Second review!!!

I just stumbled across this short (but positive) review from Choice Reviews Online; it recommends the book for all libraries. 

I also discovered that you can see excerpts from both reviews on the "Reviews" tab on Springer's page for the book. (The tab is kind of inconspicuous.) 

If you spot any other reviews, please let me know.

Review of the PICT book!!!

This is the first review I've seen of my book, Emerging Pervasive Information and Communication Technologies (PICT): Ethical Challenges, Opportunities and Safeguards. It is mostly positive, but also challenges some aspects of the book.

My favorite part is the last paragraph:

In sum, this collection of essays is accessible and inviting. While the authors sometime uncover more questions than they answer, I take this to be a virtue of a collaborative work on emerging technology. The book would be suitable as an advanced undergraduate or graduate text, and is interesting for its variety of approaches as well as the many examples of PICT that are described herein.

Book review of the PICT book in the Journal of Philosophy, Science and Law http://t.co/ronxnknmQH
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) June 16, 2014

Call for Abstracts - Digital Ethics

Received via e-mail today - Ken

Call for Abstracts 

4th Annual International Symposium on Digital Ethics 

The Center for Digital Ethics & Policy at Loyola University Chicago (digitalethics.org) will be holding its 4th Annual International Symposium on Digital Ethics on Nov 7th, 2014.

We are looking for papers on digital ethics. Topics might include privacy, anonymity, grieving, free speech, intellectual property, hacking, scamming, surveillance, information mining, transparency, digital citizenship, and/or the ethical use of digital technologies in journalism, advertising and public relations.

Paper abstracts should propose original research and be between 500 and 1,000 words in length (not including references).

Authors invited to present papers will be eligible for up to $400 in travel funds to be able to attend the Chicago symposium. The author(s) of the Top Student Paper will be eligible for up to $1,000 in travel funds.

Abstracts are due by midnight CST on April 15th, 2014, should follow APA or MLA.

Authors of top papers will have the opportunity to have their work published in Proceedings from the 4th Annual Symposium on Digital Ethics.

Send your submission in a MS Word document attachment to contact@digitalethics.org, and please write Digital Ethics Symposium submission in the subject line. Please send questions to the same email address.

Heartbleed and the National Academies Press

I found this amusing and wanted to share. - Ken

The National Academies Press wants you to know that it is unaffected by Heartlbleed - and to peddle a few books | http://t.co/eJrWmWDczC
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) April 10, 2014

What is Pervasive ICT?

I wrote this description of PICT for the 3 (!) events in which I participated at the 2014 annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. - Ken

Pervasive information and communication technology (PICT) is similar to ubiquitous computing (or ubicomp), pervasive computing, everyware, and ambient intelligence (AmI); it includes many different concrete artifacts, including sensors, tablets, and smartphones. Three characteristics distinguish PICT:

• It is, or could be, anywhere and everywhere – buildings, billboards, floors, restrooms, purses, pockets, coffee makers, pacemakers, eyeglasses, and the kitchen sink. 
• It detects, collects, organizes, acts upon, and transmits information, often wirelessly on the Internet. 
• Its presence and operation is often undetected by casual users, whether hidden physically (e.g., computer chips embedded in automobiles) or functionally. Functional invisibility occurs when a function or use of the technology is not announced (e.g., tracking online behavior), announced in a cryptic fashion (as in most terms of use), or becomes ambient through a process of familiarization, such as when smartphones become as ordinary as wallets and Facebook becomes a way of life. 

Ethical challenges posed by PICT are new and emerging, as are the technologies themselves. Our panels will be exercises in anticipatory ethics – “ethical analysis aimed at influencing the development of new technologies.”[1]

[1] Johnson, Deborah G. 2010. The role of ethics in science and engineering. Trends in Biotechnology 28(12): 589–590.

Ken Pimple, PAIT Project Director

"Bioethics and Information Technology" - new section in the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics

I learned recently that the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics is inaugurating a new section on bioethics and information technology.  Below I've pasted the text from a memo distributed by the journal. - Ken

---

Dear Colleagues,

It is now widely agreed that the future of the health professions is computational. That is, intelligent machines and other devices are becoming essential to practice and research in medicine, nursing, public health, etc. These technologies raise many interesting and important ethical, legal and social issues.

This memo is to announce that the Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics, a leading international bioethics journal, will this year launch a special section on "Bioethics and Information Technology." This section will feature original work on ethical, legal, policy and social aspects of the use of computing and information technology in health, biomedical research and the health professions. It is the goal of this section to apply CQ’s traditional standards of quality to this emerging field.

Articles on ethical issues and the following are welcome; this is not an exhaustive list.

Bioinformatics, biorepositories
Business of health information technology
Decision support systems and prognostic scoring systems
Disability and health informatics
Electronic health records
Government regulation of health informatics tools
Information and communications technology (ICT)
International issues, including harmonization, best practices, etc.
Internet and the World Wide Web
Laboratory information management systems
Mobile health
Personal health records
Public health informatics
Privacy and confidentiality
Professional-patient relationships
Remote presence healthcare, medical homes, etc.
Research and informatics
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)
Robots and digital/virtual companions
Safety, quality and evaluation
Social networking
Software engineering and writing

Author queries are encouraged. For more information or to submit a manuscript, email the Section Editor:

Kenneth W. Goodman, Ph.D., FACMI
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
kgoodman AT med DOT miami DOT edu

Please share this notice with others who might be interested. More information about the journal, including guidelines for authors, is available at

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=CQH

Register now for Ethics'2014

Registration is now open for 2014 IEEE International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science, and Technology:Ethics’2014, to be held Friday-Saturday, 23-24 May, 2014 at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare, Chicago, IL, USA.

The Program at a Glance shows  our panel on the PICT book on Saturday 9:45-11:15 am. I'll also be presenting a tutorial entitled "Working with Ethicists" on Friday, 9:30-10:30 am.

Register now! I hope to see you in Chicago.

Ken Pimple, PAIT Project Director

PICT at APPE

The PICT book will be featured three times at the upcoming 23rd annual meeting of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE). Registration fees increase January 17; act now to secure your place!

The meeting will convene at the  Hyatt Regency Jacksonville, Riverfront Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida on February 27-March 2, 2014.

If you need further incentive to attend the APPE meeting, check out Promoting Research Integrity: A Workshop for Research Faculty and Administrators.

The events

Author Meets the Critics - Two eminent scholars will rip the book apart, I and two of the contributors will put up a brilliant defense, and the audience will set us all straight. The critics are Joseph R. Herkert, Arizona State U., and Kenneth W. Goodman, U. of Miami. The defenders are Cynthia M. Jones, U. of Texas-Pan American; Donald R. Searing, Syncere Systems; and me. The titles and abstracts of our chapters can be found below. Date and time TBA.

Lunch with an Author - "The authors and their book titles are listed in the program and conference attendees sign-up in advance to have lunch with [the author(s)] in the hotel banquet hall (usually 8-10 people sitting at a round table.)" February 28 or March 1, noonish.

Author Reception and Book Signing - Friday, February 28, 6:30-7:30 p.m.,  just before the banquet.

The chapters

Kenneth D. Pimple, Chapter 1:  Introduction: The Impact, Benefits, and Hazards of PICT

Abstract: This chapter opens with an extended definition and description of pervasive information and communication technology (PICT) as a sociotechnical system – in brief, an intertwined system of social practices and the technologies that make the social practices possible which in turn spur technological revision and innovation that simultaneously modify or transform social practices in a never-ending spiral. It then describes the following ten chapters. Chapter 2 presents and analyzes three case studies of actual recent events that highlight key aspects of PICT. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 tackle surveillance from three different angles, but together provide a primer on the ethical issues involved. Chapters 3, 6, and 7 focus on health care, an area of significant growth for PICT. Chapter 8 considers a particular type of PICT – augmented reality – and reveals its far-from-obvious ramifications. Chapter 9 provides a different kind of case study as a social scientist describes her experience working with technologists developing PICT with the goal (successfully achieved) of making ethics a design goal. Chapters 10 and 11 focus more narrowly on ethical guidance for PICT.

Donald R. Searing and Elizabeth A. M. Searing, Chapter 2: Three Case Studies

Abstract: This chapter will introduce three real-world case studies involving pervasive information and communication technology (PICT) systems and the ethical issues which can arise during the development and deployment of these systems and technologies. The sensor-effector system model will be used to decompose the larger area of PICT into three areas of focus: sensors, effectors, and the systems these elements form with their control logic. Each of these areas will be examined through a real-world example and discussion of the issues inherent in the pervasive use of information technology in that area. In the first case, our over-reliance on GPS systems will serve as an example of the issues related to pervasive sensors. In the second case, the dangers of computer viruses and worms such as Stuxnet will illustrate what can arise with pervasive effectors. Finally, the Flash Crash experienced by the stock markets in 2010 will exemplify what can occur when sensors, effectors, and their control logic are combined into autonomous systems and deployed pervasively throughout a world.

Cynthia M. Jones, Chapter 6: Preserving Life, Destroying Privacy: PICT and the Elderly

Abstract: Issues of privacy are undeniably central moral concerns in pervasive information and communication technology (PICT), as many aspects of individual privacy seem to be unavoidable casualties of the increased ubiquity of such technologies. It appears that many people make this trade-off willingly, as attested by the number of users of Facebook, Google, and other technologies that routinely mine personal data for commercial use. This large and growing population may take it for granted that elderly people experiencing (or perceived as experiencing) increasing physical frailty, decreasing mental competence, and the concomitant reliance on health professionals and other caregivers should be expected to give up a degree of privacy if it means staying in their own homes rather than moving to a nursing home or assisted living facility. As the end of life approaches, it may seem to many that privacy is less important than comfort. This chapter examines the relationship between privacy, competency, paternalism, coercion, and the elderly – a group that will likely be among the first to have PICT forced upon them in their own homes, probably by their own adult offspring

Kenneth D. Pimple, Chapter 11: Principles for the Ethical Guidance of PICT

Abstract: As used in this chapter, principles offer moral or ethical guidance at a level of specificity between those of foundational ethical theories, such as the Golden Rule or Immanuel Kant’s Categorical Imperative, and detailed rules of conduct, such as the 600-some commandments in the Hebrew Bible or the ever-expanding U.S. Code of Federal Regulations. In this chapter I describe the utility of a principle-based approach and offer a preliminary set of principles intended to provide practical guidance to people and organizations who create, distribute, use, and regulate pervasive information and communication technologies (PICT). My goal is to articulate principles at a level of abstraction that will facilitate (a) the creation of appropriate rules and (b) ethically sound decision-making and behavior in circumstances that no rules cover.

I hope to see you there!

Ken Pimple, PAIT Project Director

PICT at Ethics'2014

Join me and several of the contributors to Emerging Pervasive Information and Communication Technologies (PICT): Ethical Challenges, Opportunities and Safeguards (known to the cognoscenti as "the PICT book") at the 2014 IEEE International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science, and Technology (Ethics'2014 for short).

The symposium will be held at the Chicago Marriott O’Hare, Chicago, IL, USA, on May 23-24, 2014. The PICT panel is scheduled for 9:45-11:15 on Saturday, May 24, in Grand Ballroom 6.

The additional panelists are

• Francis Harvey, U. of Minnesota
• Cynthia Jones, U. of Texas-Pan American
• Keith W. Miller, U. of Missouri-St. Louis
• Donald R. Searing, Syncere Systems
• Katherine D. Seelman, U. of Pittsburgh
• Katie Shilton, U. of Maryland-College Park

I'll let you know how to register for conference as soon as that information comes my way.

I hope to see you in Chicago. It will be a grand time.

Ken Pimple, PAIT Project Director

"Liberty and Security: A Town Hall Discussion"

Mini Conference at APPE, Mar 2014, Jacksonville FL - "Liberty and Security: A Town Hall Discussion" | @APPEOnline http://t.co/kjb02t5b1o
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@TeachRCR) December 12, 2013

1st Call for papers: ACM Web Science Conference (WebSci14), June 23-26, 2014

1st CALL FOR PAPERS

ACM Web Science Conference (WebSci14)

June 23-26, 2014

Bloomington, Indiana, USA

websci14.org * @WebSciConf * #WebSci14

Deadline for papers: Feb. 23rd 2014

Web Science is the emergent science of the people, organizations, applications, and of policies that shape and are shaped by the Web, the largest informational artifact constructed by humans in history. Web Science embraces the study of the Web as a vast universal information network of people and communities. As such, Web Science includes the study of social networks whose work, expression, and play take place on the Web. The social sciences and computational sciences meet in Web Science and complement one another: Studying human behavior and social interaction contributes to our understanding of the Web, while Web data is transforming how social science is conducted. The Web presents us with a great opportunity as well as an obligation: If we are to ensure the Web benefits humanity we must do our best to understand it.

Call for Papers

The Web Science conference is inherently interdisciplinary, as it attempts to integrate computer and information sciences, communication, linguistics, sociology, psychology, economics, law, political science, philosophy, digital humanities, and other disciplines in pursuit of an understanding of the Web. This conference is unique in the manner in which it brings these disciplines together in creative and critical dialogue, and we invite papers from all the above disciplines, and in particular those that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Following the success of WebSci09 in Athens, WebSci10 in Raleigh, WebSci11 in Koblenz, WebSci 12 in Evanston, and WebSci13 in Paris, for the 2014 conference we are seeking papers and posters that describe original research, analysis, and practice in the field of Web Science, as well as work that discusses novel and thought-provoking ideas and works-in-progress.

Possible topics for submissions include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Analysis of human behavior using social media, mobile devices, and online communities
• Methodological challenges of analyzing Web-based large-scale social interaction
• Data-mining and network analysis of the Web and human communities on the Web
• Detailed studies of micro-level processes and interactions on the Web
• Collective intelligence, collaborative production, and social computing
• Theories and methods for computational social science on the Web
• Studies of public health and health-related behavior on the Web
• The architecture and philosophy of the Web
• The intersection of design and human interaction on the Web
• Economics and social innovation on the Web
• Governance, democracy, intellectual property, and the commons
• Personal data, trust, and privacy
• Web and social media research ethics
• Studies of Linked Data, the Cloud, and digital eco-systems
• Big data and the study of the Web
• Web access, literacy, and development
• Knowledge, education, and scholarship on and through the Web
• People-driven Web technologies, including crowd-sourcing, open data, and new interfaces
• Digital humanities
• Arts & culture on the Web or engaging audiences using Web resources
• Web archiving techniques and scholarly uses of Web archives
• New research questions and thought-provoking ideas

Submission

Web Science is necessarily a very selective single track conference with a rigorous review process. To accommodate the distinct traditions of its many disciplines, we provide three different submission formats: full papers, short papers, and posters. For all types of submissions, inclusion in the ACM DL proceedings will be by default, but not mandatory (opt-out via EasyChair). All accepted research papers (full and short papers) will be presented during the single-track conference. All accepted posters will be given a spot in the single-track lightning talk session, and room to present their papers during a dedicated poster session.

Full research papers (5 to 10 pages, ACM double column, 20 mins presentation including Q&A)

Full research papers should present new results and original work that has not been previously published. Research papers should present substantial theoretical, empirical, methodological, or policy-oriented contributions to research and/or practice.

Short research papers (up to 5 pages, ACM double column, 15 mins presentation including Q&A)

Short research papers should present new results and original work that has not been previously published. Research papers can present preliminary theoretical, empirical, methodological, or policy-oriented contributions to research and/or practice.

Full and short paper submissions should be formatted according to the official ACM SIG proceedings template (WebSci archive format at http://www.acm.org/sigs/publications/proceedings-templates).

Posters (up to 6 pages, ACM abstract template, lightning talk + poster presentation)

Extended abstracts for posters, which should be in English, can be up to 6 pages, and should be formatted according to the official ACM SIG abstract template (extended abstract format at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pl130rtd134fxu6/hiyzXgWwTs).

Other creative submission formats (flexible formats)

Other types of creative submissions are also encouraged, and the exact format and style of presentation are open. Examples might include artistic performances or installations, interactive exhibits, demonstrations, or other creative formats. For these submissions, the proposers should make clear both what they propose to do, and any special requirements they would need to successfully do it (in terms of space, time, technology, etc.)

Instructions for all types of submissions will be posted on the WebSci14 conference website soon.

Review

The Web Science program committee consists of a program committeethat covers all relevant areas of Web Science. Each submission will be refereed by three PC members and one short meta review written by a Co-PC chair,to cover both the research background of each submission as well as the necessary interdisciplinary aspects.

(Optional) Archival Proceedings in the ACM Digital Library

All accepted papers and posters will by default appear in the Web Science 2014 Conference Proceedings and can also be made available through the ACM Digital Library, in the same length and format of the submission unless indicated otherwise (those wishing not to be indexed and archived can opt out of the proceedings).

Deadlines (tentative)
Full & Short Papers:

• 23 February 2014: Submissions of full and short papers
• 13 April 2014: Notification of acceptance for papers
• 11 May 2014: Camera-ready version of papers and posters due

Late Breaking Posters:

• 23 March 2014: Submissions of posters
• 13 April 2014: Notification of acceptance for posters
• 11 May 2014: Camera-ready version of posters due 

Authors take note: The official publication date is the date the proceedings are made available in the ACM Digital Library. This date may be up to two weeks prior to the first day of the conference. The official publication date affects the deadline for any patent filings related to published work. (If proceedings are published in the ACM Digital Library after the conference is over, the official publication date is the first day of the conference.)
Call for Workshops

TBA - more information will be made available on the conference website soon

Conference calendar and rough program

• 23 June 2014: workshops, opening reception and keynote
• 24 June 2014: keynote(s), technical program, poster reception
• 25 June 2014: keynote(s), technical program, social event
• 26 June 2014: keynote, technical program, closing 

General chairs

• Fil Menczer, Indiana University
• Jim Hendler, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• Bill Dutton, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford

Program chairs

• Markus Strohmaier, University of Koblenz and GESIS (Computing)
• Ciro Cattuto, ISI Foundation (Physics)
• Eric T. Meyer, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford     (Social Sciences)

PC: TBA

"If a Young Child Wanders, Technology Can Follow"

A 2-Way Wrist Radio is preferable to an embedded chip - "If a Young Child Wanders, Technology Can Follow" | @NYTimes http://t.co/qAZxd9pctV
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) November 3, 2013

"The Information-Gathering Paradox"

Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc., collect data for the NSA; who knew? - "The Information-Gathering Paradox" | @NYTimes http://t.co/MEMvNfjJAU
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) October 27, 2013

There's no escape

I keep this blog and Twitter account, and I edited a book on pervasive ICT, but I'm not a hard-core techie. I don't read any tech magazines, I don't go out looking for sources for this blog. I just scan a few sources daily or weekly, including The New York Times, and post interesting bits here or on my @TeachRCR Twitter account. My point is that I pretty much stumble across these things, which means they are pretty close to the line of common knowledge. Sometimes, like today, I find it a bit scary how creepy the in-the-pipeline technologies are, and I wonder what's out there, just a few steps behind.

All of that was triggered by these two stories in the Times. The first is just about a handful of Google Glass wannabes. Irritating, invasive, privacy-decomposing - but we're getting braced for the flood.

Cyborgs stalking us all - the actual zombie invasion? - "Seeking a Staredown With Google Glass" | @NYTimes http://t.co/S9QaDAb78c
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) October 13, 2013

But along with it comes this:

Computational voice analysis and diagnosis of mood, personality - "In a Mood? Call Center Agents Can Tell" | @NYTimes http://t.co/1qITVvLKn6
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) October 13, 2013

Somebody give me a "Come on, now!"

Here are my two favorite passages:

The more invasive audio mining also has the potential to unnerve some consumers, who might squirm at the idea of an unknown operator getting an instant entree into their psyche.

That's an understatement.

“It seems to me that the biggest risk of this technology is not that it violates people’s privacy, but that companies might believe in it and use it to make judgments about customers or potential employees,” says George Loewenstein, a professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University. “That could end up being used to make arbitrary and potentially discriminatory decisions.”

I don't know about you, but to me this is a no-win proposition. If the software works as advertised, it's the most severe invasion of privacy we're likely to see until Isaac Asimov's pscyho-probe comes around. If it doesn't work, but people believe in it, it'll be another source of confusion and another tool in the power-abuser kit.

"Google to Sell Users’ Endorsements"

Has Google become yet another abomination upon the earth? On the bright side, we can all use it's own services to condemn it.

Remember "don't be evil?" Say it ain't so, Google! - "Google to Sell Users’ Endorsements" | @NYTimes http://t.co/1XZpp2Y5jt
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) October 12, 2013

"Let's Build a More Secure Internet"

Open source hardware for the Internet? Intriguing.... - "Let’s Build a More Secure Internet" | @NYTimes http://t.co/oq3Ot4fJQS
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) October 9, 2013

"Researchers split over NSA hacking"

Here's the comment I posted to this news piece: 

In 1982, I graduated with a B.S. in mathematics. I was young and ignorant and naive, and the only math jobs I knew of were either college teaching or in the military-industrial complex. I didn't think I was good enough in math to go to graduate school and I didn't want to contribute to the war in Viet Nam, so I took another route.

I later came to believe that we should not vilify people who work in industries that we deplore. If liberal academics (like me) condemn others like us except that they might apply for a job that happens to have military connections, only the very boldest will apply and the majority of applicants might well be militaristic jingoist fundamentalists intent on ushering in the apocalypse. (I came of age during the nuclear freeze movement and Secretary of Interior James Watt.)

My characterization of "them" is intentionally exaggerated, but I hope you get the point: If people who share my values are shut out from certain areas of study, only people who don't share my values will have a voice. This is unacceptable in a democracy.

My Q: Can working for spies temper their tendency toward abuse? - "Researchers split over NSA hacking" | @NatureNews http://t.co/TY5RNFiWS4
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) October 8, 2013

Smartphones for the blind and visually impaired

A truly worthwhile use of smartphones - "Disruptions: Visually Impaired Turn to Smartphones to See Their World" http://t.co/b4t8K0Ibx9
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) September 30, 2013

California privacy; people vs computer traders

State-by-state online privacy? I'm not optimistic - "Sharing, With a Safety Net" | @nytimes http://t.co/dGYQxqeG7d
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) September 20, 2013

The other face of the Flash Crash - "Computer Flaws Get Wry Smile From Humans Displaced" | @nytimes http://t.co/MazrxO2XiU
— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) September 20, 2013

PICT book now available in hardcover and eBook

eBook now available for purchase - Emerging Pervasive ICT (PICT): Ethical Challenges, Opportunities, and Safeguards http://t.co/klg7GT7Imi

— Kenneth D. Pimple (@Ethical_PICT) September 19, 2013