The conference will be held by the presence of professors and students in Haft Gonbad Hall.
The relation of moral and ethics in such information societies which this conference attempts to study is of the most important issue in the 21 st century and the beginning years of the third millennium that is the increasing growth of information systems and considerable domination of Information Technology.
Ethics and Information Society
Challenges, Recommendations, Solutions
By Omid Fatemi
Questions?
• Why is it necessary that information societies commit themselves to observe moral and spirituality principles?
• What are the losses of lacking moral and spirituality to the societies?
• What practical strategies have been planned for constructive relation between these two?
• What are the successful practical samples in this regard ?
• What is the prospect of information societies in relation to morals?
• What recommendations can be provided to users and those who involved in the information systems?
Outline
• First Part (from what has been said)
–Moral / Ethics
–Solutions
• Second Part (another view)
– What is value?
• Gain / Loss?
–How to use tools?
Ethics / Moral
• Ethics: the study of morals
–Longman Interactive American Dictionary, ©Addison Wesley Longman
1997
• Morals:
–Principles of right and wrong behavior and the difference between good
and evil
How to?
• Find out about
–Good and evil
–Right and wrong
–Good and bad
• What is the criteria?
Specific Theories
• Utilitarianism: good behavior is that which produces the most happiness or most good for the most people.
• Emotivism: all value judgments are expressions of feelings
• Egoism: every person acts out of self interest
Societies
• Industrial Society
• Information Society
Important Factors
• Development of technology
• Globalization process
• Digitalization
Information Society?
• Lots of “Info”
• Increase in jobs dealing with “data”
• Information as a commodity
–Intellectual Property
• Rapid innovations and developments
Technology Crimes Characteristics
• Dealing with abstracts
• Stealing means copying
–The original is there
• Anonymity for criminals
• Criminals feel they aren’t hurting anyone.
• Don’t care for intangible properties
• Privacy is at risk
Society Issues
• Loss of identity, cultural heritage and values for small communities.
• Virtual identity and position vs. real life
• Privacy issues
• Property rights
• Accountability and control (freedom of speech)
• Internet
– Offensive language, Violence
–Gambling, drugs and alcohol
–Nudity and sexual content
–Poisoning beliefs
Solutions
• Computer Ethics – Cyberethics
–The web site
• Code of conduct
–ACM, IEEE
• Business Ethics
–Profitability, monopoly, environmentalism
Real Ethics
From Allah
High values of Behavior
• الكافي 2 56 باب المكارم ..... ص : 55:
• إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ خَصَّ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ بِمَكَارِمِ الْأَخْلَاقِ فَمَنْ كَانَتْ فِيهِ فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللَّهَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ وَ مَنْ لَمْ تَكُنْ فِيهِ فَلْيَتَضَرَّعْ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ لْيَسْأَلْهُ إِيَّاهَا
•Allah has chosen the prophets to have good behavior, whoever owns this should thank God and whoever doesn’t have this should beg God and asks for it.
Where the Value comes from?
The creator, the knowing, the compassionate, the merciful.
The Value of Tools
–Gains value from the objective and the purpose
–انما الاعمال بالنيات
–The value of action depends on the purpose.
• Could we do good things in information society with ICT?
• What precautions do we need to take when approaching ICT?
Example: Internet and e-Learning
To Educate and Distribute the Words of Islam
http://university.etrat.net
Summary
• We feel moral risks in Information age.
• Lots of useful tools in information age.
• The value comes from Allah.
• Why don’t we use the tools for spiritual and moral purposes?
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Date : Thursday July 21th 2005(Tir 30th , 1384)18:00 to 20:00
Place : Haft gonbad hall,Nezami ganjavi park Ehtesham st. ,Valiasr Ave.(Between Saee park & Day hospital)
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