Two Philosophers of the Information Age

THE FUTURE OF PHILOSOPHY: METAPHILOSOPHICAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.

A Symposium Marking the 40th Anniversary of the Founding of the Journal Metaphilosophy. FRIDAY 11 DECEMBER, Institute of Philosophy, School of Avanced Studies, London.

Terrell Ward Bynum's lecture: Two Philosophers of the Information Age: Robert Wiener and Luciano Floridi.

New introduction to information and computer ethics

The Cambridge Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics
Edited by Luciano Floridi

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have profoundly changed many aspects of life, including the nature of entertainment, work, communication, education, healthcare, industrial production and business, social relations and conflicts. They have had a radical and widespread impact on our moral lives and hence on contemporary ethical debates. The Cambridge Handbook of Information and Computer Ethics provides an ambitious and authoritative introduction to the field, with discussions of a range of topics including privacy, ownership, freedom of speech, responsibility, technological determinism, the digital divide, cyber warfare, and online pornography. It offers an accessible and thoughtful survey of the transformations brought about by ICTs and their implications for the future of human life and society, for the evaluation of behaviour, and for the evolution of moral values and rights. It will be a valuable book for all who are interested in the ethical aspects of the information society in which we live.

Preface Luciano Floridi

Part I. Introduction and Background
1. Ethics after the information revolution, Luciano Floridi
2. The historical roots of information and computer ethics, Terrell Ward Bynum

Part II. Ethical Approaches
3. Values in technology and disclosive computer ethics, Phil Brey
4. The use of normative theories in computer ethics, Jeroen van den Hoven
5. Information ethics, Luciano Floridi

Part III. Ethical Issues in the Information Society
6. Social issues in computer ethics, Bernd Carsten Stahl
7. Rights and computer ethics, John Sullins
8. Conflict, security and computer ethics, John Arquilla
9. Personal values and computer ethics, Alison Adam
10. Global information and computer ethics, Charles Ess and May Thorseth
11. Computer ethics and applied contexts, John Weckert and Adam Henschke

Part IV. Ethical Issues in Artificial Contexts
12. The ethics of IT artefacts, Vincent Wiegel
13. Artificial life, artificial agents, virtual realities: technologies of autonomous agency, Colin Allen
14. On new technologies, Steve Clarke

Part V. Metaethics
15. The foundationalist debate in computer ethics, Herman Tavani

Epilogue
The ethics of the information society in a globalised world, Luciano Floridi

If you are interested in understanding what information is

Information: A Very Short Introduction
Luciano Floridi
Very Short Introductions
152 pages | 15 black and white line drawings | 174x111mm
978-0-19-955137-8 | Paperback | February 2010
Price: £7.99

• Explores a concept central to modern science and society, from thermodynamics and DNA to our use of the mobile phone and the Internet.
• Considers concepts such as 'Infoglut' (too much information to process) and the emergence of an information society.
• Addresses the meaning and value of information in science, sociology, and philosophy.
• Raises the broader social and ethical issues relating to privacy, accessibility, and ownership of information.

We live an information-soaked existence - information pours into our lives through television, radio, books, and of course, the Internet. Some say we suffer from 'infoglut'. But what is information? The concept of 'information' is a profound one, rooted in mathematics, central to whole branches of science, yet with implications on every aspect of our everyday lives: DNA provides the information to create us; we learn through the information fed to us; we relate to each other through information transfer - gossip, lectures, reading. Information is not only a mathematically powerful concept, but its critical role in society raises wider ethical issues: who owns information? Who controls its dissemination? Who has access to information? Luciano Floridi, a philosopher of information, cuts across many subjects, from a brief look at the mathematical roots of information - its definition and measurement in 'bits'- to its role in genetics (we are information), and its social meaning and value. He ends by considering the ethics of information, including issues of ownership, privacy, and accessibility; copyright and open source.For those unfamiliar with its precise meaning and wide applicability as a philosophical concept, 'information' may seem a bland or mundane topic. Those who have studied some science or philosophy or sociology will already be aware of its centrality and richness. But for all readers, whether from the humanities or sciences, Floridi gives a fascinating and inspirational introduction to this most fundamental of ideas.

Readership: General readers and students of science, sociology/communication, computing, information processing and philosophy.

Introduction

1: The information revolution

2: The language of information

3: Mathematical information

4: Semantic information

5: Physical information
6: Biological information
7: Economic information
8: The ethics of information
Conclusion
References