Legal and Ethical Concerns
Essential Knowledge
- IOC-1.F.1 Material created on a computer is the intellectual property of the creator or an organization.
- IOC-1.F.2 Ease of access and distribution of digitized information raises intellectual property concerns regarding ownership, value, and use.
- IOC-1.F.3 Measures should be taken to safeguard intellectual property.
- IOC-1.F.4 The use of material created by someone else without permission and presented as one’s own is plagiarism and may have legal consequences.
- IOC-1.F.6 The use of material created by someone other than you should always be cited.
- IOC-1.F.7 Creative Commons, open source, and open access have enabled broad access to digital information.
- IOC-1.F.8 As with any technology or medium, using computing to harm individuals or groups of people raises legal and ethical concerns.
- IOC-1.F.9 Computing can play a role in social and political issues, which in turn often raises legal and ethical concerns.
What is intellectual property?
Intellectual property is a work or invention that is the result of creativity, to which one has rights over.
In the modernized world today, intellectual property can be shared more easily now through the Internet. This raises concerns about who owns something that was created digitally.
Copyright
Copyright protects your IP and keeps anyone else from using it, unless they have permission. Anything you create like a picture u took or a digital drawing, you automatically own an “All rights reserved” copyright. If we pretend that material is our own then it becomes plagiarism
There are ways to create material for others to use:
Creative Commons
- Provides free licenses that you can use to tell others how you want them to use your creation
- Examples: If you draw a picture and you want other people to use and distribute it without asking for permission. If you have a song that you want to freely share
- It clearly outlines whether certain people can use it for creative commons, whether it’s commercial or for another reason
Open Source
- Are open for anyone to use and the IP can modified in whatever ways people want, thus encouraging open collaboration
- Refers exclusively to software
Open Access
- Online research output free of any restrictions (like copyright or licesnse restrictions) and free of use so people can use this however they wish
- Example: Open access databases with journals and research papers for others to reference and use
Popcorn Hack 1
- Give an example of an open source software and explain why it is an open source.
Linux is an example of an open source software because there are no restrictions on the use of the software and the code is available for everyone.
Legal/Ethical Concerns
No matter how you use something, it’s still important to cite information and give credit where it belongs. There is so information at our fingertips and though open source programs may be created with good intentions, people will sometimes use these open sources and modify them to harm individuals or groups.
There are legal concerns regarding computing devices that collect and analyze data by monitoring individual activity. Digital media downloads can sometimes include viruses and harmful programs
Digital Divide and Bias
Some softwares may include algorithms with bias. The training data for the software might underrepresent certain groups or demographics. Lack of fairness in algorithmic decision-making can perpetuate societal inequalities.
The digital divide is the unequal distribution of access to technology Although the Internet provides all these resources for us to use, certain groups of people do not have the technology readily available for them to use. These databases and online resources are only beneficial to those who have the opportunities and privileges to understand and access technology.
Popcorn Hack 2
- What is another legal or ethical concern regarding intellectual property in technology?
Pirating, or illegally distributing films, is another legal or ethical concern regarding intellectual property in technology.
Homework
Complete these five free response questions and send them to Taj on slack by December 21, 11:59 pm. You will be graded on how much effort you put into your answer.
- What is the difference between open source and open access?
Open source has code that is available to be edited by anyone. The IP can be modified by anyone and therefore encourages open collaboration. Anyone can view, modify, and distribute the program. Open access refers to works that are available online without copyright or license restrictions (typically academic).
- What is the importance of copyright?
Copyright allows someone the rights to their own work. Other people are prevented from using your IP and you are given all credits and benefits for your work.
- What is a way people can harm individuals or groups through open source data?
Open source data can be used in an inappropriate manner and people can disclose personal information that can harm individuals or groups.
- What term describes the uequal distribution of access to technology?
Digital divide describes the unequal distribution of access to technology. People from different demographics and backgrounds have varying access to technology.
- How do you see intellectual property in 20 years (be creative)?
Even now, intellectual property is easily shared through the Internet, and I predict that in 20 years it will be even more easily shared. It will also likely become increasingly difficult to identify the owners of specific intellectual property especially with the rise in usage of artificial intelligence. Since AI uses information from vast Internet sources, the product of AI could be claimed by someone but actually belong to someone else. There will also be more open access and open sources.