Personal Privacy and Public Security Due to Technology

Final

Question 1:Personal Privacy and Public Security Due to Technology

A contemporary issue facing technology innovation today is the tension between personal privacy and public security. Discuss in-depth how this issue effects and drives the development of devices or software. Provide at least one example.

Personal privacy is a state at which a person excludes themselves from others and their views. With technology you have social media and hackers and viruses. What is social media? It is a way to connect with your family, friends, and the world. While, it’s a great way to connect and make relationships, it also comes with its flaws. People, post stuff about themselves, such as: when they aren’t home, what they ate, pictures, ect. This can lead others to go to a persons house when their not home and rob them. Others can take that information and impersonate another person. There have also been times that people have gotten stalked by others due to information on social media. Then there are people that will trap children and teens. These people can convince younger people into doing stuff that isn’t right. Recently, there have been foreigners who have taken to social media such as Twitter; to recruit young misunderstood people into committing heinous crimes. Twitter such as Facebook and Instagram is a social media that people all over the world have access with. In this people can type up status, issues, and so on. While, everyday people have access to this, so do terrible people like extremist, who have conducted terroristic acts around the world. These are the many reasons, people need to really be carefully of what they post and more security needs to be put in to stop criminals and possible crimes.

There are computers, cameras, and computer experts that work together to protect the public and society. There are people such as: computer engineers that can encrypt messages andmake programs to can detect illegal active. These people can help the government stop criminals from committing crimes that can cause a lot of chaos and heartbreak. Cameras can be used to catch people who have committed crimes or to gain more information on what has occurred. When a person is stealing from a store like “Macy’s” they will be caught on camera, which will help build a case against them. There have been times that cameras have caught terrorist, which have helped law enforcement catch those involved. When, there is technology there is always a risk of personal privacy being taken away, but technology also helps catch people who have done something terrible.

Question 2:Case Study: Electric Car

Hello,

• Identify and analyze the possible impacts (political, environmental, health, safety, cultural, economic) of the electric car technology on society (including individual, local, regional, or global context)?
• This case was about electric car’s and its benefits and disadvantages. In order for this car to work it “uses electrical energy stored in batteries and another energy storage device.” These cars are good for the environment, which means its good for people. This car is energy efficient which is meant to reduce air pollution. This means the air is clean for the environment and better to breathe for the public.
• However, when there is good there may be the bad. This car cost a lot of money (even thought tax credits are provided), which means not a lot of people can buy them. It can also raise issues with recharging, this means it may be hard to get to ones destination, since the is a “lack of recharging infrastructures.”
• Engineers and technologists have a responsibility to add to the public discourse on technology issues (section 4.8 of your text). Choose the perspective of either an engineer working for a firm developing an electric car or an engineer working for an oil company. Address one of the ethical issues, which arise from this impact using ideas presented throughout the text (environmentalism, cost-benefit analysis, social values, etc.).

My name is Mitali Patel and I work to make Tesla Model S, which is an electric car. This car is great for the environment, since it reduces air pollution, making this good on the environment and good for the public since they can breathe clean air. This is done because the car does“not emit tailpipe pollutants and reduce dependence on foreign oil.” This energy efficient vehicle is not only environmentally friendly but is also provided tax credits.

However, like all good products this product also has its issues. While, it may be good on the environment it is bad in one’s pocket. This car cost a lot more money then the normal car. There is also a “lack of recharging infrastructure.” The electric energy that is stored in the batteries can run out before one reaches one’s destination.

Question 3:Case Study: Under Reporting Actual Earning to Another Countries Government

1. Describe ethical issues raised in this case? Be sure to address cross-cultural nature of the issues.

This case is about a person named David who works in another country for a US based firm. This country “assesse taxes at an exorbitant rate as the firms are expected to report only 70% of their actual earnings.” This is because if the actual earnings are reported of the firm, they would be forced out of business. It is up to the company to “adopt the local practice of dishonestly reporting its profits to the country”, which is illegal in the United States. Whatever, the decision, their report to the US government will be honest.

This case is an example of “The Problem of Negotiating Taxes.” In this, companies will under report its actual earning; to make sure their business is still not forced out of business. This is ethically wrong, as it reports false information, which is an act of dishonesty. With this bribery is also a possibility as some firms may pay off officials to negotiate lower taxes.

2. Using the ethical approaches found in the text for cross-cultural ethics, do you think there are any creative middle way solutions? If so, discuss one of them. Identify the positive and negative consequences that would result from this solution.

As long as David’s firm reports its actual earning to US government, it should be morally all right to report only half of its profits to the government of the country it is in, as it is permitted in that country to do this. By reporting only half the information to the country his isn’t violating the Golden Rule because the same practice is applied to other firms. The practice also doesn’t really violate the rights of anyone, and it may produce more good then bad as long as it benefits its employees and the citizens of the country. While, it is a form of dishonesty and ethically wrong, it is all right to do it as well.

The issue is that it is ethically wrong to lie or be dishonest. An ethical code in engineering is to be honest, which this is not. This can also lead to a person giving bribery to negotiate lower taxes. Asides, from this, doing it will help the company stay open, which means people will have a job and make a living.