1. Consider an automated system that large companies can use to process job applications. For jobs such as truck drivers, cleaning staff, and cafeteria workers, the system selects people to hire without interviews or other involvement of human staffers. Describe 5 advantages and 5 disadvantages of such a system.
2. Walking through a public park on their way back to work after lunch, four employees of a large Internet services company begin clowning around and singing silly and raunchy songs. One of them captures the scene on his cellphone and later posts it on a major video site. In the video, the company logo is clearly visible on the tee-shirts the employees are wearing. The company fires the employee who posted the video and has not yet decided on action against the others. Discuss 2 arguments for and against the firing. What disciplinary action, if any, is appropriate for the other employees?
3. A major business newspaper ran a full-page article telling people how to get around restrictions on computer use at work. For example, the article told how to get to Web sites that the employer's filters blocked, how to install software the employer did not approve, how to check one's personal email from work if the employer's system blocked it, and so on. Discuss the ethics of using these techniques.
Another (not related to previous one):
- Suppose you are responsible for the design and development of a computer system to control an amusement park ride. Sensors in the seats will determine which seats are occupied, so the software can consider weight and balance. The system will control the speed and duration of the ride. The amusement park wants a system where, once the ride starts, a person is not needed to operate it. List 5 important things that you can or should do to ensure the safety of the system. Consider all aspects of development, technical issues and operating instructions.
- At many hospitals, doctors enter orders for prescription drugs for their patients into a computer system. Such systems eliminate errors from reading doctors' handwriting and automatically check for conflicts with other medicines the patient is taking. On one system, when another doctor used the same terminal after the previous doctor neglected to log out, the system assigned drugs ordered by the second doctor to the first doctor's patient. Describe 5 features that such systems could include to reduce this kind of error.
- Consider the following scenario. A state's highway patrol keeps records of stolen cars in its computer system. There is no routine process for updating records when stolen cars are recovered. The system still listed a car as stolen a few years after it had been recovered and the owner sold it. A highway patrol officer shot and killed the new owner of the car during a traffic stop. The officer thought the car was stolen and that the driver was acting suspiciously. An investigation concluded that the officer "acted in good faith." To what extent should the error in the database affect the family's wrongful-death lawsuit against the highway patrol? Suggest 5 features the database should have that might prevent such incidents.