The following questions are intended as a guide to the ethical/social/legal issues associated with the field of computing. The goal is not merely to answer these questions. You should also consider why you answered as you did and whether your justifications are consistent from one question to the next.

1. Suppose a computer manufacturer develops a new machine architecture. To what extent should the company be allowed to own that architecture? What policy would be best for society?

2. In a sense, the year 1923 marked the birth of what many now call planned obsolescence. This was the year that General Motors, led by Alfred Sloan, introduced the automobile industry to the concept of model years. The idea was to increase sales by changing styling rather than necessarily introducing a better automobile. Sloan is quoted as saying, “We want to make you dissatisfied with your current car so you will buy a new one.” To what extent is this marketing ploy used today in the computer industry?

3. We often think in terms of how computer technology has changed our society. Many argue, however, that this technology has often kept changes from occurring by allowing old systems to survive and, in some cases, become more entrenched. For example, would a central government’s role in society have survived without computer technology? To what extent would centralized authority be present today had computer technology not been available? To what extent would we be better or worse off without computer technology?

4. Is it ethical for an individual to take the attitude that he or she does not need to know anything about the internal details of a machine because someone else will build it, maintain it, and fix any problems that arise? Does your answer depend on whether the machine is a computer, automobile, nuclear power plant, or toaster?

5. Suppose a manufacturer produces a computer chip and later discovers a flaw in its design. Suppose further that the manufacturer corrects the flaw in future production but decides to keep the original flaw a secret and does not 108 Chapter 2 Data Manipulation recall the chips already shipped, reasoning that none of the chips already in use are being used in an application in which the flaw will have consequences. Is anyone hurt by the manufacturer’s decision? Is the manufacturer’s decision justified if no one is hurt and the decision keeps the manufacturer from loosing money and possibly having to layoff employees?

6. Does advancing technology provide cures for heart disease or is it a source of a sedentary life style that contributes to heart disease?

7. It is easy to imagine financial or navigational disasters that may occur as the result of arithmetic errors due to overflow and truncation problems. What consequences could result from errors in image storage systems due to loss of image details (perhaps in fields such as reconnaissance or medical diagnosis)?

8. ARM Holdings is a small company that designs the processors for a wide variety of consumer electronic devices. It does not manufacture any of the processors; instead the designs are licensed to semiconductor vendors (such as Qualcomm, Samsung, and Texas Instruments) who pay a royalty for each unit produced. This business model spreads the high cost of research and development of computer processors across the entire consumer electronic market. Today, over 95 percent of all cellular phones (not just smartphones), over 40 percent of all digital cameras, and 25 percent of Digital TVs use an ARM processor. Furthermore, ARM processors are found in mini-notebooks, MP3 players, game controllers, electronic book readers, navigation systems, and the list goes on. Given this, do you consider this company to be a monopoly? Why or why not? As consumer devices play an ever increasing role in today’s society, is the dependency on this little known company good, or does it raise concerns?