D333 PreAssessment Ethics in Technology
1. A homeowners' association (HOA) installs li- Consequentialism - Best overall con-
cense plate readers after an increase in report- sequence, benefit the majority.
ed crime in the neighborhood. Two domestic
workers petition the HOA, requesting that their
data be deleted to protect their privacy. The
HOA considers this but denies their request,
citing the greater need for security protection
for residents.
Which ethical theory does this represent?
2. Two programmers disagree about which philo- Utilitarianism - similar to conse-
sophical theory is best suited for their au- quentialism meaning the most good
tonomous vehicles. One programmer suggests to Benefit the majority.
their vehicle should always choose the greatest
good for the greatest number of people.
Which philosophical theory encapsulates this
stance?
3. What is the difference between ethics and Ethics reflect a societal code of be-
morals? havior, whereas morals reflect per-
sonal principles.
4. An IT company holds itself accountable for how Corporate social responsibility
its actions affect its shareholders, consumers,
employees, community, the environment, and
suppliers.
What is this company demonstrating?
5. A developer creates video games based on Virtue - Habit of acceptable behavior.
real war scenarios and designs characters that
, D333 PreAssessment Ethics in Technology
mimic real people from world events. The video
game has content perceived as excessively vi-
olent and rewards players who inflict the most
harm on other players' virtual characters. The
developer knows that these are simulated acts
that depict real war scenarios to create an
immersive experience for players but is con-
cerned about the impact on their moral charac-
ter.
Which ethical theory does this situation repre-
sent?
6. A project team at an animal welfare agency Consequentialism - Best overall con-
is using predictive analytics to help take ani- sequence, benefit the majority.
mals out of abusive environments. The algo-
rithm the team designed has a false positive
rate that is higher than zero, which means that
some animals could be removed erroneous-
ly if the algorithm's recommendations are fol-
lowed. The project owner understands that
pets may wrongfully be removed from loving
healthy homes but decides to use the algorithm
anyway because it will happen only a small per-
centage of the time.
Which ethical theory does this represent?
7. A software sales company is currently strug- Unethical and illegal
gling with low sales. The company is aware that
one of its competitor's senior sales managers
is dissatisfied with the competitor due to hav-
, D333 PreAssessment Ethics in Technology
ing been overlooked for a promotion to the
position of a vice president (VP). The company
approaches the sales manager and offers them
a position as VP for sales on the condition of
bringing the manager's existing customer list
and contacts to the new role. The sales manag-
er is bound by a noncompete clause.
Which type of decision-making process did the
company follow?
8. A municipality decides to use the data it has on Legal but unethical
household water usage to build an algorithm
that can identify welfare fraud. This would re-
sult in a list of potential fraudsters that could be
used to make welfare decisions. Although the
municipality is the rightful owner and proces-
sor of the data, citizens have raised privacy is-
sues with the application. The citizens object
that they have no way of knowing whether they
are on the list and have no possibility of redress
if they are.
Which decision-making process did the munic-
ipality follow?
9. The marketing department of a financial ser- Unethical and legal
vices institution asks data scientists to build a
consumer profile based on transaction data. Al-
though company lawyers approve the request
to explicitly signal customers with potential
gambling addiction problems, the data scien-
, D333 PreAssessment Ethics in Technology
tists refuse to build the profiles.
What describes this request?
10. Which ethical concept is related to the right to Property
use a person's or an organization's intangible
creative activities?
11. An IT company that specializes in software de- Chief ethics officer
velopment has an organizational structure that
consists of a chief executive officer, chief ethics
officer, chief finance officer, and chief operating
officer.
Which of these executives provides the compa-
ny with vision and leadership in business con-
duct?
12. What is a reason for organizations to pursue Gain goodwill
corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals?
13. A police department employee has access to Corruption
data related to an ongoing investigation. A lo-
cal politician whom the employee supports has
come under investigation. The employee ac-
cesses the data relating to the investigation and
provides the file to the politician anonymously.
How should this behavior be classified?
14. An IT manager implements security measures Layered
at the organization, network, application, and
employee levels.
1. A homeowners' association (HOA) installs li- Consequentialism - Best overall con-
cense plate readers after an increase in report- sequence, benefit the majority.
ed crime in the neighborhood. Two domestic
workers petition the HOA, requesting that their
data be deleted to protect their privacy. The
HOA considers this but denies their request,
citing the greater need for security protection
for residents.
Which ethical theory does this represent?
2. Two programmers disagree about which philo- Utilitarianism - similar to conse-
sophical theory is best suited for their au- quentialism meaning the most good
tonomous vehicles. One programmer suggests to Benefit the majority.
their vehicle should always choose the greatest
good for the greatest number of people.
Which philosophical theory encapsulates this
stance?
3. What is the difference between ethics and Ethics reflect a societal code of be-
morals? havior, whereas morals reflect per-
sonal principles.
4. An IT company holds itself accountable for how Corporate social responsibility
its actions affect its shareholders, consumers,
employees, community, the environment, and
suppliers.
What is this company demonstrating?
5. A developer creates video games based on Virtue - Habit of acceptable behavior.
real war scenarios and designs characters that
, D333 PreAssessment Ethics in Technology
mimic real people from world events. The video
game has content perceived as excessively vi-
olent and rewards players who inflict the most
harm on other players' virtual characters. The
developer knows that these are simulated acts
that depict real war scenarios to create an
immersive experience for players but is con-
cerned about the impact on their moral charac-
ter.
Which ethical theory does this situation repre-
sent?
6. A project team at an animal welfare agency Consequentialism - Best overall con-
is using predictive analytics to help take ani- sequence, benefit the majority.
mals out of abusive environments. The algo-
rithm the team designed has a false positive
rate that is higher than zero, which means that
some animals could be removed erroneous-
ly if the algorithm's recommendations are fol-
lowed. The project owner understands that
pets may wrongfully be removed from loving
healthy homes but decides to use the algorithm
anyway because it will happen only a small per-
centage of the time.
Which ethical theory does this represent?
7. A software sales company is currently strug- Unethical and illegal
gling with low sales. The company is aware that
one of its competitor's senior sales managers
is dissatisfied with the competitor due to hav-
, D333 PreAssessment Ethics in Technology
ing been overlooked for a promotion to the
position of a vice president (VP). The company
approaches the sales manager and offers them
a position as VP for sales on the condition of
bringing the manager's existing customer list
and contacts to the new role. The sales manag-
er is bound by a noncompete clause.
Which type of decision-making process did the
company follow?
8. A municipality decides to use the data it has on Legal but unethical
household water usage to build an algorithm
that can identify welfare fraud. This would re-
sult in a list of potential fraudsters that could be
used to make welfare decisions. Although the
municipality is the rightful owner and proces-
sor of the data, citizens have raised privacy is-
sues with the application. The citizens object
that they have no way of knowing whether they
are on the list and have no possibility of redress
if they are.
Which decision-making process did the munic-
ipality follow?
9. The marketing department of a financial ser- Unethical and legal
vices institution asks data scientists to build a
consumer profile based on transaction data. Al-
though company lawyers approve the request
to explicitly signal customers with potential
gambling addiction problems, the data scien-
, D333 PreAssessment Ethics in Technology
tists refuse to build the profiles.
What describes this request?
10. Which ethical concept is related to the right to Property
use a person's or an organization's intangible
creative activities?
11. An IT company that specializes in software de- Chief ethics officer
velopment has an organizational structure that
consists of a chief executive officer, chief ethics
officer, chief finance officer, and chief operating
officer.
Which of these executives provides the compa-
ny with vision and leadership in business con-
duct?
12. What is a reason for organizations to pursue Gain goodwill
corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals?
13. A police department employee has access to Corruption
data related to an ongoing investigation. A lo-
cal politician whom the employee supports has
come under investigation. The employee ac-
cesses the data relating to the investigation and
provides the file to the politician anonymously.
How should this behavior be classified?
14. An IT manager implements security measures Layered
at the organization, network, application, and
employee levels.
