Computer ethic

(Jordan, 2021)

This post will explain the importance of using computers and the Internet safely and carefully. Most of the people I have spoken to about this topic are unaware of the dangers and consequences of not using this environment properly. It will also mention which commandment is one of the most important and how it can affect my project. Most people ignore or are unaware of what improper use of the computer and the Internet can lead to. The feeling of anonymity usually pushes people to abandon the process of thinking about what they are doing and what the consequences may be. Nowadays, when technology and the Internet are developing rapidly, we can forget about such anonymity on the Internet a long time ago. The development of the Internet tempts people to break the following ethical commandments of working on a computer, which should make us reflect on the threats that await us to protect ourselves better.

The Ten Commandments of computer ethics have been defined by the Computer Ethics Institute.

1) Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people: If it is unethical to harm people by making a bomb, for example, it is equally bad to write a program that handles the timing of the bomb. Or, to put it more simply, if it is bad to steal and destroy other people’s books and notebooks, it is equally bad to access and destroy their files
2) Thou shalt not interfere with other people's computer work: Computer viruses are small programs that disrupt other people’s computer work by destroying their files, taking huge amounts of computer time or memory, or by simply displaying annoying messages. Generating and consciously spreading computer viruses is unethical.
3) Thou shalt not snoop around in other people's files: Reading other people’s e-mail messages is as bad as opening and reading their letters: This is invading their privacy. Obtaining other people’s non-public files should be judged the same way as breaking into their rooms and stealing their documents. Text documents on the Internet may be protected by encryption.
4) Thou shalt not use a computer to steal: Using a computer to break into the accounts of a company or a bank and transferring money should be judged the same way as robbery. It is illegal and there are strict laws against it.
5) Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness: The Internet can spread untruth as fast as it can spread truth. Putting out false "information" to the world is bad. For instance, spreading false rumors about a person or false propaganda about historical events is wrong.
6) Thou shalt not use or copy proprietary software for which you have not paid: Software is an intellectual product. In that way, it is like a book: Obtaining illegal copies of copyrighted software is as bad as photocopying a copyrighted book. There are laws against both. Information about the copyright owner can be embedded by a process called  watermarking into pictures in the digital format.
7) Thou shalt not use other people's computer resources without authorisation or proper compensation: Multiuser systems use user id’s and passwords to enforce their memory and time allocations, and to safeguard information.  You should not try to bypass this authorisation system. Hacking a system to break and bypass the authorisation is unethical.
8) Thou shalt not appropriate other people's intellectual output: Copying somebody else’s program without proper authorisation is software piracy and is unethical. Intellectual property is a form of ownership, and may be protected by copyright laws.
9) Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write or the system you design: You have to think about computer issues in a more general social framework: Can the program you write be used in a way that is harmful to society? For example, if you are working for an animation house, and are producing animated films for children, you are responsible for their contents. Do the animations include scenes that can be harmful to children? In the United States, the Communications Decency Act was an attempt by lawmakers to ban certain types of content from Internet websites to protect young children from harmful material. That law was struck down because it violated the free speech principles in that country's constitution. The discussion, of course, is going on.
10) Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow humans: Just like public buses or banks, people using computer communications systems may find themselves in situations where there is some form of queuing and you have to wait for your turn and generally be nice to other people in the environment. The fact that you cannot see the people you are interacting with does not mean that you can be rude to them. (computer skills and research class DMUIC, 2022)

All these commandments are essential for my main project because if I don't follow them, they could have a bad influence on me and generally users of the internet. However, I think the most important commandment is "Thou shalt not use a computer to steal" because people work hard to achieve something and the theft on the internet using a computer or robbery in the real world is the same thing. The theft of ideas or property is something nobody wants to experience. As well as, theft online can lead to the private data of people being stolen, which can lead to crimes like identity theft and credit cards being stolen.

We can enforce that commandment by using references if we want to use someone else's knowledge in our project, also by buying a software license as well as by not spreading someone else's work or creativity. Legislation can keep up with the internet if more money is put into technology that can find crime on the internet. However, as the world of the internet and technology is changing rapidly, another method that may be more effective is harsher punishments to stop people from crimes on the internet. 

Reference

Jordan, B. (2021) Photo by Brett Jordan on unsplash, Beautiful Free Images & Pictures. Available at: https://unsplash.com/photos/yRDsiNdfNJc (Accessed: November 2, 2022).