Prof. Franklin
MWF 11:00AM-11:50AM (Hunt 110)
Office Hours (Kemper 3021): TBA

15 minute oral presents schedule here.

3-5 minute oral presents schedule here.

Brief reports grades here.

Textbook: Society, Ethics, and Technology (5th edition), by Morton Winston and Ralph Edelbach, Thomson-Wadsworth.

Catalog Description (Course Outline): foundations of ethics, views of technology, technology and human values, costs and benefits of technology, the character of technological change, the social context of work in computer science and engineering.

Expanded course description here. This course is developed by Prof. Phil Rogaway, and we will follow his overall structure and methods.

Grading: Your grade in this class will depend (roughly) on the following factors:

Classroom participation (30%): You are expected to participate fully in all of the classroom discussions. Please feel free to express your views.

Review reports (35%): These are brief reports (1-2 pages) on our course readings. Each review report must be turned in at the start of the class at which that course reading is discussed.

Each student will give a 3-5 minute oral presentation for one of the course readings. This oral presentation will focus on a question selected by the student and approved by the instructor. These will be presented in class at the start of the class after that article is discussed. If you give an oral presentation on a paper, then you do not have to turn in a written report for that paper. You also don't have to turn in a written report for the paper we discuss on the day of your oral presentation. Thus an oral presentation means that you get to skip *two* written reports in a row. Your grade for this oral presentation will be folded in with the 20% of your grade for all the review reports.

Term project (35%): This will be a deeper analysis of a topic, including a written report (approx. 10 pages), and an oral presentation. Here is a list of books that could be used for topics. Feel free to think of other topics as well, and run them by me for approval. My feeling is that a very wide range of topics is suitable. Many students have done traditional term papers that bring in multiple sources (rather than a single book). It's hard to write a very good term paper without letting the reader know what you feel about the topic you are covering. There are two milestones for your written report. The first milestone is a 1-2 page proposal, which is due Wed 29 April. The second milestone is a 3-4 page draft, which is due Wed 20 May. The due date for your written report is Wed 3 Jun. Please email everything to me (using the email address franklin@cs.ucdavis.edu).

Class Policies: All written material submitted must be legible. Late work will not be accepted without a doctor's excuse. Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Supplemental Material: The course readings are intended to be self-contained, but you might find it helpful to consult a good basic introduction to ethical decision making, such as "A Framework for Thinking Ethically", Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, 2008 (originally in Issues in Ethics:1(2), Winter 1988).

Class Schedule:

Mon 30 Mar:
in-class activities: Overview
read for next class: ACM Code of Ethics and IEEE Code of Ethics.

Wed 1 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss ACM and IEEE Codes of Ethics.
read for next class: Emily Pronin, How We See Ourselves and How We See Others, Science:320, May 2008.

Fri 3 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Pronin article.
read for next class: nothing.

Mon 6 Apr:
in-class activities: Watch "Decalogue, Part I".
read for next class: Cowan, "Industrial Society and Technological Systems".

Wed 8 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss "Decalogue, Part I" and Cowan article.
read for next class: Donovan, "Containerization and Globalization: An Innovation and Its Impact".

Fri 10 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Donovan article.
read for next class: Jonas, "Technology and Responsibility: Reflections on the New Task of Ethics".

Mon 13 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Jonas article.
read for next class: Davis, "Constructing the Professional Responsibility of Engineers".

Wed 15 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Davis article.
read for next class: Rauch, "Law and Disorder: Why too much due process is a dangerous thing"..

Fri 17 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Rauch article.
read for next class: Brin, The Transparent Society..

Mon 20 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Brin article.
read for next class: Sharkey, "The Automation and Proliferation of Military Drones and the Protection of Civilians".

Wed 22 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Sharkey article.
read for next class: Joy, "Why the future doesn't need us"..

Fri 24 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Joy article.
read for next class: Baker, "Final Jeopardy".

Mon 27 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Baker article.
read for next class: Carr, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?".

Wed 29 Apr:
in-class activities: discuss Carr article.
read for next class: nothing

Fri 1 May:
in-class activities: watch first 50 minutes of Food, Inc.

Mon 4 May:
in-class activities: Watch 2nd 50 minutes of Food, Inc.

Wed 6 May:
in-class activities: discuss Food, Inc.

Fri 8 May:
in-class activities: Watch 1st 50 minutes of The Corporation.

Mon 11 May:
in-class activities: Watch 2nd 50 minutes of The Corporation.

Wed 13 May:
in-class activities: discuss The Corporation

Fri 15 May:
in-class activities: 3 student presentations.

Mon 18 May:
in-class activities: 3 student presentations.

Wed 20 May:
in-class activities: 3 student presentations.

Fri 22 May:
in-class activities: 3 student presentations.

Mon 25 May: Holiday.

Wed 27 May:
in-class activities: 3 student presentations.

Fri 29 May:
in-class activities: 3 student presentations.

Mon 1 Jun:
in-class activities: 3 student presentations.

Wed 3 Jun:
in-class activities: 3 student presentations.