Computers and Ethics in the Cyberage

by D. Micah Hester

This anthology of essays, contributed and compiled by experts in a variety of fields, addresses both perspectives in the debate regarding the proliferation of computers in our lives. Topics ranges from privacy copyright and computer crime issues to the global impact of computers, online communities and virtual reality. For anyone interested in a broad-based interdisciplinary view of the ethical issues facing society in light of the computer's proliferation in our personal and professional lives.

Genres: Philosophy

512 pages, Paperback

First published July 6, 2000

Reviews

[Ira Nayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult. On the one hand, many of the pieces in this book are 15, 20 or more years old, which, given the speed at which communications technology changes, makes much of the discussion historic. On the other hand, many of the ethical discussions are still relevant, either because the tech hasn't changed that much or human nature hasn't changed that much. So, although I wouldn't recommend it to others, it did give me a lot of ideas to play with, which was, for me, the point of reading it.

I did find one aspect of the book interesting. Chapters on artificial intelligence and virtual reality were largely positive, while I found the chapter on the Internet largely negative; but, of course, the Internet is the technology that is a part of our everyday lives, while the other two are still not. Perhaps anti-tech hysteria ratchets up the more people actually use a technology (while, at the same time, people can determine for themselves the value of that technology).