- Instructions
Choose one ethical issue arising from the use of ICT that has been reported in the press in the last one year, and discuss it in depth. Show why or how the technology creates or contributes to the problem. Produce an article, discussing both sides of the issue (pros and cons) drawing on both technical and philosophical literature. In addition, argue for your own view of the matter, giving your reasons for your point of view and showing why you believe that they are better than opposing views.
You will be assessed on your ability to reason, analyse and present cogent argument for the particular case. You should outline the main statement you wish to make about your chosen ethical issue along with your reasons and others’ objections to it. You may use any appropriate technique to set out the basic structure of your article.
Examples
1. In the recent years there have been considerable discussions on Internet content regulation. In an examination of this issue, you may like to present a discussion of the pros and cons of censorship in general, and how these general principles apply to the Internet, and also some of the technical issues associated with Internet content regulation. Your main focus statements could be, for example: Internet content ought to be regulated (alternatively, Internet content ought not to be regulated); information wants to be free and Content regulation is just censorship under another name.
2. Privacy is a perennial issue. Hardly a week passes without some report in the press about something that is causing concern, whether it be new data manipulation tools, online social media, search engines, new legislation, or whatever. Your main focus statements could be, for example: privacy on the internet ought to be protected; both government and relevant industry sector should come together to ensure personal privacy on the internet. There are of course many other arguments that could be presented about the issue of privacy.
1500 words
