Introduction to Computer Information Systems and Ethics

History of Computer Ethics

1980's Employee

Computer ethics is a concept that is growing larger every day with new advanced technology. Computer ethics first came about in the 1970's as computers were becoming integrated into homes. Computers today are used at home, in schools, and in almost every company. This field has taken ethics to a whole new level, especially due to privacy issues found throughout various businesses. This form of ethics is also now offered as a course to study at many universities around the world. Computer ethics includes the various philosophical aspects of ethics, as well as psychological and sociological interpretations. When the field was first discovered in the 1970's, applied ethics was used to describe the new concept. Applied ethics consisted of a combination of utilitarianism, as well as Kant ethics. At the time there was much controversy to what computers would bring to society. Some thought that computers would create more ethical issues, whereas others thought it put a so-called "twist" on old ethics. In the 1980's the computer was thought to be the closest object to a universal tool available to individuals. In essence, the integration of the computer into every day society was not easy. The generation of the computer was new, as well as exciting. But nobody had used it before, including businesses and individuals. There would have to be some form of ethical guidelines to using these new products that nobody had much experience with. Nowadays, computer ethics covers a wide variety of topics such as computers in the workplace, computer crime, professional responsibility, and privacy and anonymity.