[Copyright Scenario] [Privacy in WorkPlace] [Freedom of Speech] [Property Rights and Software] [Movies]

Below are notes on some of the assigned readings. Some are html documents, some are MS Word documents.

Copyright Scenario

• Joy: Why the Future Doesn't Need Us
• Kurzweil: Accelerated Living
• Heilemann: Second Coming
• Vinge in the Singularity
  
  Week 3a in class notes
  
• Baase Ch 2 (Privacy) and 8.4(Workplace Privacy) notes
  

• Bynum: A Short History of Computer Ethics
• Moor: What is Computer Ethics
• Maner: Is Computer Ethics Unique
• Questions on the uniqueness of Computer Ethics

• Johnson Chapter 1
• Norman Cyborgs of the New Millenium

• Moor: Virtue in Teaching Ethics
• Johnson Ch2: Philosphical Ethics notes (MS Word)

• Notes regarding online ethics: hacking.

Privacy in the Workplace

• Laura Hartman article notes.
• Harvard Dean case questions.
  
  
• What are an individual's needs for privacy? What are the needs of society for disclosure of information about individuals? Develop a scenario at the two extremes, as well as 3 scenarios in the middle. What are the underlying issues, and where do we draw the line?
• See the position paper questions.
  How does public video surveillance affect your privacy? Does the public security need outweigh an individual's rights in public spaces? Is this different from your privacy rights: at home; at a private club; as a public employee; as an employee of a privately owned company?
  Think of a scenario to illustrate your feelings on this.
  

Freedom of Speech

Julian Dibbell's "A Rape in Cyberspace" notes (doc)

Property Rights in Software Ownership

Notes from September 1998 Atlantic Monthly Copyright Roundtable,with Barlow, Lessig, Steffik and Mann.

Notes from Johnson Ch. 6.

Arguments for and against software copying (doc)
Scenarios and questions having to do with intellectual property rights (doc)

Movies

Gattaca: deals with genetic engineering.

1. It this future dystopia a real possibility? How do current uses of information support your position?
   
2. What are the advantages / disadvantages of genetic engineering, as presented in the movie? How should a society decide between individual rights on the one hand, and overall benefits to society on the other?
   
3. What is the role of computer technology in the movie? Is it necessary to the plot? To what extent are users/producers of the technology still responsible to their consciences?
   

BladeRunner:

Brazil:
Enemy of the State: Will Smith has his identity destroyed

The Net: Sandra Bullock stumbles upon a plot and has her identity changed

Office Space: "Normal" working world gone wrong.

Film List from Alex Chayka (Spring '07:

Relevant
-----------
Animatrix – AI issues. Collection of 20 minute shorts Animated
Bladerunner -
Brazil -
Pirates of Silicon Valley – History of Apple and Microsoft
6th Day – bad Schwarzenegger movie about hyper cloning
Gattaca -
THX1138 – Lucas' first film. Fine line between utopia and dystopia and a person who wants to escape it
Terminator 2 -
1984 – adaptation of the book. writing is outlawed.
AI – AI that is aware and can have emotion. LONG
2001 – AI goes crazy
A Clock Work Orange – brain washing
Minority report – cops predict future to stop crime
I, Robot – AI goes crazy
Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind - erasing memories and consequences
The Experiment (German) - recreation of the Stanford Prison Experiment that goes bad
Code 46 - the great use of a single persons genetic material leads to problems
Flowers For Algernon – read book, havnt seen movie. Mentally retarded man cured and surpassed average human mind
The day after Tomorrow – bad plot. Effects of global warming.

Possibly Relevant
----------------------
Ghost in the Machine – convict is executed and turns into a entity who controls electronic things
Lawnmower Man - VR systems help mentally retarded man. He turns homocidal
Event Horizon – horror scifi. ship that creates black hole to travel long distances but has unforeseen side effects.
12 Monkeys – Tarry Gilliam written and directed. Time travel and consequences. Maybe hard to understand. (My official favorite)
Johnny Mnemonic – based on short story. Johnny has a hardrive in his head that contains cure for electronic plague
Hackers – cheezy good hackers vs bad hacker
Vanilla Sky - kind of like chriogenic
Children of Men – adaptation of book. in theaters now.
The Island of Dr. Moreau - genetic engineering
The Trueman Show – never saw it.
Total Recall – memory tampering. Stupid Schwarzenegger movie.
Pay Check – stupid Affleck film. Time travel or predicting the future.
A Beautiful Mind – Cryptography. Based on true story
Fahrenheit 451 – ?
The Island -?
Soylent Green – food runs scares. Pre-apocalyptic
War Games – hacker sets off nuclear simulation
Catch Me If You Can – 16 y/o kid becomes con-artist
Jurassic Park
Escape from LA – everything about it is horrible, but LA has broken of into ocean and is made into prison
Omega Man – post-apocalyptic ?
Lost In Space - time travel, global warming or over population

Others
--------
Aeon Flux (Animated) – There are a few DVDs. The VHS version i saw has a collection of shorts some may be relevant
Sliders (Seasons I-III) – some may be relevant.
Starship Troopers -
Sphere -
Solaris – Planet make memories real
Fantastic Planet (Animated) (French) - really wierd 60's art film
Time Bandits – Tarry Gilliam. Fun kids movie
Matrix
Cowboy Beebop (Animated) – space bounty hunters
Powder
Serenity - space bounty hunting etc.
Screamers - AI goes crazy
Contact - making alien contact
Dark City -
Tron -
The Day the earth stood still – aliens make contact
Cube – horror/scifi people locked in huge rubix like cube try to survive each other and the cube
Robot Jox - Huge robot fighting
Cyborg – the only good Van Damn movie. Cybernetics, post apocalyptic
Universal Soldier - brain washing, reanimating dead
Ghost in the Shell (Animated)- ?
Red Dawn – WWIII when Russian and Mexicans invade US.