CSE 303: Autumn 2006

Social Implications Assignment 1

Due: Wednesday October 18 October 2006, 2:00pm

Assignment Goal

This will prepare you for our class discussion, which will introduce the concept of ethics in computer science.

Readings

• Why the future doesn't need us, by Bill Joy.
• This rebuttal of the Joy article.

The Bill Joy article is rather long. If you'd like to print it out for reading, note that there is a link to a printable version just to the right of the title.

The Assignment

• Read the papers before class.
• Prepare one sentence answers to these two questions for each paper:
  • What is its primary point?
  • What is the primary supporting argument for that point?

Turn-in instructions

Compose your answers to the above questions in an e-mail and send them to Lincoln Ritter (lritter@cs) with the subject line "Social Implications 1". There should be nothing else on the subject line. Note that you may not use late days for this assignment.