It's All About That Technology!!

As stated, it is about technology. Me and my two partners Emily and George have decided to create this account in order to promote a global standard: Technology.
By definition, technology is the branch of knowledge that involves the creation and used of technical means and their interrelation with life on a social and environmental scale.
Everybody uses technolgy in some form or another; when using a cell phone, driving a car, or even when cooking dinner. In today's society, we use some form of technology in almost everything we do.

Another aspect of this page is Computer ethics. Computer Ethics, by definiton, is a branch of philosophy that deals with how computer professionals and computer users should make decisions based off of social conduct. Computer ethics is the morals used in discerning right from wrong when involved with computers. Another definition is "The systematic study of the ethical and social impact of computers in the information society"
Computer crimes tie in this theory that people don't have ethics when using a computer.
Computer crimes are defined as the following:

(1) When a computer is the target of the offense.

(2) When a computer is the tool used to commit the offense.

(3) When computers are rused in a crime but are not actually part of the act.(example includes: drug dealers who store their criminal acts on a computer)

Examples of computer crimes include: breaking and entering, stealing, hacking, forging, violating data belonging to banks, and other deeds. These examples of computer violations are part of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 "prohibits breaking into any electronic communications service."( which also includes telephone services) It does not allow the interception( listening/hearing) of any type of eletronic communications.

A good example of a computer criminal was Kevin Mitnick. This man began computer crimes when he was teenager by learning ways to hack into telephones companies and systems. By the time he 31 in 1995, he was convicted for many more crimes that would sentence him to jail.
Kevin Mitnick was convicted for these reasons:
(1) Stealing operators' manuals from Pacific Bell Telephone and destroying some of their data.
(2) Altering connections to get free long-distance telephone services.
(3) Breaking and entering Pentagon computers
(4) Stealing software from a software company in California
(5) Commiting computer fraud.


DID YOU KNOW:
* That the ENIAC or Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer was the most powerfulelectronic vaccuum tube computer in 1946?
* That in the later 1950s transistorized computers were made, beginning a whole new era in data programming?
* That all computers contain 5 essential parts: (1) a CPU or central processing unit,(2) input devices( like the keyboard and mouse), (3) a memory card or storage device, (4) output devices ( like moniters and speakers) and lastly (5) a communications network that links everything together(similar to the internet)





The major players in the realm of computer ethics are generically put as: artists, fans, lawyers, production companies, hacker, and techie. The artists are the ones who make the product, perform the product, and overall put their creativity into the project. The fans are the ones who purchase the artists product and greatly impact whether the product will succeed or fail. The lawyers interpret the laws regarding the product, and say ‘yay’ or ‘nay’ to others application of the product. The production companies mass produce the product, give the artist exposure, and are like the parents to the artists. The hacker is the person(s) who tries to use, take, or make the product in an inappropriate fashion, or without paying for it. The techie is the ‘whiz’ and can do most anything with the product, and manipulate it, without breaking any laws.


The field of study known as computer ethics was 1st researched by MIT professor Norbert Wiener during WWII. He and his colleagues created ‘cybernetics’, which is the science of information feedback systems. He foresaw the consequences of allowing technology to completely engulf our society.



In the mid 1960’s Donn Parker began to research the unethical and illegal uses of computers that people commonly did. He stated that when people went to a computer, they left their ethics at the door. He believed that the technology world created a serious moral and ethical problem within the human mind, because the computer world is like an entirely new universe where anything is possible.


Joseph Weizenbaum created ELIZA, which was a very simple and basic psychology program that imitated what a real psychologist would say, and it was a huge success. Many MIT scholars became attached to the program, and shared very intimate feelings and experiences with it.



Walter Maner began to use the term computer ethics in the 1970’s to describe the problems and questions computer technology created. He formulated the Starter Kit to Computer Ethics, which was his plan on how to teach the topic and how to apply it.


James Moor wrote a very influential article titles “What is Computer Ethics?” This article presented many old and new thoughts of what computer ethics actually was.