CSIS 657 LU Computer Science Practicing Responsibility Discussion

Post 1:

Stanley Glover

In the field of technology, there has been a plethora of major advancements since its initial conception. It can be found that many of these most recent advancements have been in the data and database space. Technology has become more integrated within a person’s everyday life, allowing them the ability to find answers, purchase items online, and much more. All of these actions generate data, data in its simplest form is information that is generated and collected by computers.

In today’s world, every action that is taken online generates some form of data. A technology user simply surfing the internet can produce an immense amount of data that is oftentimes stored for a plethora of reasons. The data that is collected on any given technology user can range dramatically from things like searches, preferences, habits, and even personal information. As a result of these varying types of data, there is an almost infinite amount of applications that the data can be used to fill. Some of the key roles that data has been implemented to fill can be found in the target ad space, building user patterns, and even government intelligence(Zwitter,2014).

The ability to collect and analyze data has recently become one of the hot-button topics of the twenty-first century. This is a direct result of the power that user-generated data posses. The analysis of data draws into question many ethical conundrums that have not been directly addressed until recent years. In terms of the role that we play as data scientists, we are oftentimes at the mercy of the employer’s request regardless of our moral point of view(Hand,2018). That makes it difficult to address the issues of the data scientist’s personal moral beliefs and judge them off the actions they take at their organization.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law, he meditates day and night.”- Psalm 1:1-6

In the bible, the topic of free will and choice is covered in-depth. We as humans have the ability to take action, but just because we have the ability to take those actions does not mean they should be taken. This concept is can be applied to how data is analyzed, given that data has the ability to build profiles, trends, and other acts that can invade user privacy without consent these actions could be seen as immoral. On the other hand, if there is consent these actions are no longer immoral.

I personally believe there is a fine line between the moral application of data and the immoral application of data. There are a host variables that can carry a lot of weight in determining where an action stands on that line.

References

King James Bible
Hand, D. J. (2018). Aspects of data ethics in a changing world: Where are we now?. Big data, 6(3), 176-190.
Zwitter, A. (2014). Big data ethics. Big Data & Society, 1(2), 2053951714559253.

Post 2:

Samuel Frimpong

Privacy in data processing means that a person has control over the time, place, and reason for interactions between third parties and their personally identifiable information. Personal privacy is important for human dignity, safety, and the right to choose for oneself. This helps each person develop their own unique identity in a natural way. When sensitive information gets out, it can cause all sorts of problems. If there was a data breach at a government institution, for example, top-secret information could get into the hands of an enemy state. In this age of data exploitation, privacy is more important than ever to keep sensitive company information from getting into the wrong hands. A person’s right to privacy is part of what makes them human and has a big impact on how they interact with their surroundings. It lets us be ourselves without worrying about being punished and form our own opinions without bias. It seems that obeying God is always at the heart of his tests. He gives us tasks that we don’t understand and don’t want to do, but that are good for us in the long run. Then he waits to see how we respond so he can figure out what we really think of him. Most of the time, we do what he says if we trust him. There are clear differences between biblical ethics and private ethics in the modern world, but the latter can still learn from the former. Solove finds similarities between physical invasions of privacy in the past and data breaches in the present. He comes to the conclusion that both types of invasions of privacy fall under the umbrella term “privacy,” even though they are different. Even though the word “privacy” isn’t used in the Bible, and even though the context is different because of differences in technology and the stage of company growth, the challenges of protecting one’s privacy are talked about in ways that can teach us something today. Even in ancient times, when people lived in small, shaky houses, privacy was hard to keep. Today, when people communicate and store information through technology, privacy is even harder to keep. More than ever, there is a chance that private information that was legally gathered for business purposes will get into the wrong hands and be used in the wrong way. People can only hope to keep some semblance of privacy for themselves if privacy is seen as a moral right with inherent value and its protection is a top priority. Biblical literature is a great place to find moral advice about the right to privacy because it stresses the importance of developing a moral code and standards for ethical behavior. The focus of biblical literature on establishing moral rules fits in well with what we want to do. Today, when someone breaks long-standing moral rules, we turn to civil law laws for help.

Reference

Edmund Wall, “Privacy and the Moral Right to Personal Autonomy,” International Journal of Applied Philosophy 25, no. 1 (2011): 69.

Glass, Benjamin and Cahn, E. Susanna (2017) “Privacy Ethics in Biblical Literature,” Journal of Religion and Business Ethics: Vol. 3 , Article 6.