COMPUTERS, SOCIETY & ETHICS

Catalog description

Computers are ubiquitous in our society today. They have impacted the way we think about reality because we gain insights through googling questions and through social media. We often forget that this access to realityis mediated and might be false. Also, a large part of human interactions happens in cyberspace. And white we intuitively apply norms that guide our offline behavior to our online lives cyber communications don't necessarily trigger empathy which makes numerous of those interactions hurtful. Finally, we do online shopping, putting brick and mortar stores out of business which is leading to a reconstruction of the job market. This class addresses the impact computers have on our daily lives and presents ethical solutions.