Ethics and ICT

A fascinating area, and one we are morally bound to explore, is the issue of ethics and ICT. As a forerunning academic, Krystyna Gorniak-Kocikowska argued, "the computer revolution has a global character and that Computer Ethics should be therefore a global ethics."

But given that even Australian states can't agree about something simple and practical such as a standard gauge for railway tracks (hence, a train cannot travel across the border from NSW to QLD or vice versa: the railway tracks are different distances apart), getting the world as a whole to agree on global ethics seems to be an optimistic but elusive dream. But that doesn't mean we should avoid the topic.

Start your exploration of the topic by reading and discussing Dr Gorniak-Kocikowska's paper "From Computer Ethics to the Ethics of Global ICT Society"

Dr Gorniak-Kocikowska makes some very strong arguments. But is it achievable? Read and discuss Professor Luciano Floridi's wonderfully strong social-justice commentary called "Information Ethics: An Environmental Approach to the Digital Divide". It's powerful stuff. (If you're interested in his views on business ethics and information ethics, with especial notice on the concept of 'profit', read this article.)

The excellent Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy has a good overview article on Computer and Information Ethics. If you're interested in delving deeper into various perspectives, I can recommend "Phenomenological Approaches to Ethics and Information Technology".