Question

What is the “logical malleability” of software as both a product and a service? Explain at least four “conceptual muddles” this state of affairs creates for upholding ethical frameworks. Include three specific cases and examples from the book or recent current events

Answer 1

Computers are logically malleable. This is the feature that makes computers so revolutionary. They are logically malleable in that they can be manipulated to do any activity that can be characterized in terms of inputs, outputs, and connecting logical operations. Computers can be manipulated syntactically and semantically. Syntactically, one can alter what the computer does by changing its program. And semantically one can use the states of a computer to represent anything one chooses, from the sales of a stock market to the trajectory of a spacecraft. Computers are general purpose machines like no others. That is why they are now found in every aspect of our lives and that is why a computer revolution is taking place.

Conceptual muddles:

A conceptual muddle comes about when “we are unable to agree on the right ‘frame’ for understanding what kind of thing this new technology is.”

Examples:

Cell phones:

A good example of a conceptual muddle is the all too popular cellular phones. What is its purpose? Is it for communication or entertainment? Is it meant to bring us together or set us further apart?
We see today cellular phones being equipped with internet, mp3 players, and much more. I know people who own at least two phones, one for talking and the other for surfing the net. It’s really ridiculous to me to see people with two or tree phones attached to their hip. The constant reconstruction of the devices leads to even more concern as to whether or not certain restrictions should be placed on the usage of the artifacts. It also affects the people in society interactions with each other.

Internet :

An example today of a conceptual muddle is the internet. There has been no clear stance on what frame it is in. Some belive it is a virtual shopping mall, while others percieve it as an information library. By no clear definition being placed on the internet ,or it not being catagorized into a particular area, it will remain uncontrolled. I say this because you can't controll what you don't understand. With an absence of this needed understanding ,conceptual muddles can hinder the functioning within the area that created the muddle. One sees this today in the way the internet continues to be for the most part unregulated. It is because legisltors can't agree as to what it truly is therefore they cant apply rules to it. Not that im for regulting the internet, but i just wanted to show this example.

Exchange and downloading of digital music:

An example of conceptual muddle would be the exchange and downloading of digital music. With the advent of the mp3, the recording industry was left in a state of confusion. Was downloading music illegal? What if you owned a copy of the song? Could you then legally download the song continuously? What about music-sharing? These were real problems that the music industry had to deal with. I remember Napster was a real headache from the very beginning. People were downloading song after song and there was no control. Who was to blame for this? Was it the individual who placed the song to be downloaded or was it the person who was downloading the song? There were laws already in place about recording songs on a C.D. and sharing them. Could a law that was originally found before the World Wide Web be used to regulate this problem.

Computers:

Computers are special technology and they raise some special ethical issues.Most of the time and under most conditions computer operations are invisible. One may be quite knowledgeable about the inputs and outputs of a computer and only dimly aware of the internal processing. This invisibility factor often generates muddles about how to use computer technology.