Ethics, Information Technology, and Today's Undergraduate Classroom

Abstract

This paper highlights interdisciplinary research grounding a course that is one of the core requirements of a new undergraduate informatics curriculum. Ethics and Information Technology explores the ethical dilemmas that exist where human beings, information objects, and information systems interact. The course tests the notion that the most effective way to explore how new technologies relate to integrity, truthfulness, trust, respect for privacy and individuality is to become immersed in a technological environment where unethical behavior as well as ethical norms can be safely and confidentially tested, evaluated, observed, and experienced. The paper will summarize an emerging literature in three areas: (1) the theories of ethics and information technology, (2) the characteristics of the “Net Generation” regarding the use of new technologies, and (3) the central role played by “trust” in assessing the ethical implications of new technologies, including online multiplayer games, image editing, collaborative authoring, and open source coding conventions. The paper will then demonstrate how this literature informs the design and implementation of the course.