Maybe CMC Ethics could be a new course?

Everyone had various interests in topics that could be discussed further in the CAS 283 course, and a commonality between them is that they all brought ethics into play.  From ordering weapons online, to child pornography, to the boundaries of law enforcement, even to the debate on BitCoins validity as an acceptable currency,  ethics plays a large role in nearly all topics mentioned. There are two particular areas that would have interested me the most,  and areas that I believe would be quite useful to the modern day consumer; which we students are. The first is the use of advertisements on the web, and more specifically the methods of manipulation that are used in the displaying of ads. The second would be law enforcement and its influence on web users. To be precise, exploring the line of law enforcement and invasion of privacy, or studying whether that line can or cannot – should or should not exist. Both concepts revolve around ethics

            We’ve all been on Facebook and have seen an ad that is oddly enough for something we were just checking out while browsing the website for our favorite goods – whether it be car parts or shoes.  This is because there are websites that monitor cookies, and then display ads according to sites you have recently visited. It’s quite brilliant, in an evil mad scientist sort of way.  I’m not saying internet advertisements are bad, it’s the number one way websites generate a profit or any income to support itself.  However, just like anything else, there’s an ethical approach and unethical approach. Even if not for the ethical debate, educating students on such a matter will make them conscious of it and enable them to make educated decisions in regards to it.

            After 9/11 the concept of privacy took a back seat to the idea of providing safety for the citizens.  While there is well-meaning logic behind it, studying the laws and absence of law will provide a better understanding of the internet as a whole.  Furthermore, it will teach students that they cannot believe everything they see in a much clearer way than critically thinking about a piece of literature will. 

I believe educating people on matters such as these will expose them in a way that is unbiased to either side of the debate, while also making them aware of current issues. The study of these topics could be highly beneficial, especially when both concepts pertain to the everyday internet user, which is a population of rapid growth.