CSE 40175 is one of the core classes in the Computer Science and Engineering program at the University of Notre Dame. The purpose of the course is to develop a solid foundation for reasoning about ethical, professional, and social issues that arise in the context of computer science and engineering. Emphasis is placed on identifying appropriate legal, professional and moral contexts and on applying sound critical thinking skills to a problem. Topics covered include professional codes of ethics, safety-critical systems, whistle blowing, privacy and surveillance, freedom of speech, intellectual property, and cross-cultural issues. This course relies heavily on case studies of real-world incidents.
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
Communicate effectively about a wide range of ethical, professional, and social issues regarding computer science and engineering in a variety of mediums and platforms.
Analyze complex moral and technical issues by identifying stakeholders, exploring opposing positions, and considering short and long-term consequences.
Discuss the impact of computing and technology in the past, the issues and obstacles facing society in the present, and the opportunities for the future.
Evaluate different ethical, professional, and social issues in the context of computer science and engineering and in terms of Catholic social teaching.
Unit | Date | Topics | Assignment |
---|---|---|---|
Responsibility | 08/21 | Syllabus, Ethics, Code of Ethics Slides Slides | Reading 00 |
08/23 | Talents, Responsibility Slides | ||
Identity | 08/28 | Computer Science, Hackers Slides | Reading 01 |
08/30 | Meritocracy, Philanthropy Slides | ||
Employment | 09/04 | Hiring Slides | Reading 02 |
09/06 | Negotiation, Promotion, Mobility Slides | Project 01 | |
09/11 | Immigration Slides | Reading 03 | |
Workplace | 09/13 | Work-Life Balance Slides | |
09/18 | Diversity in Technology Slides | Reading 04 | |
09/20 | Codes of Conduct Slides | ||
Engineering Disasters | 09/25 | Mission Critical Systems Slides | Reading 05 |
09/27 | Whistleblowing Slides | Project 02 | |
Privacy vs Security | 10/02 | Snowden Slides | Reading 06 |
10/04 | Government Surveillance Slides | ||
Pervasive Computing | 10/07 | Cloud Computing, Online Advertising Slides | Reading 07 |
10/09 | Internet of Things Slides | ||
Fall Break | |||
Corporate Conscience | 10/23 | IBM & Nazis, Muslim Registry, Project Maven Slides | Reading 08 |
10/25 | Sony Rootkit, Microsoft Antitrust, Google Antitrust Slides | ||
Freedom of Speech | 10/30 | Network Neutrality Slides | Reading 09 |
11/1 | Online Censorship Slides | Project 03 | |
11/6 | Fake News, Filter Bubble Slides | Reading 10 | |
11/8 | Anonymity, Trolling, Cyberbullying | ||
Artificial Intelligence | 11/13 | Intelligence Slides | Reading 11 |
11/15 | Automation Slides | ||
11/20 | Self-Driving Cars Slides | Reading 12 | |
11/22 | Thanksgiving | ||
Intellectual Property | 11/27 | Patents, Patent Trolls Slides | Reading 13 |
11/29 | Copyright, DMCA, Piracy Slides | Project 04 | |
Education | 12/04 | Computer Science Education Slides | Reading 14 |
12/06 | Band of Brothers | ||
Final | 12/13 | None | Project 05 |
Component | Points |
---|---|
Readings Weekly reading assignments and corresponding writing prompts. | 13 × 10 |
Projects Periodic group projects. | 5 × 25 |
Participation Regular class attendation and contribution to course community. | 45 |
Total | 300 |
Grade | Points | Grade | Points | Grade | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | 280-300 | A- | 270-279 | ||
B+ | 260-269 | B | 250-259 | B- | 240-249 |
C+ | 230-239 | C | 220-229 | C- | 210-219 |
D | 195-209 | F | 0-194 |
All Readings are due at noon on the Monday before it is assigned in the schedule above (unless otherwise specified).
All Projects are due at noon on the Saturday after it is schedule above (unless otherwise specified).Students are expected to attend and contribute regularly in class. This means answering questions in class, participating in discussions, and helping other students.
Foreseeable absences should be discussed with the instructor ahead of time.
All responses to the Readings should be posted to each student's individual blog. Choice of blog platform is up to each student, but the student must provide a valid RSS or ATOM feed to their blog at the beginning of the semester for easy syndication and monitoring.
In the case of a serious illness or other excused absence, as defined by university policies, coursework submissions will be accepted late by the same number of days as the excused absence.
Otherwise, a late penalty, as determined by the instructor, will be assessed to any late submission of an assignment. In general, the late penality is 25% off for less than a week and 50% off for more than a week. The instructor reserves the right to refuse any unexcused late work.
All work that you submit must be your own. Collaboration is encouraged but must be disclosed by all parties. Print or online resources are allowed, but must be disclosed. However, you may not look at solutions from other current or past students, or any other source.
Any student who has a documented disability and is registered with Disability Services should speak with the professor as soon as possible regarding accommodations. Students who are not registered should contact the Office of Disabilities.
If you want something turn-key, you can consider one of the following hosted blogging services:
If you are a little more adventurous, you can consider statically generating your blog and hosting the files on a web server (such as Github Pages.
If you are really adventurous, you can consider managing and hosting your blog on a cloud platform: