Supplement: Computer Ethics

1. Supplement: Computer Ethics How dependable is computer technology? In 1994, Intel’s new Pentium processor was determined to have a flaw… 4195835–(4195835*3145727)/3145727 = 256 The Problem: Five values were left out of a table of 1,066 on the chip. Those five values were looked up when certain divisions were performed and, since they weren’t there, the values were interpreted as zeros. The Response: Initially denying that there was any error at all, Intel ultimately offered to replace customers’ chips with corrected versions. The Reaction: Intel’s competitors condemned Intel, but all of the press Intel received, while negative, turned it into a household name. Supplement Computer Ethics Page 205

2. Therac-25 In the mid 1980’s, the Therac-25, a computerized radiation therapy machine from Canada’s AECL, was determined to have a software bug that resulted in several patients receiving hundreds of times the proper amount of radiation, causing three deaths. Supplement Computer Ethics Page 206

3. Cell Phones The U.S. Food & Drug Administration and the American Cancer Society have determined that the evidence is inconclusive regarding the link between cell phone use and brain cancer. Somewhat less doubtful is the link between male cell phone use and reduced sperm count (primarily due to the phone being kept in pants pockets). Supplement Computer Ethics Page 207

4. Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail Various techniques have been developed for dealing with the “spam” that plagues people’s e-mail accounts. Blacklists One very effective technique for blocking spam is to maintain a blacklist of spam sources, and to refuse all e-mail from those sources. The problem: Aggressive blacklist policies might list sources that send legitimate e-mail as well as spam. Whitelists Instead of trying to block spam while allowing everything else, whitelist software blocks everything except messages from already known, accepted senders, thus changing e-mail from an open system to a closed one. Whitelists typically allow e-mail from everyone in a user's existing address book. Other, unknown senders receive an automated reply, asking them to take further action, such as explain who they are. Or senders may be asked to identify a partially obscured image of a word. A person can make out the word, but automated spammer software can't.  Supplement Computer Ethics Page 208

5. Identity Theft Technological advances in recent years have facilitated the ability of criminals to obtain personal information about people and to unlawfully gain access to their financial accounts. * 2006 FTC Statistics Supplement Computer Ethics Page 209

6. Electronic Monitoring To combat employee “cyberslacking”, employers are increasing making use of monitoring software that records how employees are using their office communication capabilities. Legally, the courts have consistently defended the right of employers to monitor telephone conversations, voice-mail messages, e-mail, and Web browsing of employees using employer-provided equipment. Supplement Computer Ethics Page 210

7. The Blue Screen of Death A bug in a software package may cause the program to access or alter memory inappropriately, causing this program (or an entirely separate program) to crash later. “A broad range of conditions can cause a Fatal Exception error. As a result, troubleshooting a Fatal Exception error can be difficult.” - Microsoft’s “helpful” documentation A recent study showed that 70% of these errors are caused by device drivers, the software that handles the communication between a computer’s core operating system and its hardware. Because device drivers tie the computer’s software and hardware together, they have special access privileges within the machine that most software doesn’t. The likelihood that others are experiencing the same problem with the same hardware is usually high, so hardware manufacturers frequently post updated versions of the device drivers, which address the problem. Supplement Computer Ethics Page 211