THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING

Computers and New Technology

This section of the OEC contains cases, essays, ethical guidelines, and other materials bearing on the specific ethical issues arising from computers, the Internet, and other emerging technologies, such as nanotech. It addresses the professional responsibilities of computer engineers, computer scientists, and software designers and engineers. These range over fields such as computer theory, computer architecture, and systems engineering.

The materials themselves vary significantly in structure. Some are discussion cases that present open-ended situations requiring a response. Some are descriptions of completed actions. Some of these are actual cases such as the David LaMacchia case or Therac-25 case. Most cases are at least loosely based on real incidents, in order to give a realistic impression of the moral problems that face computer engineers and scientists.

National Academy of Engineering

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