Instructor: Kurt Eiselt
Office: College of Computing 119
Electronic Mail: eiselt@cc.gatech.edu
Phone: 404-894-8386 (you'll get better results with email)
Office Hours: Tuesday, Thursday 4:30-5:30PM
Teaching Assistant:
Steve Marlowe
smarlowe@cc.gatech.edu
Our Swiki:
http://swiki.cc.gatech.edu:8080/cs4001c
Course Description
CS 4001, Computing in Society, is a required course for computer science majors, but it's not a typical CS course. In this course we focus on the effects of computing on individuals, organizations, and society, and on what your responsibilities are as a computing professional in light of those impacts.
You won't do any programming in this class, but you will do a lot of reading, a lot of analyzing, and a lot of communicating (both orally and in writing). This course will demand active participation on your part in activities in the classroom as well as out of the classroom. If we do our job right, this course will challenge many of you in ways that you haven't been challenged before, and it should even be fun. So buckle your seat belts, and please keep your hands and arms inside the car at all times.
Course Objectives
There are three primary objectives for the course:
You will be challenged to broaden your understanding by learning something of the history of computing and the issues surrounding its use over time, and the similarities and differences in public attitudes and policies concerning computing in the U.S. and in other countries. Some of these issues are unique to computing; others arise in the context of other technologies; still others are new manifestations of more general ethical, political and constitutional law issues.
- Explain and evaluate consequences of computing on individuals, organizations, and society.
- Critically analyze situations of computer use and descriptions of technology and policy proposals, identifying the salient issues and evaluating the reasoning behind them.
- Communicate with others about computing impacts in writing and speech.
You will have ample opportunity to analyze critically various situations and descriptions in papers, books, on the Web, and from your own observations.
You will be able to practice your ability to communicate by writing coherent and well-structured critiques of situations and papers, researching and organizing a longer paper, and leading and participating in class discussions.
A detailed topical outline is given below:
- Techniques of Rhetoric and Logical Argumentation. Arguments as claims supported by reasons. Types of argument concerning the social consequences of computing and the aptness of computing-related policies. Evidence, authority, and the anticipation and rebuttal of objections. Communicating with professional peers, customers, and the public.
- Impact of Computing on Society, Individuals and Organizations. Effects of computer use on social behavior, job satisfaction, organizational structure, and social stratification (e.g. the digital divide and gender disparities in computer science education).
- Ethical Foundations. Rules as the basis for policy making and legislation relevant to computing; software as a mechanism for encoding and enforcing business practices, and norms of conduct. Consequences as the basis for policy making and design decisions: Assessing and balancing the benefits and costs of alternatives to stockholders. Virtue ethics as the basis for professional conduct and resolution of moral dilemmas (e.g. whistle-blowing).
- Governance and Regulation. Governmental and non-governmental regulation of the dissemination of computing technology (e.g. Export controls, regulation of the Internet and wireless communications, professional bodies). Jurisdiction and community standards in an age of virtual and global commerce.
- Free Speech and Content Constraints. Constitutional protections and restrictions. Anonymity, censorship, the protection of minors, etc. Special problems raised by digital media and the Internet.
- Intellectual Property. Patent and copyright principles as they apply to software and digital media. Ownership and licensing compared. Proprietary technology and reverse engineering. Technology for intellectual rights management (e.g. DVD encryption).
- Privacy. Personal information, its disclosure and misuse. Identity theft. Privacy-protection principles, laws, and technology. Surveillance and changing interpretations of the Fourth Amendment.
- Security. Hacking compared to vandalism, trespass and theft. Major security threat categories, their countermeasures and social consequences. Encryption, information warfare and national security.
- Professional Responsibility. Professions as more than jobs requiring expertise. Software development compared to established professions. Professional codes of conduct, their validity, effectiveness and scope. Social responsibility and personal and corporate accountability and liability for harm.
Teaching Philosophy
The primary purpose of this course is to help you develop into a responsible and effective professional who has a basic understanding of and sensitivity to the ethical issues and principles of our field.
This is not something you can learn by instruction. Only you can learn. Your instructor and teaching assstant can only guide and assist you. Thus, all of the class activities are designed to help you learn and involve active participation and engagement.
The best place to start is by cultivating a respectful attitude toward thoughtful dialogue. I make intensive use of classroom discussions and analytical writing assignments. You will be given many opportunities to express your positions on various situations where computing is having an impact. Equally, you will be expected to read and listen critically to the arguments of others. The goal is not to persuade other people with force of rhetoric; nor is it to "win" arguments. The goal should be to approach a better understanding of how computing is changing society and what your responsibilities should be as an effective professional. Be open to changing your mind about issues.
You are entitled to your opinions, whatever they happen to be. Our job as a class is to ensure that you support your arguments effectively.
You will be expected to participate actively in discussions. On any given issue, you may be asked to summarize and critique reading assignments from the text or articles that you have read or summarize group discussions or positions. You will be expected to take any side of an issue and explain it and argue for it sympathetically, even though your personal views may be different.
Required Texts:
A Gift of Fire, by Sara Baase. Second Edition. Pearson Education Inc., 2003.
Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric with Readings, by John D. Ramage, John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Concise Edition, Second Edition. Longman Publishers, 2001.
Course Requirements and Grading:
How your grade will be computed:
midterm 1 5.0%
midterm 2 10.0%
final exam 15.0%
team project 1 15.0%
team project 2 15.0%
individual paper 30.0%
class participation 10.0%
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total 100.0%
With respect to letter grade cutoff points, the cutoffs will be as follows, if you choose to take the final exam:
90.00 to 100.00 % = A
80.00 to 89.99 % = B
70.00 to 79.99 % = C
60.00 to 69.99 % = D
0.00 to 59.99 % = F
As noted in class on two different occasions, your attendance in class is required. A significant component of this course is based on your learning from your peers; if you're not in class, your fellow students are deprived of your insight as you are deprived of theirs. Consequently, we will deduct two percentage points (2%) from your final overall score for every unexcused absence. For example, if you have an overall score of 95% at the end of the semester but you've missed ten days, your final score will be 75%, and your final grade will have dropped from an A to a C. Note that attendance is not the same as participation. Excused absences require appropriate documentation as described below.
Late and Make-Up Policy: Assignments are due by the beginning of class on the day indicated when the assignment is announced. The due dates are also indicated on the schedule below. Late assignments will not be accepted. Students are expected to arrive for midterms and exams no later than fifteen minutes after the start time. In order to protect the integrity of the evaluation process, students arriving more than fifteen minutes late may not be allowed to take the midterm or exam. Any requests for exceptions to these policies due to Institute-approved absence from campus, incapacitating illness, death in the family, or something similarly serious must be accompanied by supporting documentation. Caution: the preprinted note from the infirmary stating that you visited the infirmary is not sufficient documentation.
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Week 2
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Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Exam Week
Last revised: July 31, 2003