Real-Life Examples of Ethical Dilemmas in Computer Science for High School Students

📚 Quick Study Guide

• 🧑‍💻 Ethical Dilemma: A situation where a computer science professional faces a moral conflict involving their professional duties.
• 🔒 Data Privacy: Protecting user data from unauthorized access or misuse. This includes adhering to regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
• 🤖 Algorithmic Bias: When algorithms perpetuate unfair or discriminatory outcomes based on biased data or flawed design.
• ⚖️ Intellectual Property: Respecting copyright laws and avoiding plagiarism or unauthorized use of software, code, or other digital assets.
• 📢 Whistleblowing: Reporting unethical or illegal practices within an organization, balancing loyalty with public safety.
• ⚕️ AI in Healthcare: Ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability when using AI systems in medical diagnosis and treatment.
• 🌐 Net Neutrality: The principle that all internet traffic should be treated equally, without discrimination based on content, user, or platform.

Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following scenarios best represents an ethical dilemma related to data privacy?
   1. A) Using a strong password to protect your email account.
   2. B) Selling user data to a third party without their explicit consent.
   3. C) Backing up your important files on an external hard drive.
   4. D) Installing antivirus software on your computer.
2. An algorithm is trained on historical hiring data that reflects gender bias. What is the most likely outcome?
   1. A) The algorithm will correct the bias in the data.
   2. B) The algorithm will perpetuate the gender bias in its hiring recommendations.
   3. C) The algorithm will ignore gender as a factor in hiring decisions.
   4. D) The algorithm will produce completely random hiring recommendations.
3. A software engineer discovers that their company is using pirated software. What is the most ethical course of action?
   1. A) Ignore the issue to avoid conflict with the company.
   2. B) Report the issue to the software vendor.
   3. C) Inform their immediate supervisor or relevant authorities.
   4. D) Use the pirated software themselves to save company costs.
4. In the context of AI in healthcare, what is a key ethical consideration?
   1. A) Maximizing profits for the AI development company.
   2. B) Ensuring the AI system is only used by experienced doctors.
   3. C) Ensuring fairness, transparency, and accountability in AI-driven medical decisions.
   4. D) Replacing human doctors with AI systems to reduce costs.
5. What does net neutrality primarily advocate for?
   1. A) Prioritizing traffic for paying customers only.
   2. B) Blocking access to certain websites based on political views.
   3. C) Treating all internet traffic equally, without discrimination.
   4. D) Allowing internet service providers to control content on the web.
6. A computer science student copies code from a website for their assignment without citing the source. What ethical principle is being violated?
   1. A) Efficiency
   2. B) Intellectual Property
   3. C) Innovation
   4. D) Collaboration
7. What is whistleblowing in the context of computer science ethics?
   1. A) Creating new software applications.
   2. B) Reporting unethical or illegal practices within an organization.
   3. C) Developing cybersecurity tools.
   4. D) Attending computer science conferences.