Information Ethics Current and Future Research Areas

1
Information EthicsCurrent and Future Research
Areas

• Rafael Capurro
• Steinbeis-Transfer-Institute Information Ethics
  (STI-IE)
• http//sti-ie.de
• Lecture at the Division of Information and
  Library Studies
• Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University
• Brno, Czech Republic
• June 2, 2009

2
Content

• Introduction
• Foundational Issues
• Current Research Areas
• Conclusion Forthcoming Topics
• Bibliography

3
Introduction

• The concept of ethics as reflection on morality
  is widely accepted among philosophers going back
  to Aristotle as the founder of ethics (or ethiké
  belonging to philosophia praktiké) as an academic
  discipline. Constructivists such as Niklas
  Luhmann underline the critical function of
  ethical theory with regard to morality (or ethos).

4
Introduction

• Information ethics evolved out of computer
  science but has also roots in the library and
  information science field.
• The University of Pittsburgh and Kent State
  University are among the US pioneers (Froehlich
  2004).

5
Introduction

• In the last ten years or so a plethora of
  international conferences have taken place and
  the number of scientific publications has
  dramatically increased.

6
Introduction

• Specialized journals
• Journal of Information Ethics
• The ETHICOMP Journal
• Ethics and Information Technology
• Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics
  in Society
• International Review of Information Ethics
• International Journal of Internet Research Ethics
• International Journal of Technology and Human
  Interaction
• Journal of Computer Mediated Communication

7
Introduction

• Professional societies such as
• INSEIT (International Society for Ethics and
  Information Technology)
• ICIE (International Center for Information
  Ethics)
• Center of Excellence for Ethics and Technology
  (The Netherlands)
• as well as IE networks in Africa, Asia and Latin
  America have contributed to the development of
  information ethics as a professional research
  field together with courses in universities
  world-wide.

8
Introduction

• UNESCO conferences on social, ethical and legal
  aspects of the Information Society since 1998.
• World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
  2003 and 2005.

9
Introduction

• CATaC Conferences organized by Charles Ess and
  Fay Sudweeks since 1998.
• ETHICOMP Conferences organized by Simon Rogerson
  since 1995.
• CEPE conferences (since 1997).
• ICIE Conference 2004 the first international
  conference addressing explicitly information
  ethics from an intercultural perspective.
• The Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics
  international conference 2005 (forth.2010).

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The Foundational Debate

• Charles Ess
• avoiding imperialistic homogenization while
  preserving the irreducible differences between
  cultures and people
• Western Ethics and Confucian thought resonance
  and harmony
• pros hen robust pluralism
• Between irreducibility and complementarity

11
The Foundational Debate

• Toru Nishigaki
• The Western idea of a coherent self and the
  Buddhist questionning of this idea.
• The Western search for universal values and the
  doing away of conventional or universal
  interpretations of the meanings of words in ZEN.
• Cognition as representation vs. enactment of
  the history of actions of a subject in the world
• Ethics as observer-dependent reflection on moral
  norms (fundamental informatics).

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The Foundational Debate

• Terrell Ward Bynum
• flourishing ethics
• Basic principles freedom, equality and
  benevolence, minimum infringement of freedom.
• Maximize the opportunities of all humans to
  exercise their autonomy.
• Different cultures can provide a conductive
  context for human flourishing.

13
The Foundational Debate

• Luciano Floridi
• the quest for an ethics of/for the infosphere
• Different clases of information entities
• onto-centric ethics
• Various degrees of intrinsic value
• Various leels of moral respect (from a customer
  profile through netiquette and human dignity)

14
Current Research Areas

• (See Himma/Tavani 2008)
• Theoretical Issues of Property, Privacy,
  Anonymity, and Security
• Professional Issues
• Library Profession
• Free and Open Source
• Internet Research Ethics
• Health Information Technology
• Information and Business Ethics

15
Current Research Areas

• Responsibility Issues and Risk Assessment
• Responsibilities for Information on the Internet
• Virtual Reality and Computer Simulation
• Genetic Information
• The Ethics of Cyber Conflict

16
Current Research Areas

• Regulatory Isues and Challenges
• Internet Governance
• Information Overload
• Email Spam
• Plagiarims
• Intellectual Property

17
Current Research Areas

• Access and Equity Issues
• Censorship
• Gender Agenda
• Digital Divide
• Intercultural Information Ethics

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Conclusion

• Forthcoming topics
• Surveillance society
• Convergent Technologies (Nano, Bio, Info, Cogno)
• Robotics
• Ubiquitous Computing
• E-Waste
• ICT-Implants and Enhancements

19
Bibliography

• Capurro, R. (2008) On Floridis Metaphysical
  Foundation of Information Ecology. Ethics and
  Information Technology, Vol. 10, No. 2-3,
  167-173. http//www.capurro.de/floridi.html
• Capurro, R. (2008) Intercultural Information
  Ethics. Foundations and applications. Journal of
  Information, Communication Ethics in Society,
  Vol. 6, No. 2, 116-126. http//www.capurro.de/iieb
  angkok.html
• Capurro, R., Frühbauer, J., Hausmanninger, Th.
  (Eds.) (2007), Localizing the Internet ethical
  aspects in intercultural perspective. Munich
  Fink
• Capurro, R. (2007) Intercultural Information
  Ethics. In Rafael Capurro, Johannes Frühbauer,
  Thomas Hausmanninger (Eds.) Localizing the
  Internet. Ethical Aspects in Intercultural
  Perspective. ICIE Series, Munich Fink, pp.
  21-38. http//www.capurro.de/iie.html
• Froehlich, Thomas J. (2004) A brief history of
  information ethics. Textos universitaris de 
  bibliioteconomia i documentació, 3.
  http//www.ub.es/bid/13froel2.htm
• Himma, K.E. and Tavani, H.T. (Eds.) (2008) The
  Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics.
  Hoboken, New Jersey Wiley Sons.
• Hongladarom, S. and Ess, Ch. (Eds.) (2007)
  Information Technology Ethics Cultural
  Perspectives. Hershey PA and London Idea Group
  Reference.