IT with Hoi

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Ethics in IT: Yahoo $250,000 fined by NSA

Yahoo $250,000 daily fine over data refusal to NSA

The US government has threatened to fine Yahoo $250,000 a day if they refuse to hand over users’ data to the National Security Agency (NSA).

It has been reported that since 2008 the US federal has forced Yahoo to release their users’ data. Yahoo sued the government and it wasn’t until recently they were able to reveal the details on the documents, which consists roughly 1,500 pages, “outline a secret and ultimately unsuccessful legal battle by Yahoo to resist the government’s demands.” – Washingtonpost.com

The judge decided that this is the governments’ constitutional right to ask for personal details and even after Yahoo decided to appeal the case, the results didn’t end in their favor.

This has led to most major U.S. tech companies, including Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Apple and AOL, to comply with NSA rulings.

Can the government just demand from companies’ users’ personal information without any justifiable reason? So where does our right to privacy on the Internet start and end? Just because information is on the Web, does it make it a right for the government to obtain every citizens’ private information? Can they then use the same excuse to invade our homes without a warrant or probable cause?

What do you guys think about our right to privacy? Do you believe it is a constitutional right for the government to have access to our personal information? Please comment below, I would love to hear about your views and opinions about this issue.

Link below for further information:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/us-threatened-massive-fine-to-force-yahoo-to-release-data/2014/09/11/38a7f69e-39e8-11e4-9c9f-ebb47272e40e_story.html

Ethics in IT: sexbots to treat pedophilia

Could a child sexbots be used to treat pedophilia?

Experts at a robotics conference believe the use of artificial intelligence (AI) could be a treatment for pedophiles. The theory is that the use of a childlike sexbot would provide a non-harmful outlet for an individual’s sexual inclinations as part of a treatment program.

“Child-like robots could be used for pedophiles the way methadone is used to treat drug addicts,” said Ron Arkin, Georgia Tech’s Mobile Robot Lab director, according to Forbes.

I believe this prompts many ethical issues and is just immoral. Experts theorize that it’s a potential treatment using robots to curb people’s pedophiliac tendencies, but what happens if this all backfires and instead encourages further behavior? I feel there is currently just not enough research evidence to support that this would work.

Do you think this is an unethical use of AI? Do you believe that using sexbots would treat people’s fetishes and dark desires? Let start a discussion below.