Each topic has some suggested questions following it - it's not necessary to answer all of them, but they are here to guide your explorations. It's likely not all of these will have a class period (since there are more great topics than classes), but if a topic has compelling readings suggested, that makes it a more likely candidate for inclusion on the schedule.
| Labor Issues in IT: Non-disclosure agreements, worker displacement, automation | Should companies be able to own their employees' ideas for years to come? What happens when technologies replace workers? |
| App development | What responsibilities do app developers have to their users' safety? Security? What about correct functionality? What if an app deliberately supports something questionable – whose problem is it? |
| Gender/race/etc in STEM | Certain groups are (seriously) under-represented in STEM. Why? Why do we care (if we care)? Whose problem is it? Are affirmative-action type programs reasonable? What about effective? |
| Automated cars | What ethical issues come up when computers are operating cars? What happens when a car has to choose between hitting two different other things? What should the laws be? |
| Government transparency / citizen privacy | Can security and privacy co-exist? Do they co-exist adequately now? If not, what would need to change? (How) is the current status quo broken? Is government wiretapping acceptable? When are the answers policy, and when are they technical? |
| Artificial Intelligence | What happens when AIs get complicated enough to start behaving in really unintended ways? What could go wrong? Who is responsible, and who could be hurt? |
| The Internet of Things | What are the ethical implications as more everyday objects get "smart?" What problems could come up – with information flow? With notifications? (How) should it be regulated? |
| Maker movement / crowdfunding | What are the ethics of crowdfunding? How does production of art, entertainment, or goods change in the new digital economy? |
| Online behavior: public shaming, cyberstalking, cyberbullying | Peer pressure, or even public shaming, affect individuals, large companies, and even governments. When does "outrage" turn into "vigilantism"? When is it just bullying? When is it useful or helpful? Should groups be regulated – and, separately, is it technically possible to do? |
| Bioinformatics, gene editing, transhumanism | What are the ethical implications of programming "better", healthier, or more abled people? |
| Hacktivism | When is hacking a legitimate mode of protest? How does this tie in with the Internet of Things? |
| Prosthetics and cybernetics, health privacy, telemedicine | What possible failures are there in the development of prosthetics? What rights do patients have? Doctors? Researchers? Are all patients the same? What role do insurance companies play? How do the answers differ outside the U.S. - what health information systems exist elsewhere? What are the potential ethical issues with telemedicine? |
| IT development for and by military uses | What are the ethics of using information technology for various military programs? Who bears responsibility for software or hardware that could kill people, and under what circumstances are the tradeoffs acceptable? |
| Commerical data & privacy; location-based information | What privacy invasions can be attributed to commercial entities? What are the reasonable expectations of privacy? What about small commercial entities? To what extent do we accept it because it is useful? Because we have to? |
| Anonymity on the internet | What are the moral implications of being anonymous online? How does anonymity shape behavior? |
| Software licensing | What are the ethics of open source, free, or proprietary software? |
| Digital Rights Management & Jailbreaking | Games, books, and similar now often exist only in digital form. What are the ethical implications of DRM technology? What about technical implications? Are kill switches okay? Is it okay to limit resale or swapping? Why? Should companies attempt to penalize jailbreaking? What rights do, and should, people have over objects they physically possess? When is it not okay – under what circumstances might a reasonable person agree that something should not be hacked by random owners? |
| 3D Printing | Things you can 3D print: toys; guns; knives; prosthetic arms. This will be household technology soon, unless it is limited by regulation. Do we care? What are the high-level implications? How does this affect questions of file-sharing and artificial scarcity? |
| Video games | What to do about sexism, racism, and violence in video games? |