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pt. I. Computer ethics : its history and nature -- pt. II. Cyberspace -- pt. III. Values and technology -- pt. IV. Responsibility and professionalism -- pt. V. Privacy and surveillance -- pt. VI. What computers should not do -- pt. VII. Morality and machines.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are ubiquitous but governance in the industry is piecemeal at best. Government regulations and various standards apply to parts of the industry, and professional bodies, the Australian Computer Society (ACS) for example, have some influence on individuals, on professional education and on policies.

Information technology is an integral part of the practices and institutions of post-industrial society. It is also a source of hard moral questions and thus is both a probing and relevant area for moral theory. In this volume, an international team of philosophers sheds light on many of the ethical issues arising from information technology, including informational privacy, digital divide and equal access, e-trust and tele-democracy. Collectively, these essays demonstrate how accounts of equality and justice, property and privacy benefit from taking into account how information technology has shaped our social and epistemic practices and our moral experiences. Information technology changes the way that we look at the world and deal with one another. It calls, therefore, for a re-examination of notions such as friendship, care, commitment and trust

Information technology is an integral part of the practices and institutions of post-industrial society. It is also a source of hard moral questions and thus is both a probing and relevant area for moral theory. In this volume, an international team of philosophers sheds light on many of the ethical issues arising from information technology, including informational privacy, digital divide and equal access, e-trust and tele-democracy. Collectively, these essays demonstrate how accounts of equality and justice, property and privacy benefit from taking into account how information technology has shaped our social and epistemic practices and our moral experiences. Information technology changes the way that we look at the world and deal with one another. It calls, therefore, for a re-examination of notions such as friendship, care, commitment and trust

The rapid advance of computer‐based technology has led to social policy vacuums. Most information systems development tools concentrate upon technical issues, and offer few if any guidelines that address the moral issues inherent in new application possibilities. It is argued that extension of such tools to include ethical and moral, human and environmental issues is possible. A good starting point is provided by mapping relevant clauses of professional codes of ethics upon each stage of the development methodology. We use as examples the Australian Computer Society Code of Ethics and the structured systems analysis and design method (SSADM).

Introduction -- Section I. Regulating technology : On the need for professionalism in the ICT industry -- 1. The fundamental problem of regulating technology -- Section II. Practitioners' perspectives : An initiation into ICT professionalism -- 2. The maturing of a profession -- 3. Some ethical imperatives for the computing profession -- 4. The uncertainty of ethics in IT -- Section III. Professionalism : Professions, professionals, and professionalism -- 5. What is an ICT professional anyway? -- 6. ICT is not a profession: So what? -- 7. Being a good computer professional: The advantages of virtue ethics in computing -- 8. Informed consent in information technology: Improving end user license agreements -- Section IV. ICT governance : What is good governance? -- 9. Virtuous IT governance: IT governors can't be virtuous -- 10. The decision disconnect -- Section V. Ethics education : The place of ethics in ICT courses -- 11. Educating for professionalism in ICT: Is learning ethics professional development? -- 12. Experiential ethics education for IT professionals -- Section VI. Codes of ethics : Are codes of ethics useful? -- 13. ICT governance and what to do about the toothless tiger(s): Professional organisations and codes of ethics -- 14. Business benefits from keeping codes of ethics up to date -- Section VII. ICT and society : Ethics first or ethics last? -- 15. Ethical issues of emerging ICT applications--a Euro landscape -- 16. Ethical issue determination, normativity and contextual blindness: Epistemological studies of the limits of formalism in ethics and their consequences for the theory of governance.

Over the last 20 years the ICT industry has seen many developments and changes, such as faster and smaller computers, many new digital devices, the convergence of this digital technology, the internet, and operational aspects such as outsourcing. Governments and professional societies have discussed the issues related to these changes in the media, yet the Australian Computer Society's Code of Ethics has not changed. This paper discusses the need to change the ACS Code, the issues to be addressed, and procedures to be followed, if changes are to be made. These issues include, amongst others, the lack of specificity of the Code, and the absence of a way to decide between ethical principles which may conflict in some situations, and how to resolve such conflicts. With the focus on the Australian context, the ACS Code's relationship with international standards and codification of ethics are considered, and the paper discusses what lessons can be learned from overseas experience in modifying codes. The paper concludes by outlining the next steps to bring the ACS Code up to date.