(752 pages) This book provides a comprehensive treatment of such major social issues as computer crime, intellectual property rights, privacy, free speech, access, and work from both an American point of view as well as those of other countries. New material in the Third Edition includes a description of the long antitrust proceedings against Microsoft, issues related to the downloading of music and video files, attempts to control controversial content on the Internet, increasingly dangerous viruses and worms, and security issues (...) following the terrorist events of September 11, 2001. Computer applications in such areas as business, medicine, education, and government are critically reviewed with respect to their related social implications. The opening three chapters include a brief history of computers and computation and a discussion of the role of technology in contemporary society. The book concludes with an overview of issues related to ethics and professionalism for computer scientists. -/- KEY FEATURES: * Presents comprehensive coverage of important social issues related to computers and the Internet * Covers Internet security issues post 9/11 * Discusses intellectual property issues related to downloading music and video files * Outlines free speech issues related to Internet content * Discusses increasing threats to individual privacy of Internet users * Covers possible ethical challenges for computer scientists * Includes a critical examination of computer applications and associated social implications. (shrink)

This edition has been fully revised and updated, and includes a new chapter on consciousness and a new section on modularity. There are also guides for further reading, and a new glossary of terms such as mentalese, connectionism, and the homunculus fallacy.

The goal of this paper is to offer, in straight forward terms, some practical insight into distributed data surveillance. I will use the software project Carnivore as a case study. Carnivore is a public domain riff on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s software “Carnivore,” which was developed to perform electronic wiretaps of email. As founder of the Radical Software Group (RSG), and lead developer on the Carnivore project, I will describe the technological, philosophical, and political reasons for launching the (...) project. I will also offer an account of the development cycle of the core engine, identify trends in “client” interface designs, and present a series of design challenges that still remain. (shrink)