Ethics in Computing
Ethics In Computing MIT professor Norbert Wiener founded the study of computer ethics in the early 1940’s during World War II. ... In 1950, Wiener published his book on computer ethics, The Human Use of Human Beings. This compilation earned him the name of founder of computer ethics. ... Wiener’s ideas on ethics went mostly unnoticed until the late 1960’s, when the computer was becoming a more commonly used method of communication. ... He went to the Association for Computing Machinery, and suggested that they adopt a code of ethics for it’s members. In 1973, the ACM adopted a code of ethics, and that code has been revised in each decade since. The newest ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, which was adopted in 1992, is quite detailed. ... The purpose of the code is to promote clean, honest computing. ... Some issues that have recently been in the news such as downloading music without paying for it, have brought the issue of ethics to the front burner. ... This is not only a computer ethics problem, however, since people have always made copies of tapes and cds for their friends and family, and even though it has always been forbidden, there are very few people who have not taped a song off of someone else’s tapes.