Social, Ethical and Policy Implications of Information Technology

Abstract

Social, and Policy Implications of Information Technology Linda L. Brennan and Victoria E. Johnson, Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing, 2004, 304 pp.This volume, edited by Brennan and Johnson, is meant to address and introduce the reader to the presumably less-considered aspects of information technology in the business world. The chapter authors come from a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, and modern languages, but many come from business school departments or their close compatriots. The sixteen chapters are arranged in essentially three sections (the fourth being a conclusion on cyberethics and further considerations): social implications, ethical implications, and policy implications. The focus is almost exclusively on business questions of technological ethics, etc.The book has a number of solid chapters. Specifically, the piece on Virtual Harms and Real Responsibility is an interesting foray into the ethical/social dimensions of virtual realities and games and a nice introduction into the debate over these questions. Similarly, Copyright Law in the Age is a sensible, accessible introduction to that complex and thorny issue, and Digital Orphans introduces us to the technical dilemmas of digital preservation-and gives a nod to the social and cultural issues raised by obsolescence and digital transfer. Lastly, Jennings' chapter on the New Economy and Old Ethics is a nice precis on the dot.com, Worldcom, and Enron-like bubbles that burst in the last four years-and the arrogant assumptions, lack of oversight, and shady practices that preceded their falls.However, too many of the chapters are mere glosses (the one on Ethical Challenges for Information Systems Professionals is the worst example). They tend to cover the latest technologies/ products and use the latest acronyms, but end up merely stating a bromide like the need for proper equilibrium between ... the employer's need to know with the worker's right to privacy. This bland statement comes in conclusion after noting (to give one example) that when an e-mail from an employee's child about being sick that day is captured in a company's e-mail or keystroke-monitoring software, this (as opposed to other items captured) must be treated with discretion. Similarly, the chapter on outsourcing details many of the problems for businesses, and the costs for human beings and communities, but concludes that the issues raised present many choices between right and right. Over and over again, the chapters reinforce the conclusion that the Jennings chapter attacked: somehow, information technologies are demanding a new ethics (vs. applying existing ethical standards to new situations), and this is a challenge since the technologies are developing and changing so fast. This constant theme of shrugging-and-washing-of-the-hands concerning basic ethical problems runs throughout the volume. …