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Ethical Dilemmas Related to Technology

Posted by michael on from the stop-dave...-will-you-stop-dave dept.

Anonymous Coward writes "I have a relative who will be teaching a college class on the topic of ethical dilemmas brought about by new technology. Unfortunately, he doesn't keep up with technology news, so he's not sure what the most relevant dilemmas are. For example, 'If robots came alive, would we be justified in killing them?' is one that might come up if nothing more relevant were suggested. (OK, it might not be that bad, but you get the idea. He was using Netscape 4.76 on system 9 until last week.) So, what are the most relevant ethical dilemmas brought up by technology? Note that I am looking for ethical dilemmas, e.g. 'Is Activity X moral?' rather than legal dilemmas like 'Is the DMCA constitutional?' Now is your chance to guide the young minds of the future toward stuff that matters."

2 of 704 comments (clear)

  1. My stab at it. by torre · · Score: 1, Troll
    Here's my quick stab at it.

    1) Is it moral for a government to stand idly by and allow the small business firm get crushed by legal action by the larger fish with more cash than they know what to do with? We've got lots of reports of incidents lying around slashdot's archives especially if you add the word "Microsoft" to the oppressor list (Lindows ring a recent bell to anyone?). Isn't a (to continue the metaphor) safe reef needed?

    2) How far can you milk a patent till it becomes a crime?... Can anyone remember (and if I search the slashdot archives enough I'm sure I'll find it) the guy who tried to patent the predecessor to the hyperlink and tried suing all the big online providers? Or perhaps the more recent attack (bullying tactic) on IBM's assistance to the Linux community?

    There are many other variants of these two questions especially when you get into specifics... hope that helps.

  2. Smart Bombs by MouseR · · Score: 0, Troll

    How smart a bomb should be? To me, a real smart bomb is what was previously called a dud. But that's clearly not what their inventors are aiming for.