Schedule for CS 4873 CSP: Computing, Society, & Professionalism

Readings are subject to change. Check the online syllabus before reading.
Date Topic Readings Assignment
8/17 Welcome & Overview    
8/19 Case Study: Therac-25 Optional reading: Week 1 Section Guide
8/24 Do Artifacts Have Politics? HW: Therac and the 737-MAX
8/26 Utilitarianism Quinn 2.1-2.3, 2.7-2.8 Week 2 Secton Guide
  • Call an older family member or friend, and come to section prepared to discuss it.
8/31 Deontology
  • Quinn 2.6
  • "Are there absolute moral rules?" by James Rachels, in The Elements of Moral Philosophy (electronic reserve)
HW: Reflection on the politics of a technological artifact
9/2 Social Contract Theory Week 3 Section Guide
9/7 Labor Day Holiday    
9/9 Stakeholder Analysis
  • In a Different Voice by Carol Gilligan, pp. 25-39 (electronic reserve)
  • Quinn 2.12
  • Ethics of Worksplace Surveillance, a 4001 term paper, 2014 (shared with permission)
 Week 4 Section Guide
    • Choose a quote from the Gilligan reading that you feel raises an interesting issue. Add it to the discussion on the Canvas for your section, making sure you have picked a quote that no one else has picked. Come to section prepared to read your quote out loud and discuss why you find it significant.
    • Think of a realistic ethical dilemma that has a different answer depending on which theory you use. Come to section this week prepared to discuss it.
9/14 Virtue Ethics
  • Virtue Ethics, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  • Quinn 2.10-2.11
  • Tool to help you decide if something is peer reviewed, which we'll discuss n class today: Ulrichsweb
  
9/16 Freedom of Speech & Networked Communications Quinn 3.2, 3.6-3.9 Week 5 Section Guide
  • Choose a quote from the Stanford Encyclopedia of philosophy article on Virtue Ethics that you feel raises an interesting issue. Add it to the discussion on the Canvas for your section, making sure you have picked a quote that no one else has picked. Come to section prepared to read your quote out loud and discuss why you find it significant.
9/21 Professional Ethics HW: Applying Ethical Frameworks to a Dilemma
9/23 Privacy
  • Quinn Chapter 5, Chapter 6 through 6.7
 Week 6 Section Guide
9/28 Privacy and the Government Analysis of New ACM Code
9/30 Privacy and Biological Data Week 7 Section Guide
Come to section with one or two ideas for your term paper
10/5 Intellectual Property Quinn Chapter 4, through end of 4.6
HW: Analysis of Face Recognition Software
10/7 Intellectual Property, continued   Week 8 Section Guide
10/12 Software as Intellectual Property Quinn Chapter 4, continued (4.7-end) Term Paper Proposals
 
10/14 Computer Reliability & Software Warranties Quinn Chapter 8 (except Therac section already read) HW: Fair Use
Week 9 Section Guide
10/19 Wikipedia, Truth, and Peer-Reviewed References Should You Believe Wikipedia? by Amy Bruckman (book chapter draft)  
10/21 Visual Argument Visual & Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Decision Making by Tufte Section this week:
  • Find an example of a visual presentation of data that is well done, and another that is confusing, misleading, or bad in some other way. Bring these to section.
Week 10 Section Guide
10/26 AI, Algorithms, and Bias  
10/28 The USA Patriot Act Optional: Term Paper Outline
Week 11 Section Guide
11/2 Electronic Voting For section:
  • Pick an article about evoting. Make sure no one else has picked it by checking the Canvas topic for your section. Add yours to the list.
  • Come to section prepared to present your article.
11/4 Net Neutrality Optional: Week 12 Section Guide
11/9 Work and Wealth
  • Quinn chapter 10
Optional: 		 
11/11 Technology and Race Optional: Week 13 Section Guide
11/16 Two topics: Ariely & Simulation
  • Chapter "The Context of our Character, Part 1: Why We Are Dishonest, and What We Can Do About It" from "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely (electronic reserve)
  • Seductions of Sim by Paul Starr
  • Quinn 8.8
Term Papers
11/18 AI and Human Rights Week 14 Section Guide
11/23 Term Paper Presentations Email your TA and the head TA by 11/16 at 10:45 am to request a presentation slot. Presentations are five minutes, strictly timed. Everyone who volunteers gets +2 bonus points on their term paper. If you are selected to present, you get +2 to +5 points.  
11/25 No Class--Happy Thanksgiving  

Readings and assignments are subject to change.

Course Home Page