ECS 188: Ethics in an Age of Technology

Subject
ECS 188
Title
Ethics in an Age of Technology
Status
Active
Units
4.0
Effective Term
2019 Spring Quarter
Learning Activities
Lecture: 3 hours
Discussion: 1 hour
Description
Foundations of ethics. Views of technology. Technology and human values. Costs and benefits of technology. Character of technological change. Social context of work in computer science and engineering. GE Prior to Fall 2011: SocSci, Wrt. GE: SS, SL, WE.
Prerequisites
Upper division standing.
Enrollment Restrictions
Pass One open to Computer Science Engineering Majors only; Pass Two open to Computer Science and Computer Science Engineering Majors only.

Summary of Course Content
I. Views of Technology
II. Philosophical Ethics
III. Technology and the Environment
IV. War and Other Threats to Human Existence
V. Privacy and Intellectual Property
VI. Responsibility and Professional Ethics


Illustrative Reading
A reader assembled by Phillip Rogaway includes work by: Ian Barbour, Robert Heilbroner, Langdon Winner, John Lienhard, Neil Postman, Deborah Johnson, Hans Jonas, David Strong, Jared Diamond, Ruth Schwartz Cowan, Freeman Dyson, Marshal McLuhan, Thomas Friedman, Suketu Mehta, the UN IPCC, Garrett Hardin, Amory Lovins, Eric Markusen, Bill Joy, James Boyle, Richard Stallman, Cory Doctorow, Jeff Schmidt, and the ACM.



Potential Course Overlap
There is no significant overlap with any other course since the focus of this course is on ethical issues as they arise in the field of computer science. Engineering 190 is a related course on professional ethics and responsibility in engineering. .



Final Exam
Yes Final Exam

Course Category

Upper Division