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From: Kevin Kehoe
Subject: Review of THE INFORMATION WEB
Date: 20 Apr 91 19:55:45

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Review of: THE INFORMATION WEB: ETHICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
           IN COMPUTER NETWORKING
Author:    Carol C. Gould
Reviewed by: Kevin Kehoe

In "The Information Web: Ethical and Social Implications of Computer
Networking", Carol C. Gould brings together papers from a number of
sources, ranging in concentration from philosopher to chemist to
physicist. Each gives their own views on the shape of ethics in
computing and technology as a whole today (and in the future).

Topics range from formal and implied rights of privacy (whether a
person is giving implied consent to have/relinquish his/her privacy by
using the system in the first place); whether computer conferencing
can be considered a public or private forum; the case of privacy vs. a
person or persons' right to know; whether or not a violation of
computer privacy (e.g. breaking into medical records) comprises a
violation of personal privacy, or if the two are legally and morally
separated by the same technological boundary that brought them
together in the first place; the benefits & dangers of performing
scientific research and the dissemination of the results of that
research through a network; voting with computers (how it effects
democracy, the social effects of voting in such a totally neutral
atmosphere); the moral responsibility inherent in all forms of
technology; our growing reliance on electronic information (will it
ever reach a point where the computers have more control than the
humans? or has it already?); the ethics involved in computer crimes --
how viruses, hackers, and security methods all inter-mesh in a way
that leaves many things open to interpretation; personal ethics vs
professional (an excellent example of a chemist who's hired to create
a deadly disease -- should he be allowed to restrict its use after
realizing its incredible potential?); and how to handle the voluntary
and involuntary disclosure of company-private information.

Gould did an excellent job of putting the book together --she
assembled a group of people in the ethics project that not only made
valid points, but they did so in a way that was logical and clear.
(Far too many aspects of ethics today have proven markedly vague. But
perhaps that's just another part of the whole concept of trying to
define an ethic or ethics to begin with.)

The book was published by Westview Press (ISBN 0-8133-0699-X) 5500
Central Avenue, Boulder, CO 80301.

I highly recommend it as a read for anyone who's interested in
computer ethics and privacy; particularly for those who have a
definite feeling on the subject, but aren't able to adequately
articulate their views -- these papers may well serve that purpose.

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