Computer Ethics & Society Exam Prep (Ch 1-9)

Internet of Things (IoT)

Everyday non-computer items embedded with software and connected to the internet.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Computer science branch enabling machines to perform tasks requiring human intelligence.

Turing Test

Test assessing whether a machine can converse indistinguishably from a human.

Chinese Room Argument

Searle's argument that computers manipulate symbols mechanically without true understanding.

Deontological Ethics

Ethical framework emphasizing absolute duties and rules regardless of the consequences.

Consequentialist Ethics

Ethical framework evaluating actions based on net outcomes and aggregate utility.

Negative Rights

Rights obligating others not to interfere with an individual's actions.

Positive Rights

Rights obligating society or others to provide specific provisions or services.

Social Contract Theory

Idea that rational individuals accept laws to secure civil order.

Informed Consent

Requirement that users receive clear notice and freely choose data collection policies.

Invisible Information Gathering

Data collection conducted without the subject's knowledge or explicit consent.

Secondary Use

Using personal data for a purpose beyond its original collection reason.

Opt-Out Policy

Data collection model sharing user data unless the user explicitly objects.

Opt-In Policy

Data collection model requiring explicit user permission before sharing personal data.

Fourth Amendment

Constitutional protection against unreasonable government searches and seizures without warrants.

Katz v. United States (1967)

Supreme Court ruling that the Fourth Amendment protects people's reasonable privacy expectations.

United States v. Miller (1976)

Ruling stating that information shared with third-party businesses loses Fourth Amendment protection.

Kyllo v. United States (2001)

Ruling that thermal-imaging of a home from outside constitutes a search.

United States v. Jones (2012)

Ruling requiring a warrant to physically attach a GPS tracker to vehicles.

Riley v. California (2014)

Unanimous ruling requiring a warrant to search seized cell phone contents.

Stingray

Cell-site simulator used by law enforcement to track mobile phone locations.

Privacy Act of 1974

Law restricting federal government databases and granting citizens access to files.

REAL ID Act (2005)

Law establishing federal requirements for state-issued driver's licenses for federal uses.

Right to Be Forgotten

Principle allowing individuals to request removal of personal links or data.

Chilling Effect

Self-censorship caused by vague laws scaring people away from legal speech.

Miller v. California (1973)

Established the three-part legal test defining unprotected obscenity.

Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA)

Law requiring public library web filtering as a condition of federal funding.

Section 230

Law protecting online platforms from legal liability for third-party user content.

CAN-SPAM Act

U.S. statute regulating commercial email, deceptive headers, and opt-out mechanisms.

Net Neutrality

Principle that internet service providers must treat all web traffic equally.

Copyright

Legal protection covering original artistic, literary, musical, and software expressions.

Patent

Legal protection granted for novel, non-obvious, and useful inventions or processes.

Fair Use Doctrine

Legal exemption allowing unauthorized use of copyrighted material for transformative purposes.

Sony v. Universal City Studios (1984)

Ruling that noncommercial home recording for time-shifting is fair use.

Sega v. Accolade (1992)

Ruling permitting software decompilation and reverse engineering for product compatibility.

First Sale Doctrine

Principle allowing buyers of physical copyrighted copies to resell or lend them.

DMCA Anticircumvention

Provision prohibiting tools designed to bypass digital rights management security.

DMCA Safe Harbor

Protection shielding online host platforms from user copyright infringement upon takedown.

Copyleft

Licensing approach using copyright to guarantee derivative works remain free software.

Botnet

Network of compromised computers controlled remotely to launch automated cyberattacks.

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS)

Attack flooding a server with artificial traffic to render services unavailable.

Hacktivism

Hacking activities performed to promote political or social political causes.

Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA)

Primary U.S. federal statute criminalizing unauthorized access to protected computer systems.

Technological Employment Effect

Historical pattern where automation reallocates workforce sectors without causing mass unemployment.

Offshoring

Relocating business processes or software development to foreign countries.

Neo-Luddism

Philosophy criticizing modern technology as damaging to human community and nature.

Digital Divide

Socioeconomic inequality in access to computing technology and high-speed internet.

Therac-25

Radiation machine whose software defects caused fatal patient radiation overdoses.

Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V)

System safety testing executed by an independent external organization.

Professional Ethics Duty

Special obligation of computing experts to protect non-technical clients and users.