can provide a reverse look-up on a cell phone number, information on a changed or disconnected cell number, or to locate the cell phone

number itself (wry. Accelerated. Com). Many people believe this is unethical, because stalkers, managers, and others can use the date maliciously (Belles, 2006). Furthermore, Cellular Trace provides a Disclaimer (wry. Accelerated. Com/disclaimer. Tm), which must be agreed to by all who places orders, that states that the person requesting the information is, and/or will use the information for: Law enforcement, fraud or insurance investigation, Journalistic endeavors, investigations of missing persons, locating heirs or beneficiaries, collection of monies owed, the location or repossession of mortgaged collateral, licensed private investigation, legal investigations This implies that the information should be used for the conduct of business in a non- personal way, or for informational purposes only.

However, on the Cellular Trace website there are pictures of people who appear to be "cheating" on their spouses or significant others, with the following captions: "Suspicions of infidelity are often confirmed by cell phone research", and "Many cheaters try to hide their unfaithful communications by using their cell phones", and finally, "If you suspect your husband, wife, boyfriend or girlfriend is cheating, and need cellular research to infirm or eliminate your suspicions, we can help by providing number traces, call records, and more! " Not only is this incendiary advertisement, but it is actually prohibited by their own disclaimer!

Legislators have vowed to shut down these sites. The Gram-Leach-Bailey Act, passed by Congress in 1999, prohibits people from records (Belton, 2006). So, although alarm bells are going off, and people feel it is unethical to sell personal information, it is as yet not illegal. Interestingly, however, Cellular Trace also requires, as part of the Disclaimer, that the requester may not attempt

to obtain records of their own search request, or any other records from Accelerated. Com, its owners, members, employees, etc. By force, fraud, coercion or any other means including a subpoena (italics added)0" (wmwcellulartrace. Mom/ disclaimer. HTML) This can only be because Cellular Trace is afraid of future litigation, or a future change in the law which would make what they do illegal, and/or wish to protect themselves and their files retroactively. This is not the Disclaimer of a company who wants honesty to be their guiding principle. This is the Disclaimer of a many that knows that the personal information they provide may be used for other than ethical or even legal purposes, and wants to cover themselves in case of any unfortunate consequences stemming from the provision of this information.

In this technological age, when all personal information is for sale, the question becomes how much personal information, and which kinds, should be made public, and thus for sale, on the internet. Consumers certainly don't want their personal information out in cyberspace, and many have no idea it is out there for sale. Unfortunately, the reason it is out there is because, "The information typically originates from records gathered and stored by public agencies, available for anyone to see n courthouses and government buildings around the country" (Grim, 2005).

Unfortunately, in their rush to get records online 0 including marriage and divorce records, property deeds, etc containing social security numbers and other sensitive information, including signatures 0 little thought was given to the consequences of making this available online (Ibid). So, online companies such as Cellular Trace only need to collect the data,

analyze it, and sell it to anyone willing to abide by their Disclaimer. Even it this activity was made illegal today, there are already billions of personal records on the web.

Even EJB Bush (governor of Florida) had his social security number published on his county website, and hence, on the web. Betty Estrogen, an activist against making public records available online, pointed this out to him, and he had it blacked out. So, she promptly listed it on her own website. Her point is that public information should stay public, but not made available online (Grim, 2005). Ultimately, Cellular Trace may be providing a legal service, but ethically it is in a very gray area.

The fact that they cover themselves with a thorough Disclaimer is good for them, but not good for the consumer. Until government and adequate laws protecting consumer privacy rights catch up with technology however, it is every person for himself to try to keep as much personal information off the internet as possible Intimacy : The internet use is being stimulated in our everyday life that maybe in the future it will change the whole human existence . In the future, there is possibilities of having everything done online for example education , organizations , politics and even the social life etc .

You can reach everything online regardless of time and space . However , the human will be so distant from others that he will be living his own world all alone . People find it easier nowadays to communicate on devices and applications such as backbone and watchstrap instead of meeting up and having face others

and your society ? Accuracy and safety Safe and accurate information can increase quality of information which in turn, leads to better consequences for both individuals and organizations.

In fact, lack of accurate and safe information results in wrong and inaccurate decisions as well as low quality performance and bad outputs. When a society plans for meeting its cultural, economic and social goals, it requires comprehensive reliable information in each stage of development [11]. It is important to note that economists also emphasize on information accuracy and safety. If a company has precise information about price of products and rivals' services, it can make opportune decisions on changing prices and market fluctuations.

In the other words, accurate and safe information causes company to make a profit. The report released by US Department of Transportation (1999) indicates that knowing what other organizations have done r how they have confronted similar challenges is invaluable when making technical or policy decisions. But as technological facilities and information exchange increase, information crimes are being reinforced which threats information accuracy .

In the other words, information technology offers a variety of ways for persons to misuse computers and electronic communications. Some of them are computer sabotage, creating and disseminating computer viruses, computer fraud and other economic crimes, unauthorized entry into or use of computers, trafficking in passwords, hacking and so on. So, as long as we can not overcome these problems, living in unethical environment and information manipulation would be inevitable.

In this regard, Mason (1986) writes "it is our responsibility to be vigilant in the pursuit of accuracy in information. Today we are producing so much information about so

many people and their activities that our exposure to problems of inaccuracy is enormous" (Intellectual) Property versus plagiarism technological developments ignore the social role of the creator and of the work itself, thus overlooking their ethically significant relationships with the rest of society. The balance is lost. One can conclude that he emphasizes on necessity of a more balanced view .

In this respect, Intellectual property on the Internet: A survey of issues" that addresses the far-reaching impact that digital technologies- the Internet in particular- have had on intellectual property and the international IP system . By definition, plagiarism which has high negative impact on intellectual property is "the act of stealing another person's intellectual property which includes ideas, inventions, original works of authorship, words, slogans, designs, proprietary information, etc. ND using them as your own without proper acknowledgment and remission of the original author or inventor . As "plagiarism" is a serious matter with important legal and ethical implications, academic, industry, government and private institutions should establish guidelines for avoiding theft of ideas or works under the umbrella of intellectual property in their respective environments. In association with copyright and intellectual property, Mason (1986) believes that "nowhere is the potential threat to human dignity as severe as it is in the age of information technology".

Access and equity The rapid growth of electronic technology as a means of accessing information has deed to increased concern over differences in access to information for various social, enable a user to gather and use information, citizens become less informed and our democracy suffers. Describe the right of freedom of access to information as essential, because without it,

it is impossible to establish sustainable development. Access to information is thus a "common good, which must be distributed equally and according to developmental needs of people" [15].

Confirming low accessibility and inequity, Baker (2003) concludes that "in a world where globalization, genealogical evolution, and fierce competition have led to the creation of new elite- those who are information rich, the knowledge workers- the vast majority of the world's population stands to be left behind. The failure to develop a new form of "social contract", which takes into account the information needs of citizens in developing countries, will have disastrous results for humanity as a whole.

So, it is recommended that technological tools are used to facilitate equitable access to information until such time as the imbalances can be equalized, and everyone has . Instant universal access". Pornographic issues (Internet addiction) The Internet is transforming the experience of growing up and being a parent in America. The Internet brings the world- the good, the bad, and the ugly- to the family doorstep.

Technological developments especially Internet has ushered in an age of unprecedented access to pornographic images pornography addiction which is defined as a condition resulting from the overuse or abuse of pornography . It is clammed that pornography is categorized under internet addiction including net gaming, cyber relational addiction , information overload , computer addiction and Weber sexual addiction . It is unethical to deliberately expose people to pornography to examine its effects, it might be operational to conduct more longitudinal studies of users who were exposed to pornography .

Concluding remarks and recommendations : it can be concluded that only identifying such problems

is not solution but through providing strategies and recommendations, global especially information or digital society will hope to witness equity, Justice, accessibility, privacy, accuracy, safe family, and low pornographic problems. In addition to identification of these challenges, one way to maintain a higher standard of ethics in IT practice is to develop codes of conduct.

The codes of conduct could assist professionals to resolve ethical conflict between parties and also to maintain a higher ethical standard of individuals". Balanced decision making between the north and south to bear upon the information "have" and "have not" and work towards reducing information gap among people. Acceptance of differing cultural values across the world and incorporate local knowledge. Help to build global networking and strengthen global partnerships via casual friendship and acquaintances. A visionary better world built on solidarity, social Justice and ecological sustainability. Approve freedom of information as underlined through national legislation and international charters and international institutional programs devoid of censorship and propaganda ethics of information use, the rational and precise use of information, the evaluation of information and so on, launching the information literacy education can encourage citizens to recognize the significance of information and information technology in our social life, and also enhance their sense of responsibility for information.

They can resist information reminisces of information ethics [20]. 1 . Respect for property Respect for property issues include: system security issues, such as computer hacking and respect for intellectual property rights, such as copyrights. 2. Respect for territory and privacy Respect for territory and privacy issues also include system security issues as well as the dissemination and/or gathering of private information. 3.

Respect for

others and common courtesy Respect for others involves respectful communication and the avoidance of irresponsible speech. Irresponsible speech includes defamation, harassment, flaming [abusive language, and spamming. A related problem is the use of e-mail forgery to disguise the source of the irresponsible speech. 4. Respect for institution Respect for the institution addresses the use of a limited purpose Internet account in accord with its limited purpose.

The activities that are permitted through a particular Internet account may be restricted due to the source or institution providing that account, such as limited purpose accounts provided by educational institutions and business or government employers. 5. Respect for Self Respect for self issues includes those activities that generally do not have an impact n others but can be injurious to the self, such as addiction, personal safety, "garbage" activities.

The education and training of IT professionals, including security specialists, usually focuses on technical knowledge and skills. You learn how to perform tasks, but with little consideration of how those abilities can be misused. In fact, many IT professionals approach their work with a hacker's perspective: whatever you can do, you're entitled to do. In fact, many IT pros don't even realize that their Jobs involve ethical issues.

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