CMSC 304

Social and Ethical Issues in Information Technology

Utilitarianism

Ethics Theories

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Quiz Review

Readings Recap

We read 2 things this week:

Utilitarianism

  • Utilitarianism is organized around the idea of happiness
  • Similar to virtue ethics, utilitarianism assumes humans are motivated by the desire to be happy
  • To determine how we should act, we should first and foremost consider what kinds of actions bring about the most happiness for the greatest number of people
    • This is known as the principle of utility or the greatest happiness principle
  • Sounds great!
    • but what is happiness?
      • absence of pain? 
  • According to utilitarians, the outcome of maximum happiness is most important
    • Because of this, utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism
    • "the ends justify the means"

https://www.stefanpaulgeorgi.com/blog/how-to-write-sales-copy-pleasure-vs-pain/

Utilitarianism

  • According to utilitarians, the outcome of maximum happiness is most important
    • Because of this, utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism
    • "the ends justify the means"
  • By focusing on the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people, utilitarianism strives to be universal
    • it assumes that all individuals are of equal worth
    • no one person's happiness is greater than another's
  • Utilitarianism has broad appeal because of its apparent objectivity
    • however, there is no such thing as true objectivity
    • it's objective until you start trying to define key parameters
      • the idea is objective, the implementation is subjective

Discussion

  • In computer science, and broadly in the social sciences we tend to use “utility” as a proxy for social good.
  • We assume utility can be quantified as some mixture of happiness or other qualities, so that we can compare the utilities of individuals
  • The so-called “Utilitarian calculus” compares the sum of individual (dis-)utility over all people in society as a result of each ethical choice.
  • Shortcomings include
    • ambiguous definition of goodness or happiness
    • tends to consider problems in isolation from larger systems

Utilitarianism can be a helpful way to think about the costs and benefits of a technologically dependent life, both in Forster’s story and in our own lives.

1. In the story, how is the Machine a utilitarian solution? What happiness, or utility, does the Machine provide? What does it fail to provide?

2. In real life, are there similar examples of "Machines" that we are dependent on? What happiness, or utility, does this Machine provide? What does it fail to provide?

Here are some concrete examples given in Chapter 2.5. Pick one of these to discuss.

          Factory farming                      Organ donation                           Traffic Cameras

3. Identify all the stakeholders (the text calls this "the Who") that might be affected by this technology. Think broadly (ala the Butterfly Effect)

4. For each stakeholder, what is at stake? What causes them happiness vs. unhappiness (i.e. utility vs disutility)?

5.Which stakeholders' utility might be in tension with another's? In what way? Is it possible to equally balance both?

Example: Doordash

3. Identify all the stakeholders (the text calls this "the Who") that might be affected by this technology. Think broadly (ala the Butterfly Effect)

4. For each stakeholder, what is at stake? What causes them happiness vs. unhappiness (i.e. utility vs disutility)?

5.Which stakeholders' utility might be in tension with another's? In what way? Is it possible to equally balance both?

Example: Doordash

3. Identify all the stakeholders (the text calls this "the Who") that might be affected by this technology. Think broadly (ala the Butterfly Effect)

4. For each stakeholder, what is at stake? What causes them happiness vs. unhappiness (i.e. utility vs disutility)?

5.Which stakeholders' utility might be in tension with another's? In what way? Is it possible to equally balance both?

  • Consumers (customers ordering food)
  • Restaurants and food providers
  • Delivery drivers (Dashers)
  • DoorDash corporate employees and executives
  • Investors in DoorDash (shareholders)
  • Local communities (including traffic and environmental considerations)
  • Regulators and government bodies
  • Competitors (Uber Eats, GrubHub, etc.)
  • Third-party services (payment processors, technology partners, etc.)
  • Restaurant employees (cooks, waitstaff, managers, etc.)

 

Example: Doordash

3. Identify all the stakeholders (the text calls this "the Who") that might be affected by this technology. Think broadly (ala the Butterfly Effect)

4. For each stakeholder, what is at stake? What causes them happiness vs. unhappiness (i.e. utility vs disutility)?

5.Which stakeholders' utility might be in tension with another's? In what way? Is it possible to equally balance both?

Consumers:

  • Happiness: Convenience, access to a wide variety of restaurants, fast delivery, easy ordering process.
  • Unhappiness: High delivery fees, long delivery times, incorrect orders, poor customer service.

Restaurants:

  • Happiness: Increased sales, access to a broader customer base, reduced need for in-house delivery logistics.
  • Unhappiness: High commission fees from DoorDash (up to 30%), reduced profit margins, dependence on the platform, loss of direct relationships with customers.

Delivery drivers (Dashers):

  • Happiness: Flexibility of gig work, opportunity to earn money on their schedule.
  • Unhappiness: Low pay per delivery, lack of benefits, long hours or unpaid wait times, safety concerns (e.g., during late-night deliveries or in unsafe areas).

Example: Doordash

3. Identify all the stakeholders (the text calls this "the Who") that might be affected by this technology. Think broadly (ala the Butterfly Effect)

4. For each stakeholder, what is at stake? What causes them happiness vs. unhappiness (i.e. utility vs disutility)?

5.Which stakeholders' utility might be in tension with another's? In what way? Is it possible to equally balance both?

Consumers vs. Delivery Drivers:

  • Consumers want low delivery fees, but drivers want higher pay for each delivery. Consumers also expect fast service, but drivers may be paid poorly for longer or complex deliveries.
  • It is difficult to balance both fully. Raising delivery driver pay may increase costs for consumers. DoorDash could balance this by increasing efficiency or offering subsidized fees, but the structural tension remains.

Local Communities vs. DoorDash (corporate):

  • Local communities may suffer from environmental damage (e.g., pollution from delivery vehicles), while DoorDash continues to expand its delivery services.
  • DoorDash could adopt eco-friendly delivery methods (electric vehicles, bicycles) or partner with local governments for sustainable practices, which may come with higher operational costs.

Here are some concrete examples given in Chapter 2.5. Pick one of these to discuss.

          Factory farming                      Organ donation                           Traffic Cameras

3. Identify all the stakeholders (the text calls this "the Who") that might be affected by this technology. Think broadly (ala the Butterfly Effect)

4. For each stakeholder, what is at stake? What causes them happiness vs. unhappiness (i.e. utility vs disutility)?

5.Which stakeholders' utility might be in tension with another's? In what way? Is it possible to equally balance both?

CMSC 304

Social and Ethical Issues in Information Technology

Utilitarianism

  • Utilitarianism has broad appeal because of its apparent objectivity
    • however, there is no such thing as true objectivity
    • it's objective until you start trying to define key parameters
      • the idea is objective, the implementation is subjective

  • For example: Imagine that you work for a college preparatory program for high school students. You are in charge of awarding full scholarships to a small number of admitted students, on utilitarian principles

    • What parameters should be used to determine who should get the scholarships?

Do you select the students whose academic work is strongest?

Pick the ones who seem most likely to benefit from the prep course (worst prepared)?

Select the ones whose financial need is greatest? 

Some combination of these?

Do you just award an equal amount to everyone?

Utilitarianism

  • For example: Imagine that you work for a college preparatory program for high school students. You are in charge of awarding full scholarships to a small number of admitted students, on utilitarian principles

    • What parameters should be used to determine who should get the scholarships?

Do you select the students whose academic work is strongest?

Pick the ones who seem most likely to benefit from the prep course (worst prepared)?

Select the ones whose financial need is greatest? 

Some combination of these?

Do you just award an equal amount to everyone?

  • benefit to each is smaller because the $ is split more ways
  • how to account that different high schools have different academic standards and opportunities?
  • is GPA really a measure of academic strength?
  • how to account for varying levels of financial hardship not reported in taxes?
  • what sort of measurement could even be used for this?
  • what about merit?

Answering these requires us to assign a value in order to decide

...

Values are subjective - different for each individual

  1.       Who comprises the group whose well-being is under consideration? 
    • And who will pay the price to benefit this group?
  2.       What is the value being used to define good/happiness/utility?
    • For example, in classical utilitarianism, pleasure is the most important factor in considering happiness
    • But what counts as pleasure? What if you take pleasure in others' pain?
    • What happens when different people experience different sorts of utility from the same kinds of actions?
  3.       When is the measure of success being taken?
    • The calculation of consequences often looks different depending on whether you are looking at six weeks, or six months, or six years, or six decades

3 Parameters in Utilitarianism

Traffic and surveillance cameras:

Who should be watched with traffic cameras? Who is being protected? What is the cost of protecting them, and who bears it? Cameras are becoming more common in public, private, and semiprivate workplaces and spaces. Cameras can potentially reduce the number of traffic accidents by catching more speeders (Vincent 2018); however, these same tools make it easier for governments, as well as other organizations and entities, to surveil.

How to rank different kinds of happiness?

Even when you consider one person in isolation, it is difficult to pin down what constitutes maximizing their happiness when you consider all the different kinds of things that might count.

 

For instance, consider the satisfaction of finally getting a challenging program to compile, run, and produce useful output; the joy of reading a clear and well-presented explanation; or the pleasure of playing a well-crafted and engaging game. Most utilitarians would agree that these are all ethically positive experiences, but how do we value them in comparison to each other. For example, how many hours of gaming is it worth to finish your final project? Can these two things be meaningfully compared at all?

On what timescale?

In the case of climate change, for example, its future effects could be drastic and damaging, but this knowledge rarely impacts individual, corporate, or societal decision making to a degree that is proportionate to the damage that we know it will do.

Utilitarianism and Artificial Intelligence

  • Can a machine be taught to make decisions as a utilitarian?
  • Decision-making AI relies on mathematical models 
    • models are developed using example cases

    • this means a model's programmer must know something about ethical dilemmas and also about what kinds of actions count as ethical

    • the programmers are limited by human perception and finite life experience

Upcoming Schedule

  • Next Week (Week 6): Begin the writing!
    • You'll having readings for Monday/Wednesday on some writing topics, but there is NO QUIZ
      • I highly recommend you read them to help with writing your paper
    • MONDAY: We'll have a guest lecture + activity from the library on how to do research for papers, citing, and other notes on academic research
    • WEDNESDAY: We'll do an activity that will help form the basis of your paper 
    • FRIDAY: Write your outline for the paper
  • Week 7: Writing week #1!
    • MONDAY: No readings or quiz so you can focus on your paper. The entire class period is for writing.
    • WEDNESDAY: The entire class period is for writing.
  • Week 8: All about data + ethics
    • MONDAY: Paper is due. We'll do in-class peer review activity for your papers
    • WEDNESDAY: Very light reading because you'll be revising your paper, which means:
      • I'll do a slightly longer lecture than usual
      • Read the stuff by Wednesday
  • Week 9: Back to our usual format

Our first paper

  • This assignment is designed to cultivate your ability to critically analyze a technology from a moral standpoint and form a new perspective on the news stories and media that we all encounter everyday.
  • For this assignment, you will write a paper that examines an ethical issue raised in a news article with respect to the design or usage of a computer technology.
    • You’ll summarize the argument, identify stakeholders and their concerns, and identify any shortcomings in the article’s argument.  
    • Finally, you’ll provide a recommendation as to whether this technology should be used (explaining how to mitigate the potential dangers) or not (explaining how to achieve similar benefits in another way).
  • This is an INDIVIDUAL assignment. There are some group elements, but please be sure your paper is on your own topic, which should not be identical to your tablemates'

Our first paper

We will use a technique called "scaffolding" to write the paper

  • this means you do not have to write it all in one go
  • we'll build up the paper in steps with help from our librarian, your tablemates, and Dr. Chat
  • here's the process:
    • You'll scour the internet searching for an interesting article that presents an issue in technology + society
    • We'll learn about how to do research and write papers, how to cite, and how to identify good sources
    • Then you'll enlist your tablemates in an exercise to help develop the content for your paper. We'll play a tabletop card game called Judgment Call, used in real teams at Microsoft and Google
    • Then you'll develop an outline for the paper, and then we will have some in-class writing time 
    • Finally, we'll do a Peer Review session where your tablemates help you improve your paper

Homework (due 10/1/24)

  •  Search the internet, and pick a short news article (approximately 500 to 2000 words long) available online that takes a strong position (i.e. makes an argument) on a controversial issue about computing and society.

Follow these guidelines when selecting the article:

  • Be sure the article contains an argument around an ethical issue that exists today with a computer technology (e.g. a platform, an app, an algorithm, etc.).

  • Note that you will be asked to find shortcomings to argument that you identify. For this reason, you should not pick an article that merely mentions something with an ethical component but does not promote a position that can be easily identified or challenged. Instead, focus on selecting an article with a viewpoint that can be critiqued.

  • The ethical issue(s) that the article presents should either be relevant today or become relevant in the near future; the article itself can be as old as you wish.

  • The article should come from a reputable media source, a newspaper, a science or engineering journal or magazine, a specialized journal or magazine from a different discipline, or similar

    • This means no listicles, or random AI-generated aggregated content webpages. Ask for help if you’re not sure.

  • Once selected, print your article to pdf and submit it to Blackboard

  • Come to class prepared to discuss your article. Have a 2-3 sentence summary ready to share with your group: What is the tech? What are the issues? What is the article’s argument?

Putting it all together

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n5mQEqN-U3qH1etbNQV-2JYzLsMQfUCWhdjbY90mj0U/edit?usp=sharing