Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Responsible Data Science For Genocide Prevention, Victor Piercey

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

The term "genocide" emerged out of an effort to describe mass atrocities committed in the first half of the 20th century. Despite a convention of the United Nations outlawing genocide as a matter of international law, the problem persists. Some organizations (including the United Nations) are developing indicator frameworks and “early-warning” systems that leverage data science to produce risk assessments of countries where conflict is present. These tools raise questions about responsible data use, specifically regarding the data sources and social biases built into algorithms through their training data. This essay seeks to engage mathematicians in discussing these concerns.

Towards Pedagogy Supporting Ethics In Modelling, Marie Oldfield

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Education for concepts such as ethics and societal responsibility that are critical in building robust and applicable mathematical and statistical models do currently exist in isolation but have not been incorporated into the mainstream curricula at the school or university level. This is partially due to the split between fields (such as mathematics, statistics, and computer science) in an educational setting but also the speed with which education is able to keep up with industry and its requirements. I argue that principles and frameworks of socially responsible modelling should begin at school level and that this would mean that ethics …

The Symptom Of Ethics: Rethinking Ethics In The Face Of The Machine, David J. Gunkel

Human-Machine Communication

This essay argues that it is the machine that constitutes the symptom of ethics— “symptom” understood as that excluded “part that has no part” in the system of moral consideration. Ethics, which has been historically organized around a human or at least biological subject, needs the machine to define the proper limits of the moral community even if it simultaneously excludes such mechanisms from any serious claim on moral consideration. The argument will proceed in five steps or movements. The first part will define and characterize “the symptom” as it has been operationalized in the work of Slovenian philosopher Slavoj …

Autonomous Vehicles And The Ethical Tension Between Occupant And Non-Occupant Safety, Jason Borenstein, Joseph Herkert, Keith Miller

The Journal of Sociotechnical Critique

Given that the creation and deployment of autonomous vehicles is likely to continue, it is important to explore the ethical responsibilities of designers, manufacturers, operators, and regulators of the technology. We specifically focus on the ethical responsibilities surrounding autonomous vehicles that these stakeholders have to protect the safety of non-occupants, meaning individuals who are around the vehicles while they are operating. The term “non-occupants” includes, but is not limited to, pedestrians and cyclists. We are particularly interested in how to assign moral responsibility for the safety of non-occupants when autonomous vehicles are deployed in a complex, land-based transportation system.

The Bioethical Significance Of “The Origin Of Man’S Ethical Behavior” (October 1941, Unpublished) By Ernest Everett Just And Hedwig Anna Schnetzler Just, Theodore Walker Jr.

Journal of the South Carolina Academy of Science

Abstract –

E. E. Just (1883-1941) is an acknowledged “pioneer” in cell biology, and he is perhaps the pioneer in study of egg cell fertilization. Here we discover that Just also made pioneering contributions to general biology and evolutionary bioethics.

Within Just’s published contributions to observational cell biology, there are substantial fragments of his theory of ethical behavior, a theory with roots in cell biology. In addition to such previously available fragments, Just’s fully developed theory is now available. This recently discovered unpublished book-length manuscript argues for the biological origins of ethical behavior (evolving from cells to humans, within a …

Autonomous Vehicles And The Ethical Tension Between Occupant And Non-Occupant Safety, Jason Borenstein, Joseph Herkert, Keith W. Miller

Computer Ethics - Philosophical Enquiry (CEPE) Proceedings

Autonomous vehicle manufacturers, people inside an autonomous vehicle (occupants), and people outside the vehicle (non-occupants) are among the distinct stakeholders when addressing ethical issues inherent in systems that include autonomous vehicles. As responses to recent tragic cases illustrate, advocates for autonomous vehicles tend to focus on occupant safety, sometimes to the exclusion of non-occupant safety. Thus, we aim to examine ethical issues associated with non-occupant safety, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and riders of motorized scooters. We also explore the ethical implications of technical and policy ideas that some might propose to improve non-occupant safety. In addition, if safety (writ large) …

The Ethics Of Facebook, Michael W. Austin

The Chautauqua Journal

In this paper, I offer a moral analysis of Facebook. What are the morally positive features of Facebook? What are its morally negative features? I will limit my attention to the personal and interpersonal aspects of the use of this technology, and set aside an ethical analysis of the business practices, both past and present, of Facebook. My analysis, then, is not comprehensive. I will argue for a particular thesis concerning Facebook, namely, that in many ways Facebook’s moral value for a person depends on the character of that person, though the structure of this technology is not morally neutral. …

Is Forensic Computing A Profession? Revisiting An Old Debate In A New Field, Bernd C. Stahl

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Forensic Computing is a new and quickly developing field. It is in the process of becoming an academic discipline or sub-discipline with all the features from full undergraduate and postgraduate course provision to conferences and journals. An important question in this process of turning into an established discipline is whether it will coincide with the recognition of the graduates as professionals. This paper hopes to stimulate the debate as to whether forensic computing is or should be a discipline. In order to approach this question, the paper will discuss the concept of forensic computing including the most salient topics of …

An Analysis Of Outdoor Leaders' Ethics Guiding Decisions, Denise Mitten

Research in Outdoor Education

Up to 70,000 people a year may participate in wilderness experience programs in the United States (Friese, Hendee, & Kinziger, 1998). Many more people participate in non-wildemess outdoor programs. Over 700 programs offer wilderness opportunities for personal growth in the United States with a predicted increase of 15 percent a year (Ewert & McAvoy, 1999). During these trips, the behavior modeled and the infor­mation shared by the outdoor leaders influences a large number of people, including people with many diverse needs. Garvey (1999) stated that outdoor leaders model what they hold to be the most appropriate behavior in a situation: …

Scientific Facts Vs. Political Values, Thomas G. Field Jr.

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Professor Field takes exception to a recent Science editorial.

Teaching And Evaluating Outdoor Ethics Programs: Setting A Research Agenda, Bruce E. Matthews

Research in Outdoor Education

No abstract provided.

The Separation Of Facts And Values, Arthur Kantrowitz

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Dr. Kantrowitz maintains that much modern pessimism derives from failure to separate what is from what ought to be and urges that scientific conflicts be resolved as value neutrally as possible.

Review Of: Lawrence J. Kaplan & Rosemarie Tong, Controlling Our Reproductive Destiny: A Technological And Philosophical Perspective, Sophie M. Sparrow

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: Lawrence J. Kaplan & Rosemarie Tong, Controlling Our Reproductive Destiny: A Technological and Philosophical Perspective (The MIT Press 1994). Appendix (basic biochemistry), illustrations, index, notes, preface, series foreword by Samuel Goldberg, tables. CIP 93-38060, ISBN 0-262-11176-4 [418 pp. Cloth $29.95. 55 Hayward St., Cambridge MA 02142.]

Review Of: It Just Ain't Fair: The Ethics Of Health Care For African Americans (Annette Dula & Sara Goering Eds.), Carrie Anne Juliano

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of: It Just Ain't Fair: The Ethics of Health Care for African Americans (Annette Dula & Sara Goering eds., Praeger 1994) About the editors and contributors, acknowledgements, bibliography, foreword by Mark Siegler, index, notes. L.C. 93-43780, ISBN 0-275-94494-8. [ 336 pp. Paper $19.95. P.O. Box 5007, Westport CT 06881-5007.]

Learning About Ethical Outdoor Leadership, Karen Fox, Mark Reed

Research in Outdoor Education

Outdoor adventure programming has responded to changing societal and individ­ual needs by enlarging the goals and objec­tives of programs beyond the boundaries of the outdoor trip. Program missions, goals and objectives regularly include integrating people with and without disabilities, rein­forcing appropriate school and societal be­haviour in youth at risk, enhancing the self­ esteem of young people, teaching environ­mentally sound behaviour, and enhancing restorative healing for women survivors of abuse and people with terminal illness. These broader goals and objectives place different demands upon the outdoor leader and situate an outdoor trip within a larger context. This larger context connects out­door …