Why we should not build autonomous robotic weapons

We discuss robotic weapons, their advantages and disadvantages, and their effect on the way humans wage war. We consider the factors favoring the development of lethal robotic weapons that can operate autonomously. We discuss the attempt to mitigate the dangers inherent in such weapons by means of an ethical controller implemented in software. We conclude that this is impossible to achieve and therefore that autonomous lethal robotic weapons should not be developed.Workshop: III Ethicomp latinoaméricaRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Report on the Transient Nature of Selected Downtown Residents in Duluth, Minnesota.

Funded by the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota

Behavior studies related to pesticides: Agricultural chemicals and Iowa agricultural-chemical dealers

The agricultural sector of the United States economy has long been recognized for its productive capacity and relative efficiency. This has resulted in abundant, high-quality, and relatively low-cost food and fiber. Many factors have made contributions to this phenomenon: adequate natural resources, research and resulting technology, the ready availability of this technology to farmers, available capital and labor, and the entrepreneurial ability of the American farmer to combine these resources efficiently. One type of research and technology that has made a major contribution to the productive capacity and efficiency is that which relates to agricultural chemicals — pesticides for the control of insects, weeds, and diseases. The positive contribution of agricultural chemicals is generally accepted and can be validated. However, there is an expressed concern regarding the possible consequences of improper use of agricultural chemicals that might result in danger to the user, crops, livestock, aquatic and wildlife, and to the ultimate consumer of food products. In its extreme form this concern is expressed in terms of strict control or the abolition of the use of agricultural chemicals. Other proposals call for much stricter control over the clearance, sale, and use of chemicals

Advantages and trade-offs of introducing ethical issues in computing through a dedicated course or through modules in relevant content courses in the curriculum

We discuss two alternatives for introducing consideration of ethical questions in the computer science curriculum. These alternatives are 1) a selfcontained course on ethical issues in computing, and 2) introduction of modules devoted to ethical questions throughout the curriculum in content courses such as software engineering, databases, data mining, artificial intelligence, and systems. We discuss the advantages and the potential “hidden messages” involved in each of these approaches. By way of illustration, we list some of the pertinent points raised by two important case studies that are appropriate for inclusion in either a self-contained course or a course on software engineeringPresentado en el I ETHICOMP LatinoaméricaRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

A consideration of the lasting effects of a course introducing ethical issues in computing

We discuss the objectives of a course for computer science majors that introduces ethical issues in computing. In particular we are interested – as an exceptional matter – in the long term objectives. We pose and attempt to answer [or at least discuss] the following questions: What effects are we hoping such a course has on its participants five, ten, twenty years down the road? How can our contemplation of these issues inform our pedagogy? How can we design this course so that is has a lasting impact on the students?Eje: II ETHICOMP LatinoaméricaRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Using a White-Collar Profession in accounting courses: Approaches to addressing diversity

Accounting educators no doubt agree that diversity is an important and much neglected part of accounting education. They further recognize that it is difficult to incorporate this important topic into the accounting curriculum. This paper describes the efforts of various professors to expose business and accounting students to the evolution of diversity issues related to the accounting profession by using the book A White-Collar Profession [Hammond, 2002]. A White-Collar Profession: African-American CPAs Since 1921 is a seminal work which presents a history of the profession as it relates to African-American CPAs and documents the individual struggles of many of the first one hundred blacks to become certified. This paper describes efforts of faculty at four different colleges to utilize this book in their teaching of accounting. Instructors found that students not only developed an enhanced awareness about the history of the accounting profession, but that other educational objectives were advanced, such as improved communication and critical thinking skills, increased social awareness, and empathy for others. African-American students, in particular, embraced the people in the book as role models, while most every student saw the characters as heroic in a day when the accounting profession is badly in need of role models and heroes. This is encouraging given the profession\u27s concern with diversity and the attention and resources directed at increasing the number of minorities entering the profession

Behavior studies related to pesticides: Urban chemical pesticides and Iowa urban chemical-pesticide dealers

As reflected in sales reports, millions of people are using chemical pesticides to solve a number of problems. Estimated total cost of chemical pesticides to all United States users in 1965 was more than a billion dollars. Farmers used pesticides costing an estimated $590 million-58 percent of the total. Residential (home, lawn, and garden) purchases amounted to about$220 million or about 22 percent of the total. The remaining purchases were made by industrial, institutional, and governmental sources. The use of chemical pesticides is expected to increase in the following year. The use of chemical pesticides has not, however, been accepted by everyone. Concern has been voiced about possible consequences of improper use of these chemicals to the user as well as to wildlife, pets and agricultural commodities. This concern has been expressed in proposals to limit or abolish the use of chemical pesticides. The subject is controversial, but there have been few valid data on which to base rational discussion. Little research work has been done in determining attitudes, knowledge, and use and sales patterns of individuals in relation to chemical pesticides. Similarly, little is known about the people who sell chemicals to the ultimate consumer; i.e., what the dealers’ levels of knowledge and attitudes are; what their perceptions of possible harmful consequences are; what information they provide; and what they perceive their role to be

Una conversación con Matthew Sher sobre privacidad y la amistad

El siguiente trabajo indaga en la importancia de la privacidad para la dignidad humana desde dos miradas esenciales al tema: ética y psicológica, teniendo cuenta la privacidad en las redes sociales y el comportamiento de la generación del milenio según el artículo de Matthew Sher al respecto. Partiendo de la necesidad y la valoración de la de privacidad se va desarrollando su conceptualización a la luz de la Etica Nicomaquea, su lugar en la estructuración del psiquismo y su impronta en la actualidad, donde parece estar amenazada por las nuevas tecnologías y el uso de las redes sociales por los jóvenes de la hipermodernidad.Workshop: III Ethicomp latinoaméricaRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI

Enteric Virus Survival in Package Plants and the Upgrading of the Small Treatment Plants Using Ozone

Post-chlorinated effluent collected with a portable viral concentrator from four treatment plants in Jefferson County, Kentucky, yielded infective viral particles from three plants from spring through late fall. The pH, ,chlorine, turbidity, and coliform levels of these effluents indicated that viral persistence was correlated with inefficient processing which produced effluent environments that inhibited disinfection by chlorine. The disinfection potential of ozone was tested on secondary effluent and finished water seeded with poliovirus and Esaheriahia coli. Low doses of ozone inactivated viruses and bacteria in treated water, but not in effluent. The inactivation of bacteria by ozone does not appear to be caused by cell lysis. Inability of poliovirus to form plaques correlated with inhibition of capsid penetration. Electron micrographs revealed that ozone degrades capsids. Ozonation produced low levels of COD and TOC reduction in package plant effluent. Since the reaction rates were not a simple function of COD levels and ozone dose it would be difficult to standardize dose rates. The relative inefficiency of ozone in reduction of biological and non-biological pollutants in effluents, combined with its high cost, does not favor a recommendation for ozonation as a tack-on process to upgrade these plants