This course presents the social, political, and economic issues surrounding the use of computers and computer technology.
Course work includes class discussion, readings, and formal term papers on selected topics.
Focusing on ethical and social implications of computer technology, this is a course about computing and human values that deals with pressing ethical issues arising from the development and deployment of computers in society. The scope and purpose is to raise interest in and awareness of the issues, and encourage students to think about how the power of computer technology may be harnessed to benefit and not to harm, and to raise the quality of life of all members of our society. The text will describe some of the remarkable benefits of the computer, some of the problems associated with them, and some of the means for reducing the problems and coping with their effects. Our task in this course will be to understand descriptions and solutions found in the text, then apply them to our own particular environments. You will choose an individual project.