CMPUT 300 - Computers and Society

Overview

The course is about moral, legal and social issues of computer technology. Many ethical issues that did not exist before are now omnipresent. One of the most important ones facing society is on privacy and anonymity.

For example, many online e-commerce sites use cookies to track our buying habits. When these cookies are collected into a database, they may reveal identities of individuals. Some companies are selling these databases without their users’ consent. The most recent ramification of this is the inappropriate access of users’ data by Cambridge Analytica. What are the ethical issues of this practice? Do we still have ownership of our “privacy”?

Other important issues that will be discussed in class include: code of ethics and professional responsibility, critical reasoning, freedom and censorship of speech, privacy, security, and computer and computer related crimes and the use of AI and the future of jobs and professions.

Objectives

• Understand basic ethical theories 
• Understand issues related to contemporary technology 
• Develop skills to analyze ethical issues

Course Work

• Assignments
• Presentations
• Course work 
• Participation
• Team Project