(a) Do we, as a society, have a special obligation to disabled persons to ensure that they have full Internet access? (b) Is the argument that by providing improved access and services for disabled persons, non-disabled users will benefit as well, a reasonable argument? Consider that it can be dangerous to reason along this line; for example, suppose that non-disabled persons did not benefit from software applications designed for the disabled. (c) Would that be a reason for not investing in software for disabled people? Defend your answer. Please elaborate (beyond a yes or no answer) and provide your “theoretical” rationale in support of your responses. (comprehension)
Theismeyer described racist/hate Web sites in this chapter. (a) Should Web sites that promote racist speech be allowed to thrive on the Internet? (b) Has the proliferation of these sites increased the incidence of racism on a global scale? Or is the Internet, as some have suggested, a force that can help to reduce racism? Please elaborate (beyond a yes or no answer) and provide your “theoretical” rationale in support of your responses. (comprehension)
The increased use of expert systems (ES) technology in many professional fields has generated some ethical and social concerns. Some ethical controversies surrounding ESs have to do with critical decisions, including life and death decisions; for example, (a) should “expert doctors” be allowed to make decisions that could directly result in the death of, or cause serious harm to a patient? If so, (b) who is ultimately responsible for the ES’s decision? (c) Is the hospital that owns the particular ES responsible? (d) Should the knowledge engineer who designed the ES be held responsible? Or is the ES itself responsible? In answering these questions, you may want to take a look back in chapter 4, specifically the case involving Therac-25. Please elaborate (beyond a yes or no answer) and provide your “theoretical” rationale in support of your responses. (comprehension)
(a) What obligations does the United States have, as a democratic nation concerned with guaranteeing equal opportunities for all its citizens, to ensure that all its citizens have full access to the Internet? (b) Does the United States also have obligations to developing countries to ensure that they have global access to the Internet? If so, (c) What is the extent of those obligations? If not, (d) Why? For example, (e) Should engineers working in the United States and other developed countries design applications to ensure that people living in remote areas with low connectivity and poor bandwidth have reasonable Internet access? If so, (f) Who should pay for the development of these software applications? If not, (g) Why? Please elaborate (beyond a yes or no answer) and provide your “theoretical” rationale in support of your responses. (comprehension)