Teaching Whistleblowing

1. Teaching Whistleblowing Karla Carter College of Science and Technology Bellevue University And Other Controversial Ethical Topics

2. "Your scientists were so pre-occupied with whether or not they could they didn't stop to think if they should." - Jurassic Park, 1993 (Dr. Ian Malcolm) http://youtu.be/4PLvdmifDSk

3. Controversial Ethical Topics • Whistleblowing (whistle-blowing, whistle blowing…) • Sex (includes pr0n and sex with robots) • Gender and Age • ???

4. Whistleblowing • Tattling versus whistleblowing • Edward Snowden – traitor or whistleblower? • Wikileaks • SecureDrop (developed by the late Aaron Swartz) • “SecureDropis a Python application that accepts messages and documents from the Web and encrypts them for secure storage. Each source who uses the platform is assigned a unique codename that lets the source establish a relationship with the news organization without having to reveal her real identity or resort to e-mail.” • Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) protection and recent Supreme Court ruling for private contractors

5. Whistleblowing question in disguise You work in IT services for a large company. Employees routinely bring their company-issued laptop computers in for maintenance and troubleshooting. One attractive single female employee has brought in her company-owned laptop because she suspects there might malware on it. Upon examining the computer, you find explicit photo and video files of her, engaging in adult-oriented activities, both alone and with other men and women. None of the photos or videos depict illegal activities. You recognize one of the men in the images as being the CIO – your boss' boss, essentially (although, given the sadomasochistic facial apparatus he's wearing in some of the photos, you can only be 95% sure). The CIO is married (and not to any of the women in the photos and videos) and considered a strong supporter of traditional "family values"; a pillar of the community and his religious organization. The content on the laptop violates the policies of your company. Right before the laptop was brought in you heard that IT services was being reduced by 20%, by order of the CIO. You do not know whether you will retain your job after the cutbacks. Prepare ethical arguments for and against showing the photos and videos to your coworkers, your manager, and the CIO. Please include the references you used to come to your conclusions, including personal experience or interviews.

6. Pr0n (in the context of Freedom of Expression versus Censorship) • The British government has mandated that Internet service providers in Britain must filter pornography out by default. If a user wishes to see the content that household will have to opt in. The policy has supporters and critics. Argue for and against the policy. Compare this to how in the US various organizations and members of Congress suggest requiring Web sites that contain material "harmful to minors" to move to a new Web domain ".xxx". Give some reasons for and against such a requirement. • How has the Internet changed the notion of community standards for determing if material is legally obscene? Do you think the community-standards criterion can be preserved on the Internet? If so, explain how. If not, explain why.

7. Robot Sex Week Readings “We are required to inform you that the following articles contain sensitive material related to adult content that may not be suitable for all students. You are not obligated to read these articles.” – required disclaimer "I (Robot) Thee Wed" for Slate, May 2012 (http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2012/05/robot_sex_and_marriage_will_society_accept_it_.html) "Sex and marriage with robots? It could happen" for NBC, October 2007 (http://www.nbcnews.com/id/21271545/#.URhJrKjrz_c) Project Aiko - a robotic woman with "companion" features http://www.projectaiko.com/ Ian Yeoman, Michelle Mars, Robots, men and sex tourism, Futures, Volume 44, Issue 4, May 2012, Pages 365-371, ISSN 0016-3287, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2011.11.004. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016328711002850) | https://www.dropbox.com/s/85xi826xke5pkra/Academic%20Journal%20Article%20about%20Robot%20Sex%20Tourism.pdf "My Robot, My Love" by David Levy (https://www.dropbox.com/s/gct2vm7dbqwhn41/My%20Robot%2C%20My%20Love.pdf)

8. Robot Sex Week Question What are the ethical considerations involved in romantic relationships with robots? Does it matter if the person is single or already involved in another romantic relationship? (e.g. is it cheating/infidelity?) Make sure you define what a robot is and at what point humans with non-human cyber parts would be more robot than human.

9. Gender Issues • Adria Richards PyCon2013 (see http://www.technollama.co.uk/of-tweets-sexism-vigilantes-and-dongles for coverage and opinions, including a comment I made) • Goldman Sachs Nail Files and Mirrors (http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/goldman-sachs-handed-out-nail-files-to-recruit.html?mid=twitter_nymag) • Petticoat 5 computer humor skit (http://youtu.be/2dEmWvVfEts)

10. Gender Issues Conversation A recent conversation in an online class with a DDA (Designated Devil’s Advocate) student about the Goldman Sachs incident in the Corner Pub area of the classroom: Student: "I don't see the issue here, it was a WOMEN’S coding event, meaning you would focus your marketing campaign towards you audience.  Now if they had been handing out pocket knifes it may be newsworthy.  Personally, people make news out of bulls@#t these days."Me: "Pocket knives are at least gender-neutral ;-)"Student: "It still doesn't negate the fact that it was a Women’s coding conference.  Honestly, do you want to be handed a gender neutral item when a gender specific item would make more marketing sense?  Companies are around to make money, focusing your message or gifts to their audience only makes financial sense."Me: "I can see both sides of this, but the side that is pulling me more is that many women want to be valued for something other than their looks. Beauty items handed out tend to send a message of 'yeah, you're doing this coding thing, but, really, your value is in your looks. Here, have a mirror and a nail file.' The only person I want to notice my looks is my boyfriend (as long as he respects my mind, as well, which he seems to do ;-)"

11. Age Issues There are some articles relating to age in the Visit section: “Are You Too Old to Code?”, “Is there coding life after 40?”, “45 and Too Old to Work?”, and “Old Techies Never Die”. What were your initial reactions to reading these? Do you think there's an age limit on when someone has to move from coding into management? Related, does everyone do well at management? Are there any ways that people under 30 are better qualified to be coders? Are their benefits to having folks over 45 write code? If you were in a hiring position and two applicants with equal talents applied for a coding position, but one of them was 25 and one was 48, which one would you hire? Why? Are there other professions (other than professional sports, where your late 30s is "old") where one is somewhat forced to move into management? • Are You Too Old to Code? Can you make a Career of it? (http://weblogs.asp.net/dreilly/archive/2005/02/17/375785.aspx) • Is there coding life after 40? (https://www.simple-talk.com/content/article.aspx?article=174) • 45 and Too Old to Work? (http://web.archive.org/web/20051227035055/http://www.thechannelinsider.com/article2/0,1759,1816495,00.asp) • Old Techies Never Die; They Just Can't Get Hired as an Industry Moves On (https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/us/bay-area-technology-professionals-cant-get-hired-as-industry-moves-on.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0)

12. Your turn! What assignment(s) can you think of?