Tech Ethics?

[misskat]

Does anyone have recommendations for books/articles to read regarding the ethics of technology? With this whole "corporations are people" thing that's going around in the US right now, it occurs to me that computers, using the same criteria, could also be classified as people. Now isn't that an interesting thought?

Anyway, throw your recs in comments. :)

Comments

[shadowspar]

Heh, I wish I had something pithy for you, but when it comes to the software industry, the few pieces that spring to mind aren't about technology and ethics so much as the industry's abject refusal to engage with the field of ethics in any substantial way. =/

There are academic publications on the topic of technology and ethics. Many of these address the topic in a very abstract, distant, and unhelpful way. All of them are studiously ignored by the computing industry. The ACM and IEEE both publish Codes of Ethics. These too are paid nary the slightest heed.

If I sound bitter, it's probably because I am. Perhaps I shouldn't be so negative; after all, there are many amazing people taking on this issue, both in their personal lives and with their professional outspeak. I think of the Geek Feminism folks, the various authors writing at MVC, sundry other activist types in the same vein, as well as the founders, staff, and many other people here at Dreamwidth as well. =) But by and large, I still feel as though, in the overwhelming majority of the tech industry, expediency trumps ethics every damn time.

At any rate, here are a few articles lifted from my "ethics" bookmarks:

• Betsy Haibel: The Fantasy and Abuse of the Manipulable User
• Skud: No, I still don't want to work for Google.
• me: The Case for Ethics in Software Testing