A. Daan is a computer buff. He loves to surf the Internet and try all available applications. Daan also does web design and programming, among others. In one of his computer explorations, Daan discovered a virus that destroys the computer motherboard. To test his discovery, Daan surreptitiously installed the virus in his friend Kael’s PC. After a week, Kael broke the sad news to Daan. His PC has bogged down and he needs to buy a new motherhood. Daan finds himself torn between whether to tell Kael or nt.

1. Which of the 10 commandments on computer use did Daan violate?

Commandment #1 - “Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people”. The emotions and mental health of Kael were affected because of what Daan did. It caused harm because Kael felt sad or unhappy (emotions) on what happened to her PC and needs money (mental health) to buy a new motherboard.

Commandment #7 - “Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources without authorization”. Daan installed something without asking permission from Kael.

Commandment #10 - “Thou shalt use a computer in ways that show consideration and respect”. Daan did not consider the consequences of his act that the feelings and/or emotions of Kael will be affected. Daan did not respect the right of Kael as owner of the computer.

2. If you were Daan, will you tell Kael the truth or not? Explain.

If I were Daan, I will not initially tell Kael the truth. Telling the truth to Kael with her current state of emotion and mental health will just hurt her more considering that Daan is a friend. Furthermore, their friendship will be at stake. The best thing to do is for Daan to buy a new motherboard out of his own expense and give it to Kael as a form of helping a friend. When the computer is already up/running and files/documents are in place and the state of emotion and mental health of Kael are already at peace, then it will be the proper time to tell Kael the truth.

3. If you were Kael and Daan told you the truth, what will you do? If I were Kael and Daan told the truth, I will ask the reason why he did that to a friend. Furthermore, I will ask him to help and/or repay the damage done and re-construct what files and/or documents were lost.

B. Pick three of the precepts on computer use discussed above and briefly explain each precept in terms of the theory of ethics and the ethical concepts (discussed in Modules 1-4) that underpin.

1. Commandment #1 - Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people. The “harm” that is contemplated here is that which affects the emotions, or the mental health of people.

Module 1 - Definition of Ethics
#3. Ethics focuses on the care for the soul. Daan’s act of installing the virus in Kael’s computer is an act that is not good for the soul and is therefore not ethical or moral.
#6. Ethics deals with basic principles of right action especially with reference to a particular person, profession and others. The act of harming can be inflicted to other people and may produce good or bad results. When harm causes bad results that affects the emotions and mental health of people, it does not conform to the basic principles of right action and will be considered unethical.

Module 2 - Laws and rules in the Idealist Perception
Divine Law: It encompasses the dogmas of religious faith and the canons of divine law (usually embodied in religious doctrines and writings of different sects and religious denominations). One of the teachings in the Holy Bible is “Do not do unto others what you don’t like others to do unto you.”. The intent or thought of violating it and harming and/or hurting other people is tantamount to transgressing it.
Natural Law: The precepts of natural law are righteousness, justice, equity and fairness. The laws that govern computing may very well be considered as being derived from natural law. As a computer user, one should have integrity and discipline, the innate goodness to do good rather than harm other people that is expected of human beings in general.
Moral Law: When one obeys or follows this commandment and/or law is considered a human action in computing that is compliant with moral norms.

Module 3 - Preliminary Theories
Ethical Absolutism. This commandment is an ethical standard that should be universally followed. No matter what the circumstance is, installing a virus that destroys the computer motherboard of another person just to test a discovery is unethical.

Module 4 - Finalist Theories. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. The central concept is “virtue” and that ends are not used only as a means for attaining other ends, but utilized as instruments of other ends that are regarded to be of greater value. Moral ideals such as righteousness, fairness, goodness and justice apply in the evaluation of computing as a human action. Daan should have treated Kael righteously and fairly by not installing the virus that he wants to test.

2. Commandment #6 - Thou shalt not use or copy software for which you have not paid. This pertains to piracy of software and other programs. If you support piracy, you also support theft and infringement of intellectual property rights.

Module 1 - Definition of Ethics.
#5. Ethics is the study and philosophy of human conduct with emphasis on the determination of right and wrong. Using or copying software which one has not paid is illegal and therefore wrong; since it is wrong, then it is not ethical.
Module 2 - Laws and rules in the Idealist Perception
Natural Law: The precepts of natural law are righteousness, justice, equity and fairness. The laws that govern computing may very well be considered as being derived from natural law. Piracy of software and other programs are human actions that violate righteousness, justice, equity and fairness.
Moral Law: This consists of moral norms that ascertain and dictate what sort of behavior or conduct may or may not be expressed; or what sort of acts may or may not be performed within a particular community. If one will not use or copy software for which he/she has not paid, then there is respect for the rights of owners of intellectual property, compliance with computer norms and laws and condemnation of computer crimes and abuses. When one obeys or follows this commandment and/or law is considered a human action in computing that is compliant with moral norms.
Module 3 - Preliminary Theories
Ethical Relativism. What may be morally right for one may not be morally right for the others. In the Philippines, the income level of Filipinos in general is not so high. This explains why pirated software or unlicensed copies of computer software are so in demand in the Philippines and the rest of the Asian market. Those who purchase pirated software in a country like the Philippines are justified in doing so or at least are not as immoral as some might think. On the other hand, because piracy effectively cheats intellectual property, piracy is morally wrong. The act of software piracy will be considered moral or immoral depending on the set of standards used to judge the situation.
Module 4 - Finalist Theories. Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. The central concept is “virtue” and that ends are not used only as a means for attaining other ends, but utilized as instruments of other ends that are regarded to be of greater value. When one follows the dictates of ethical norms, one seeks good life or happiness. Not using or copying software for which one has not paid does not infringe the intellectual creations of others and a means towards attaining “good life” or happiness.

3. Commandment #9 - Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you write. A computer programmer should assess whether the program or software he/she is designing would be of great significance to others or favorable to society.

Module 1 - Definition of Ethics.
#4. Ethics is an area of philosophy that deals with man’s pursuit of the “good life”. If a computer programmer produces software that will benefit many people and is good for the society, it is considered as ethical.
Module 2 - Laws and rules in the Idealist Perception
Moral Law: This consists of moral norms that ascertain and dictate what sort of behavior or conduct may or may not be expressed; or what sort of acts may or may not be performed within a particular community. Integrity is established when one thinks about the social consequences of the program that he/she writes. This human action in computing is considered as compliant with moral norms. When one obeys or follows this commandment and/or law is considered a human action in computing that is compliant with moral norms.
Module 3 - Preliminary Theories
Ethical Egoism and Ethical Altruism. Hobbes depicted human beings as being completely and exclusively egoistic; preoccupied solely with seeking the satisfaction of pleasure of desires that are considered morally good. When one develops a program that would be of great significance to others or favorable to society, it leads to gratification and happiness. Egoists believed that there is no such thing as pure altruism or the desire to promote the good of others but merely mask self-interest. It is pleasing to receive expressions of gratitude and praise from friends with whom we had shared our programs.
Module 4 - Finalist Theories
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. The central concept is “virtue” and that ends are not used only as a means for attaining other ends, but utilized as instruments of other ends that are regarded to be of greater value. The act of designing or developing a computer program is what every programmer’s end in mind. But this becomes a means to another end, i.e. the resulting program would be of great significance to others or favorable to society.

C. Cite two ethical issues in computing. Explain how they are ethical in nature.

Computer Abuses like Hacking. It is ethical in nature in the sense that if people will use and/or execute this, the following are the possible results:
1. It can cause harm to people like in the following cases:
1.1 It can wreak havoc not for the greater good of an individual, organization, community and/or country but for one’s malicious pleasure.
1.2 It can be used for vengeance or hatred, e.g. an employee that was unlawfully dismissed and others.

2. It can be a form and/or type of stealing in the following ways:
2.1 If a system offers some type of service and a hacker has a use for it, he/she will hack the system.
2.2 Hackers may even sell the information gathered like credit card numbers and list of customers.

3. Hackers are using the computer resources without authorization. They break into the systems for thrill and excitement of being somewhere they are not authorized to be.

Privacy Issues like Database Privacy, Email Privacy and Privacy on the Web. It is ethical in nature in the sense that if people will not comply on these, the following are the possible results:
1. Selling of vital information like client account information to others as in the case of bank transactions. 2. Invasion of privacy especially in emails.

D. As a computer user, do you approve of an ordering principle, in the form of legislation, being formulated and enforced to govern computer use? Why? Why not? Defend your answer.

Yes, I approve of an ordering principle in the form of legislation being formulated and enforced to govern computer use. There should be a BASIC FRAMEWORK or guiding principles that are significant and applicable in computer issues. But these should be able to include different cases and/or circumstances because each moral situation is unique and there are individual differences due to diverse cultural heritage, religious affiliations, social norms and individual preferences.