Catalog Description: Topics include electronic community; the changing nature of work; technological risks; the information economy; intellectual property; privacy; artificial intelligence and the sense of self; pornography and censorship; professional ethics. Students will lead discussions on some of these topics.

Units: 2

Formats:
Fall: 3 hours of lecture per week
Spring: 3 hours of lecture per week

Grading basis: passFail

Final exam status: Written final exam conducted during the scheduled final exam period

Also listed as: ISF C155

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Class homepage on inst.eecs

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Department Notes:

Course objectives: To make students aware of social issues concerning computer technology, to provide them with information that will help them think about these issues constructively, and to help prepare them to deal with issues of ethics and values that they will be likely to encounter in their own professional work.

Topics covered:

• Free Speech
• Privacy
• Copyright
• War
• Jobs
• Government Censorship and Surveillance
• Finance
• Politics and Media
• Risks of Software Malfunction
• Professional Ethics
• Poverty
• Human Evolution