Ethics in Information and Communications Technology

Information and communications technology (ICT) covers an array of professional practice in several broad categories, such as information systems, software engineering, communication security, human computer interaction (HCI), entertainment computing, and artificial intelligence. In addition there are related areas which do not fit traditional ICT categories, but are considered part of the discipline, including nanotechnology, bioinformatics, photonics, pervasive systems, digital forensics, and mechatronics. The large diversity covered by these fields means that the array of possible ethical issues cannot be treated in one chapter. For instance, at the time of writing this chapter social networking in the Middle East has made the news. Twitter and Facebook are claimed to have mobilised ordinary people behind the uprising of the recent Arab spring ' Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and increasingly in Syria. There are many ethical issues involved in these developments, but they do not apply to most ICT areas. The focus of the chapter is on ICT ethical issues that are generally applicable to the profession, and to users of their products and services, rather than on any particular issues.