Ética de la Computación y

de la Información
Harvey Alférez, MS ICT
http://fit.um.edu.mx/harvey/
Technology itself is incapable of possessing
moral or ethical qualities, since "technology" is
merely tool making

Thus, "ethics of technology" refers instead to

whether it is always, never, or contextually right or
wrong to invent and implement a technological
innovation
 ¿Un científico tiene la obligación
ética de producir una arma nuclear
en favor del progreso de la ciencia?
¿Es ético entregarle un software a
nuestro cliente del cual sabemos
que tiene “huecos” de seguridad?
¿Es ético utilizar los computadores
de la UM para descargar música y
películas piratas?
 Introduction
●We live in an age characterized by advancing
technology
●Technology is how we sustain life and make it

comfortable
●Technology is the core of many business
 Introduction (Cont.)
¿Por qué la tecnología es una
espada de doble filo?
 Introduction (Cont.)
¿Por qué la tecnología
es una espada de doble
filo?
“At best, technology supports
and improves human life, and at
its worst it alienates, isolates,
distorts, and destroys.” Futurist
John Naisbitt
 Introduction (Cont.)

“Man, when perfected, is the best of

the animals, but when separated
from law and justice, he is the worst
of all” Aristotle
Video 1
 What is Ethics?
 Each society forms a set of rules that
establishes the boundaries of generally
accepted behavior
 These rules express how people should
behave
 Ethics is the set of beliefs about right and
wrong behavior
 Ethical behavior conforms to generally
accepted social norms, many of which are
almost universal
Introduction (Cont.)

When tens of thousands of

football fans packed into a Florida
stadium for Super Bowl XXXV,
they weren't merely watching the
game: They were also being
watched.

http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/02/41571#ixzz0oyNiYruG
 Introduction (Cont.)
According to the president of Viisage Technology,
the developer of the face-recognition software, his
company was able to match 19 faces from the
Super Bowl crowd to faces in the database of
people with criminal records!

No arrests were made because none of those 19

people were wanted by the police at the time,
even though they all had criminal records.

¿Este fue un uso ético de la

tecnología?
 Undesirable Side Effects of
Technology
1. Environmental pollution: global warming is an
inevitable topic of concern today, due to technology
2. Depletion of natural resources: the rapid
advance of technology continually threatens the
supply of natural resources
3. Technological unemployment: Machines take
the place of humans
 Ethics and Technology
● Our goal should certainly be to avoid immoral
practices with respect to technology and to
move toward a moral management posture with
respect to this potent business resources

●Our goal: to do what is right, what is fair, and to

avoid harm
 Ethics and Technology

“Por último, hermanos, consideren bien todo

lo verdadero, todo lo respetable, todo lo justo,
todo lo puro, todo lo amable, todo lo digno de
admiración, en fin, todo lo que sea excelente o
merezca elogio.”

Filipenses 4:8
 Common Ethical Issues
●Human cloning: possible
consequences (practical and
ethical)

● Spreading the benefits of

technology: restricted to the
developed world. The
developing nations enjoy few
of the benefits of technology.
● The challenge: to move

technologies into these

countries in socially
responsible ways
 ¿Qué podemos hacer como
Departamento de Tecnologías
de la Información de la UM
para compartir las tecnologías
que creamos con instituciones
en paises necesitados?
 Unethical Activities by Employees
Related to Technology
In a major study of workers, the following
percentages of workers surveyed said they had
engaged in this unethical activity during the
previous year:

- Create a potentially dangerous situation by using

new technology while driving – 19%
- Wrongly blamed an error the employee made on
a technological glitch – 14%
- Copied the company's software for home use –
13%
 Unethical Activities by Employees
Related to Technology (Cont.)
- Used office equipment to shop on the Internet
for personal reasons – 13%
- Used office equipment to network/search for
another job – 11%
- Accessed private computer files without
permission – 6%
- Used new technologies to intrude on coworker'
privacy – 6%
- Visited porn Web sites using office equipment -
5%
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
 Software Piracy: a common violation occurs when
employees copy software from their work computers for
use at home
– Case study 1
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"Ni el software ni la música son

tangibles, entonces al piratearlos
no estoy faltando a la ética"
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"Ni el software ni la música son tangibles,

entonces al piratearlos no estoy infringiendo
la ley"

¿Acaso no se está utilizando el tiempo y los

recursos que un grupo de personas invirtió para
crear un producto? ¿Acaso las personas que
crearon estos bienes intangibles no tuvieron que
pagar renta, servicios, etc. mientras los
construían?
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"No estoy dispuesto a pagar

tanta cantidad de dinero por esta
música o software. Por eso
pirateo."
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"No estoy dispuesto a pagar tanta cantidad de

dinero por esta música o software. Por eso
pirateo."

Siempre hay otras opciones: software más

económico, software libre, ¡valoremos las ideas!
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"Al copiar música de otros no le

estoy haciendo daño a nadie"
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"Al copiar música de otros no le estoy

haciendo daño a nadie"

Ex. Piratería de música cristiana... ¿Crees que no

están siendo afectados al piratear sus productos?
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"Descargué música
gratuitamente de Internet
únicamente para ver si me gusta
o no"
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"Descargué música gratuitamente de Internet

únicamente para ver si me gusta o no"

Después de varios meses...

Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"Hay grandes grupos y

movimientos que defienden la
piratería. Esto apoya la idea de
que la piratería no es mala"
Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)

"Hay grandes grupos y movimientos que

defienden la piratería. Esto apoya la idea de
que la piratería no es mala"

Aborto, homosexualidad, evolucionismo, etc.

Common Ethical Issues for IT Users (Cont.)
¿Puedes imaginar al pueblo de
Israel por el desierto sin leyes?

¿Puedes imaginar un mundo

sin normas de tránsito?

¿Puedes imaginar a
universidades y empresas sin
reglas de disciplina?

Las leyes se han hecho para

nuestro bienestar
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
Inappropriate Use of Computing Resources:

“Half of Fortune 500 companies have dealt with at least

one incident related to computer porn in the workplace over
the past 12 months, according to a survey released today.
Corporations are taking the problem seriously, and fired the
offenders in 44% of the cases and disciplined those
responsible in 41% of the instances”.
(China Martens, Survey: Computer porn remains issue at
U.S. companies, Computer-world, June 21, 2005)

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=view
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
Inappropriate Use of Computing Resources:

¿Qué problemas hay en el área

de uso inapropiado de recursos
computacionales?

¿Qué podemos hacer?

 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
 Inappropriate Sharing of Information:
 We store vast amount of information that can be
classified as private or confidential
 Private data describes individual employees – for
example, salary, performance rating, health record
 Sharing this information with unauthorized party,
even inadvertently, has violated someone’s privacy
:(
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
 Inappropriate Sharing of Information:

¿Qué problemas hay en el área

de intercambio inadecuado de
información?

¿Qué podemos hacer?

 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
 Invasion of Privacy Via Electronic Commerce:

●
DoubleClick, Inc., a NY-based Internet advertising
company that planned to share customer information
with an off-line marketing firm
●
Toysmart.com.Inc. went out of business and offered
its online customer list for sale, thus violating privacy
agreements or understandings previously made with
customers
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
 Invasion of Privacy Via Electronic Commerce:

●
¿Qué límites debería haber en cómo los
negocios electrónicos usan la información que
recolectan de sus clientes?
●
¿Qué responsabilidad tienen las compañías
en divulgar publicamente estas prácticas?
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
 Invasion of Privacy Via Electronic Commerce:

A 2001 survey on Internet privacy conducted by The Wall

Street Journal and Harris Interactive revealed that 24% of
consumers surveyed are “very concerned” and 49% are
“somewhat concerned” about threats to their personal
privacy on the Internet

About a half of those surveyed indicated that concerns

about privacy caused them to stop using a Web site or
to forgo an online purchase
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
 Invasion of Privacy Via Electronic Commerce:

Some of the technological means by which companies invade

consumers' privacy include the use of cookies and spam

● Surveys show that some consumers don't know what cookies are
● Others are aware of them but don't take time to block them

According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, only 10% of users
set their browsers to block cookies. Part of this is due to the fact that
56% of Internet users didn't know what a cookie was.
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
 Invasion of Privacy Via Electronic Commerce:

Probably the most serious invasion of privacy issue with

respect to electronic commerce is the collection and use of
personal information

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2010/05/24/nr.facebook.priva

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2010/05/16/armstrong.privacy

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/tech/2010/05/14/am.elam.facebook
 Common Ethical Issues for IT Users
(Cont.)
 Invasion of Privacy Via Electronic Commerce:

¿Qué podemos hacer para

mejorar la privacidad de
nuestros profesores y alumnos
en el área de comercio
electrónico?
Ways in Which the Internet's Threat to
Privacy is the Greatest?
- Identity theft:

Video: Dos
Ways in Which the Internet's Threat to
Privacy is the Greatest? (Cont.)
- Unintentionally revealing information on the
Internet

- Lost/stolen personal information

- Fake web sites

- Broadcasting information over the Internet

- Victim of Spying
 Business Initiatives

● Ethical Leadership:
Business needs to:
Recognize the potential
ethical issues involved in
information and
technology
 Business Initiatives (Cont.)
● Chief Privacy Officer (CPO): Keep our
Institution out of trouble, whether in a court of law
or the court of public opinion:

- Developing Internet policies

- Creating methods of handling and resolving
consumer complaints
- Assessing the risk of privacy invasion
 Business Initiatives (Cont.)
 Defining and Limiting the Appropriate Use of IT Resources
 Companies must develop, communicate and enforce
written guidelines (policies) that encourage employees to
respect corporate IT resources

See: http://www.uq.edu.au/hupp/index.html?page=25320
 Challenges
 Increasing complexity increases
vulnerability:
 The computing environment has become very
complex
• Networks, computers, OS, applications, Web
sites, switches, routers and gateways are
interconnected and driven by hundreds of
millions of lines of code
 Challenges (Cont.)
 Help desks are under intense pressure to
provide fast responses to user’s questions
• Sometimes forgets to verify
user’s identities, or to check
authorization to perform a
requested action.
 Challenges (Cont.)
 Software with vulnerabilities
 Malicious hackers are getting better and
faster at exploiting flaws
 Ethical Decisions Regarding IT Security

 ¿Si la Universidad de Montemorelos es

víctima de un delito informático, se debería
incriminar a los implicados a toda costa, o se
debería mantener un bajo perfil para evitar la
publicidad negativa?
 ¿Cuánto esfuerzo y dinero debe invertir el
Departamento de Tecnologías de la
Información para proteger a la UM de delitos
informáticos?
 Ethical Decisions Regarding IT Security
(Cont.)
 Si producimos software con defectos que
permiten a hackers atacar los datos del
cliente y las computadoras, ¿qué medidas
debemos tomar?
 ¿Qué debe hacerse si las medidas de
seguridad informática recomendadas hacen
la vida más difícil para los estudiantes y
profesores?
¿El Departamento de Tecnologías de la
Información debería vigilar mediante
herramientas las actividades realizadas
por los empleados y alumnos en sus
computadores?
 The Workplace and Computer
Technology
●Surveillance involves
companies electronically
watching, monitoring, or
checking up on their
employees

● The major ethical issue is

the question of invasion of
privacy
 The Workplace and Computer
Technology (Cont.)

Survillance creates stress

Stress, in turn, may have a detrimental impact

on performance or productivity
Monitoring E-Mail and Internet Usage
●In 1996, only 35% of companies engaged in e-
mail monitoring. By 2001, 47% of large
companies monitored e-mail use on the job!

● Companies can get software that monitors

Internet usage for less than $10 per employee
Monitoring E-Mail and Internet Usage
(Cont.)
Un hombre va al doctor para hacerse un chequeo. El
doctor obtiene los resultados y los envía por e-mail: El
hombre tiene una enfermedad potencialmente mortal.
Mientras tanto, la empresa en donde trabaja el hombre
supervisa su e-mail simplemente para garantizar que se
utiliza sólo para el trabajo. El director de tecnología lee el
correo electrónico y le cuenta a sus compañeros de
trabajo acerca del diagnóstico del hombre. RH se
involucra. El jefe se alarma pues ve que se avecina una
demanda muy costosa. La compañía de seguros se
entera del problema del hombre y considera cortar la
cobertura. Grandes problemas para el hombre. Grandes
problemas de la empresa
 Ten Commandments of Computer
Ethics
1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other
people
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people's
computer work
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's
computer files
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false
witness
6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software
for which you have not paid
 Ten Commandments of Computer
Ethics (Cont.)
7. Thou shalt not use other people's computer
resources without authorization or proper
compensation
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people's
intellectual output
9. Thou shalt think about the social
consequences of the program you are designing
10. Thou shalt always use a computer in ways
that ensure consideration and respect for your
fellow humans
 Ethical Risks at Montemorelos
University
Risks Probability Impact Action

Impact:

1. Catastrophic
2. Critical
3. Marginal
4. Despreciable
 "La mayor necesidad del mundo es la de:
Hombres que no se vendan ni se compren.
Hombres que sean honrados y sinceros en lo
más íntimo de sus almas. Hombres que no
teman dar al pecado el nombre que les
corresponde. Hombres cuya conciencia sea
tan leal al deber como la brújula al polo.
Hombres que se mantengan de parte de la
justicia aunque se desplomen los cielos".
Elena G. de White