IS 400 Colloquium: Ethical Questions, Questioning Ethics, Ethical Jeopardy

We are frequently exhorted to incorporate greater ethical considerations into the activities of our lives. To carefully consider the ethics of the programs we create, the algorithms, the rules, the policies. To incorporate the teaching of ethics into our courses, and thereby careful consideration of the implications of all that we do. That is good, right and proper and I enthusiastically support it. But what does it actually mean? What should we do? What should we do when ethics gets us into very inconvenient areas? What do we do if intelligent students ask us awkward ethical questions? Should we teach students how to ask awkward ethical questions? Who gets to decide what is ethical anyway? Who gave them that right? What if they make a mistake and what they said was ethical turns out to be unethical? Will this talk have any answers or will it only be inconvenient questions that many people would like to leave unanswered - and preferably unasked?

Questions? Contact GaoZheng Liu