2023年12月25日发(作者：)
Unit 8 Right and Wrong on the Net
Introduction
TEACHER: Good morning. Did anyone hear the news about the teenager in New York who hacked
into a bank’s database and stole about 30,000 credit card numbers over the weekend? Hacking is
related to computer ethics－that’s our topic today. Computer ethics deals with the proper use of
information technology, such as computers and the Internet. By proper use, I mean socially responsible
use. We’ll first talk about what ethical behavior is and how this applies to computer use.
Body: Part 1
First, I want to make sure we all know what ethics is. Anyone? Yes, John.
STUDENT l: It’s about right and wrong.
TEACHER: Yes. OK, Jennifer.
STUDENT 2: And it’s about being a good person, doing what’s right.
TEACHER: Yes, ethics includes both of these ideas. It deals with moral judgments, with what is
acceptable or unacceptable to do. Now we learn ideas about what is right and wrong from our families,
our friends, and from the culture we live in. Because of differences in our backgrounds, we may not
always agree on what is right and wrong. However, for our discussion today, I will define for you what
I mean by an ethical action. An ethical action is something someone does that benefits someone and
doesn’t hurt anyone. So, for example, if you see a man drop some money, and you pick the money up
and give it to him, this is an ethical action. On the other hand, if you pick up the money and don’t give
it back to the man, this benefits you, but hurts the man. This is not an ethical action.
Body: Part 2
Now what about computers? What are the ethical boundaries for using computers and the Internet?
Most people agree that it is wrong to steal from a store. Would they also say it’s wrong to copy music
files from the Internet? Or, to take another example, most people agree that it is wrong to open an
envelope and read a letter to someone else. Would they also say it’s wrong to read someone else’s
e-mail? In the past decade or so, many more people have started using computers and the Internet, so
these issues have become important. In 1992, the Computer Ethics Institute was founded in the United
States. This is a research, education, and policy study group whose goal is to increase awareness of the
ethical issues that are likely to come up as technology develops. One concept the Computer Ethics
Institute has developed is the Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics. These rules are important
guidelines the Institute thinks all computer users should follow. Now some of you may be familiar with
the Ten Commandments from the Bible, like, uh, “Thou shalt not kill” or “Thou shalt honor thy father
and thy mother.” The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics have been written in the same style of
language used in the Ten Commandments from the Bible. For example, they use the phrase “Thou shalt
not.” “Thou shalt not” means don’t or you shouldn’t.
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Body: Part 3
Let’s look at each commandment or rule. The first commandment says: Thou shalt not use a computer
to harm other people. Simple enough, right? Number Two. Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s
computer work. I interpret this to mean don’t use a computer in any way that will affect or change the
work someone else is doing. Don’t move or edit someone else’s files without telling them. Number
Three. Thou shalt not snoop in other people’s files. To snoop means to try to find out something
without another person knowing it. If you look at someone else’s files on the computer or read their
e-mail, you’re snooping. Respect other people’s privacy. Number Four. Thou shalt not use a computer
to steal. There are situations on the Internet in which you have to decide if you are stealing or not, like
downloading music files, as I mentioned earlier. Number Five. Thou shalt not use a computer to say
things that are untrue. It is up to you to be truthful in your website, in your e-business, and in your
e-mail. Number Six. Thou shalt not use software for which you have not paid. In other words, if the
software is free on the Internet, it’s okay to download and use it. However, it is not okay to copy
software from a friend, because you didn’t pay for it. Number Seven. Thou shalt not use other people’s
computer resources without telling them, or without paying them. For example, you shouldn’t use
someone else’s computer, password, or Internet connection without asking them first. Number Eight.
Thou shalt not appropriate someone else’s ideas. Appropriate is spelled A-P-P-R-O-P-R-I-A-T-E. . . . It
means to take words someone else wrote and say they’re yours. Uh, for example, you have to write a
report for school. If you copy a term paper from the Internet and hand it in, you’re breaking the rule.
Copying even a few sentences off the Internet and presenting them as your own is breaking the rule.
Number Nine. The ninth commandment says: Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the
program you are writing. Now, this applies mostly to computer programmers. Social consequences
means how the program you’re writing might affect others in society. Could hackers possibly use your
program to illegally gain access to a computer system? Skillful hackers can hack into banks and into
credit card companies; they can alter accounts and steal money. They can also create viruses that can
cause billions of dollars of damage worldwide. Number Ten. The tenth commandment says: Thou shalt
always use a computer in ways that are respectful of others. For example, sending unfriendly e-mail to
someone or about someone or creating websites with negative messages are examples of breaking this
rule.
Body: Part 4
OK, the Computer Ethics Institute has sent these guidelines to many large companies and to schools
across the United States. However, there’s no way to enforce these rules. Nevertheless, they would like
to see schools, in particular, utilize these rules to help students develop a strong sense of computer
ethics. OK, any questions or comments at this point?
STUDENT 1: How are we supposed to remember all those rules?
TEACHER: Well, there are a lot of rules, but they all boil down to a couple of principles: respect and
fairness. Respect what belongs to others and use resources fairly. Does that help?
STUDENT 1: Yeah, I guess so.
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TEACHER: Good. Let’s go back to ethics. Now increasingly, schools are seeing that students need to
be taught computer ethics as part of the school curriculum. Some schools have come up with
acceptable-use policies, or rules about what is or isn’t OK for students to do regarding computer use.
This is how the Computer Ethics Institute would like to see schools utilizing the rules. Generally, it’s
considered wrong to steal someone else’s password or to read someone else’s e-mail. It’s also
considered unacceptable in college classes for a student to download a term paper off the Internet and
pretend that he or she wrote it. This is called “plagiarism,” and it’s a good example of breaking rule
number eight. Students are permitted to use the Internet for research, but are instructed to write the
information in their own words and to explain where they got the information.
Conclusion
Now the ten rules are guidelines for us to follow. These rules help us to be aware of the ethical uses of
technology. Let’s stop here for today. Think about these rules this week and we’ll talk about them. And
read the next two chapters for next week.
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