Ethics

In todays era, the computers play a very vital role, however there are some ethical issues that are associated with it. The computers differ from the other kinds of technologies that are available for us today and so does its ethical considerations. Computers today are extremely important and interesting as well. The social impact of computers and its use is what we can call computer ethics. However, this consists of both the hardware as well as the software issues that arrive when we talk about computers. (Techterms.com, n.d.).

    Computer ethics deals with the way in which the computing professional should make decisions. It is a branch of philosophy and it was in the 1900s since this field was started.  Information ethics were formulated by Luciano Floridi after which the foundations of computer ethics were laid. (Johnson, 2009).

We see that there is a policy vacuum on the usage of the computers and since the computers give us options to use various features of the technology and to benefit from it, the people might also use it in an unethical manner. Most of the time, the policies that are made with reference to the usage of the computers seem inadequate. In these cases, we should find out what should be done to crater to this problem and policies should be formed to take actions against unethical use of the computers. Although there are many ethical issues that are related to the computers but there are some issues that are linked to the individuals while some are related to the society as a whole and the considerations linked to computer ethics.  It might seem that mechanical application might be needed to solve this problem however this is not possible due the existence of policy vacuum. Initially, the problem seems clear but it is actually something conceptual and an analysis has to be done to deal with it. For this, we first have to understand the ethical issues related to the computers before the solutions to the problems can be proposed.

In order to clarify the problem further, conceptual work is needed to formulate policies in order to keep the computer programs secured. A computer program is something that can be owned by someone. More or less it is like an idea or an algorithm but nowadays people are not buying computer programs but they easily use them in an unauthorized manner and this is indeed not good and it should be avoided. However, it is not always the mistake of the people since softwares as well as hardware parts are available to them at low prices which they prefer to buy rather than buying the expensive ones that are sold to them. It is mainly the black market that deals with all these kinds of softwares and hardware items. Despite the fact that it is the duty of the people to remain ethical and to avoid using the computers in an unethical manner, the people alone are not responsible. The government authorities play a very major role in this and they should formulate policies that would not let people use computer related things in an unethical manner. People should always buy patents for the software they are using or else they should be charged with fines. There are various possibilities that the computer technology provides us with and the policies that the people consider on the fact if they value something or not. For instance, if the government takes no action if the people use softwares without patents, the people will not pay much heed to it but if the government comes with a policy that would charge all those users who are using softwares without the patents, then the people will make sure that they own the patents.

Today, creating new software is considered important and is given respect but in the previous years, it was not given much consideration. Softwares are considered as an intellectual property and they should be protected. The primary problem that is involved with computer ethics is that this technology is very uncertain due to which it becomes difficult to know what to do and how to comprehend a condition. Therefore, all the situations related to the computers do not come under computer ethics. For instance, if some office equipment including the computers is stolen, this is not ethical and is considered wrong but this would them become a general issue of ethics as the computers are involved in this situation but it is basically accidental. (Moor, n.d.).

Computer ethics is a different field for study however the general ethics are also related to computer ethics. The theories that are related to ethics actually determines what is relevant such as the things that are good, our basic rights and the considerations that are important for justifying a conduct that is ethical. Computer ethics is basically a field that is complex and in which relationships are considered among the facts, policies and concepts with reference to the changes in the computer technology. It does not have a set of rules that are fixed but it requires us to think about our values. It is basically a field that falls between science and ethics and is based entirely on them but it also provides us with conceptualizations and policies for us to understand the way the computer technology should be used by us. Some of the features of computer ethics are interesting but there are also some problems that are associated with them. Previously, I have used the example of protecting the computer programs, however that is a very narrow concern as the domain is quite large and it involves various other things that affect us. In order to emphasize on its practical importance, I would not just mention some problems but I would also analyze the conditions that generate these issues only then would I be able to come up with a valid solution. For this, the social impact the computers have on the people will have to be considered.

    Moral principles that regulate the way the computers are being used are called computer ethics. There are some issues that arise with reference to the usage of the computers such as property rights, privacy concerns, etc. and the way they create an impact on the society. It is easy to create a duplicate form of something related to the computers but it is unethical and it should not be done without the approval of the author. Similarly, someones personal information should not be accessed without their permission as this too is considered unethical.