Ethics in Technology – D333

Virtue ethics

A moral theory that emphasizes character and the training of virtues over adherence of rules.

Deontology

An ethical theory focused on following moral rules or duties regardless of the consequences. "If wrong, its always wrong"

Utilitarianism/Consequentialism

An ethical theory that evaluates actions based on their outcomes, aiming to maximize positive consequences. "the greater good for great amount of people"

Relativism

The belief that moral principles vary with individual or cultural perspectives. All ethical frameworks are subjective.

Ethical Decision Making Model

1. Identify the problem

2. Identify alternatives

3. Choose an alternative

4. Implement decision

5. Evaluate Results

Ethical

Having to do with morals, values, right and wrong. "Golden rule", "Would you be okay if a coworker did this"

Legal

allowed by law

Kantian ethics

A deontological ethical theory developed by Immanuel Kant, which emphasizes duty, moral laws, and treating others as ends in themselves.

ethics

societal code of behavior

morals

Beliefs and values regarding what is right and wrong, reflects personal principles

Corporate code of ethics

A formal document outlining a company's principles, values, and ethical standards that guide employee behavior.

Environmental, social, and governance policies

Corporate practices and policies that address environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and governance issues.

Supply chain sustainability

focuses on developing and maintaining a supply chain that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs

Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

concept that an organization should act ethically by taking responsibility for the impact of its actions on its shareholders, consumers, employees, community, environment, and suppliers

Care

An ethical approach that emphasizes empathy, relationships, and the well-being of others.

Access

The ability or right to approach, enter, or use something, especially in the context of technology and information.

Accuracy

The correctness or precision of information, data, or systems.

Property

The rights and ownership related to tangible or intangible assets, including intellectual property.

Privacy

The right of individuals to control access to their personal information and to be free from surveillance or intrusion.

Gain goodwill

Earning a positive reputation or trust from customers, stakeholders, or the public.

Cross-sell products

Offering additional or complementary products to existing customers to increase sales.

Whistleblowing

The act of exposing unethical, illegal, or harmful practices within an organization. Used to gain public attention.

Industrial espionage

The illegal practice of obtaining confidential information from a company for competitive advantage.

Corruption

The abuse of power for personal or financial gain, often involving bribery or unethical behavior.

Nepotism

Favoritism shown to relatives or friends in business or employment, regardless of merit.

Perimeter Security

The protection of the outermost boundary of a network or physical location to prevent unauthorized access.

Endpoint Security

The practice of securing individual devices, such as computers or smartphones, that connect to a network.

Layered Security

A multi-faceted approach to security using multiple tools and techniques to protect systems at different levels.

On-premises Security

Security measures implemented within a physical location or a company's local infrastructure.

Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

A symmetric encryption algorithm used to secure data, known for its strength and efficiency.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

A cryptographic protocol used to secure communications over a computer network.

Virtual private network (VPN)

A service that encrypts internet connections to provide privacy and security, often used for remote access.

Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)

A widely-used asymmetric encryption algorithm for securing sensitive data, particularly in digital communications.

Data Governance

The process of managing data's availability, usability, integrity, and security in an organization.

Data Accuracy

The precision and correctness of data within a given context, ensuring reliable and trustworthy information.

Data Quality

The condition of data based on factors like accuracy, completeness, and reliability, important for effective decision-making.

Data Regulation

Legal requirements and standards that govern the collection, use, and storage of data.

Data Encryption

The process of converting data into a coded form to prevent unauthorized access.

Data Property

Ownership rights over data, including control over its usage and dissemination.

Data Access

The ability to retrieve, view, or use data, often governed by policies and permissions.

Speech

The expression of ideas or information through verbal, written, or digital means, often protected as a form of free expression.

Patent

A legal right granted to inventors to exclusively produce, use, or sell an invention for a specified period.

Trademark

A symbol, word, or phrase legally registered or established to represent a company or product.

Copyright

Legal protection granted to the creators of original works, giving them control over reproduction and distribution.

Trade Secret

A formula, device, idea, process, or other information used in a business that gives the owner a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

John Doe lawsuit

gains subpoena power in an effort to learn the identity of anonymous Internet users who they believe have caused some form of harm to the organization through their postings

Electronic medical record (EMR)

collection of health related information on an individual that is created, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within a single healthcare organization

electronic health record (EHR)

comprehensive view of the patient's complete medical history designed to be shared with authorized providers and staff from more than one organization

Personal health record (PHR)

portions of the EHR that an individual patient "owns" and controls such as personal identifiers, contact information, health provider information, problem list, medication history, allergies, immunizations, and lab and test results.

Health information exchange (HIE)

process of sharing patient-level electronic health information between different organization

Doxing

The act of publicly revealing someone's private information, such as address or phone number, without consent.

Cyberharassment

The use of technology to harass, threaten, or humiliate someone repeatedly.

Cyberstalking

The use of electronic communication to stalk or harass an individual persistently.

Swatting

The act of falsely reporting an emergency to provoke a SWAT team response to someone's address.

contingent workers

Individuals hired by a company temporarily, typically not as full-time employees, to meet specific project needs.

H-1B Visa Holders

temporary work visa (foreign to US) granted by the USCIS for people who work in specialty occupations

Ethical Computing

The practice of ensuring technology is used in a manner that is responsible, fair, and respects privacy and human rights.

Green Computing

efficient and environmentally responsible design, manufacture, operation, and disposal of IT-related products

Distributed Computing

A computing model where multiple computers work together as a single system to perform tasks, often over a network.

Cognitive Computing

A technology that simulates human thought processes in a computerized model, using AI and machine learning to solve complex problems.

Insubordination

The refusal to obey orders from a superior, often leading to disciplinary actions in a workplace.

Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice

A set of principles guiding software engineers to act ethically and responsibly, ensuring quality and integrity in their work.

Safeguarded confidence

The ethical obligation to protect confidential information shared in trust, especially in professional relationships.

Lifelong learning

The continuous pursuit of knowledge and skills for personal or professional development throughout an individual's life.

Inherent dignity

The intrinsic value and worth that every individual possesses, which should be respected and protected in all ethical decisions.

Independent judgment

The ability to make decisions based on objective evaluation and reasoning, free from external pressure or bias.

Fraud

The act of intentionally deceiving others to gain an unfair or illegal advantage, often involving financial harm.

Conflict of interest

A situation where a person's personal interests could interfere with their professional duties or responsibilities.

Misrepresentation

The act of giving false or misleading information, often for personal or financial gain.

Bribery

The offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of something of value to influence the actions of an individual in a position of power.

Breach of contract

The failure to fulfill the terms of a legally binding agreement, leading to legal consequences or penalties.

Limited feature bias

A type of bias that occurs when machine learning models are trained on incomplete or insufficient features, leading to inaccurate predictions.

Tainted example bias

Bias that arises when the data used to train a model is influenced by flawed or misleading examples.

Skewed sample bias

Bias introduced when the data set used for training does not represent the true population, leading to unequal model performance.

Proxy discrimination bias

Occurs when machine learning models indirectly use a proxy variable that correlates with a protected characteristic, resulting in discriminatory outcomes.

Equal representation

The concept that different groups, particularly those that are underrepresented, should have fair and proportional representation in data sets and decision-making processes.

Equal error

A fairness measure in machine learning ensuring that the error rates for different demographic groups are the same.

Data disparity

Differences in data quality or quantity across groups, which can lead to unequal outcomes in data-driven decision-making.

Protected features

Characteristics such as race, gender, or age that are safeguarded by anti-discrimination laws and should not be used as decision factors in algorithms or models.

Copyright protection

Legal rights that protect creators of original works from unauthorized use, reproduction, or distribution of their creations.

Contributory negligence

A legal doctrine where an injured party is found to have contributed to their own harm, potentially reducing the liability of others involved.

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)

An act that makes it a crime to bribe a:

- Foreign official

- Foreign politcal party official

- Foreign candidate for political office

Controlling the Assualt of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing

(CAN-SPAM) Act

A law regulating legal spam.

- May not hide behind a false return address

- Must include a label stating that it is an ad or solicitation

- Must include an opt-out option

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

A wide-ranging act that included strong security provisions for electronic health records, such as:

- Banning the sale of health information

- Promoting the use of audit trails and encryption

- Providing rights of access for patients

Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

An act that attempts to give parents control over:

- Collection, use, and disclosure of children's personal information

Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA)

An amendment to the Wiretap Act and Electronic Communications Privacy Act

-The telecommunications industry is required to build tools into its products

that federal investigators could use to eavesdrop on and intercept

conversations and electronic communications.

- Requires a court order

Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA)

An act that deals with three main issues:

- Protection for the transfer of communications from sender to receiver

- Protection of communications while in storage

- Prohibits devices from recording dialing, routing, addressing, and signaling

information without a search warrent

European Union Data Protection Directive

Requires any company doing business within the EU to:

- Implement a set of privacy directives on the fair and appropriate use of

information

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act

Amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act and:

- Allows consumers to obtain a free credit report once per year from the

three main credit reporting companies

Fair Credit Reporting Act

Regulates the operations of credit bureaus in:

- How credit information is collected, stored, and used.

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

Assigns certain rights to parents regarding their children's educational records

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Court

A court that meets in secret that:

- Hears applications for orders approving electronic surveillance in the

United States.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)

An act that:

- Describes procedure for electronic surveillance and collection of foreign

intelligence in communications between foreign powers and agents of

foreign powers

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 Amendments of Act of

2008

An amendment that:

- Granted the NSA ability to collect international communications as they

flowed through the U.S.

- Does not require an approved warrant

Freedom of Information Act

A law that:

- Grants citizens the right to request certain information from the federal,

state, and local governments

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)

A bank deregulation law that requires loan, financial or investment advice, or insurance companies to:

- Explain information-sharing practices to customers

- Safeguard sensitive data

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

An act designed to:

- Improve portability and continuity of health insurance coverage

- Reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in health insurance

- Simplify the administration of health insurance

National Security Letter (NSL)

- Compels holders of your personal records to turn them over to the government

- Is not subject to judicial review or oversight

NSL gag provision

-Prohibits recipients of an NSL from informing anyone including the subject

of the request, that the government has requested their records

PATRIOT Sunsets Extention Act of 20