COMP 380-003   Computers & Society    Spring 2008

*While viewpoints run along a continuum, rarely can one argue effectively for either extreme ("Never should this occur...").  Many of the SAMPLE theses below actually come close to or are too extreme (and are pretty bare bones), so keep that in mind as you read them.  Your theses should fall somewhere along the continuum. 

Thesis:  During the past few decades, new technologies have revolutionized the collection and management of data. The United States government should aggressively explore computer-based voting technologies that make the voting process quicker, less expensive and more user-friendly than traditional paper ballots.

Thesis:  While new technologies promise much, the practical implementation of these technologies is often fraught with error. Until these technologies can prove their ability not to lose a single vote, the United States should stick to the system that has worked for more than 200 years.

Thesis:  While the implantation of RFID chips could be helpful in an extremely small number of cases, the vast majority of us would want to be able to opt out. The risk of governments or individuals stealing or misusing this data is far too great to implement this technology in any far-reaching way.  In addition, chips should not be used in commercial products, because they are yet another means to invade consumers' privacy.

Thesis:  In the event of medical emergency, kidnapping or many other situations, knowing a person's precise location could make the difference between life and death. Thus, the US government should explore a policy of implanting RFID chips in all citizens who want them--and especially in children--particularly since the health risk and physical inconvenience associated with these devices is minimal compared with the more serious repercussions of not having such a device implanted.  In addition, such chips are and should be continued to be used in commercial products because they provide much-needed assistance with inventory control and in the reduction of theft.

Thesis:  When one agrees to become a company's employee, that person is effectively agreeing to sell his or her time to that company. Therefore, companies have the right--and the responsibility to their shareholders--to assure that employee time is being used efficiently and productively, and that risks such as data loss or sexual harassment for which the company can be held liable are kept to a strict minimum.

Thesis:  The Supreme Court-recognized right to privacy does not end when an employee steps through his or her office doors. Rather than spying on employees and creating a culture of fear, companies should develop programs that increase productivity by making employees want to do their work and by creating at atmosphere of trust, camaraderie, and openness.

Thesis:  The benefits of genetic information will allow researchers to make new discoveries, insurance companies and employers to make better decisions, courts to make more accurate judgements, and individuals to make more informed decisions about their lives.  The data should therefore be required of all individuals and made freely available to all legitimate organizations.

Thesis:  The dangers of misinterpreting or misusing genetic information are so vast that it should not be generally available to anyone, including the individual whoese genes it is.  It should only be  used and made available as the result of a specific test and then only that very specific information should be given.

Thesis:  It would be a mistake to extend to bloggers the same privileges and protections granted to traditional media. While the government should not control the flow of information, they also should not give resources to those who would publish irresponsibly.

Thesis:  The First Amendment to the US Constitution seems to place freedom of speech and freedom of the press hand-in-hand, declaring that neither shall be abridged. Thus, self-published blogs should be on equal footing with corporate-owned media outlets, and the government should work actively to protect their First Amendment rights.

Thesis:  Since the increasing sophistication of image manipulation programs makes discerning the differences between original and manipulated images impossible, whenever a published image is manipulated digitally it should be clearly marked as such with text or with a universally-recognized symbol.  Such a symbol should be used in the fields of photojournalism, in the political arena, as well as in the fashion industry.

Thesis:  When magazines, newspapers and other media manipulate images, they are simply responding to the pressure from consumers to do so. Rather than blaming companies for people's desire for aesthetically pleasing images, the US government should take a hands-off policy and let the market decide when a media outlet has crossed the line--whether in photojournalism, the political arena, or in the fashion industry.

Thesis:  The reason that women are not participating in science is that they behave and react fundamentally differently than men.  The only way to increase their representation is to teach them to bahave and act differently or to change the fields so that they reflect different characteristics.

Thesis:  The reason that women are not participating in science is that our society has defined science and technology as a male discipline.  The way to address the discrepancy is to change the image that society portrays of these fields into one that is co-educational and diverse.  Consider, for example, the changes that have happened in professional fields such as law and medicine.

Thesis:  There is no good reason to worry about the differences in digital access and literacy in different countries or different parts of the United State.  Digital usage is simply a difference in the way that people work and it is technological arrogance to believe that people or societies can't live without  technology.  After all, the Amish are doing fine without twentieth century innovations. 

Thesis:  The need for digital literacy is as important as proper nutrition.  If any individual or segment of society is going to survive in the twenty-first century, they must be as adept at technology as they are at reading.  It is therefore the responsibility of governments and world organizations to assure equality of digital access and to eliminate all digital divisions.

Thesis:  Even if human beings have the capacity to create sentient life, such experiments should not be pursued. While one can imagine many potential benefits of this research, ultimately we have no sense of the implications of such a project, which has the potential to be extremely dangerous.

Thesis:  It is part of human nature that we will seek to solve problems, and the problem of how to create a sentient artificial intelligence will and should be pursued. The idea of a race of intelligent robots taking over the world should be left to science fiction writers; the rest of us should concentrate on the massive benefits in efficiency and productivity that such an invention could provide.

Thesis:  Because of the potential for major overhead savings to companies, along with tangible benefits to employee morale and to the environment, companies should aggressively pursue strategies for minimizing--or even eliminating--the time employees spend in traditional offices. Everyone would win:  employer, employee, and society.

Thesis:  While new technologies make many forms of communication quicker and easier, no technology can duplicate the benefits of working side-by-side with another human being. Because employees who work in a central location and on a similar schedule reap all of the benefits of face-to-face interaction, companies should discourage any policy that erodes the structure of the traditional office setting, and, therefore, such virtual offices should not be implemented.

Thesis:  The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees criminals the right to a speedy and public trial. Because our courts of law belong to the public, information about the courts' proceedings is considered public and can legally and ethically be used by anyone for any purpose consistent with United States law. Therefore, because the Internet can ensure far more convenient and unfettered access to public records by its citizens, we should take full advantage of this tool. The implementation of sex offender registries has provided an excellent example; therefore, those and similar public registries should be continued and expanded.

Thesis:  Because the potential for misuse and error is clear, the United States government should tightly control the ways in which public records are maintained and distributed; and because the Internet is so far reaching, placing public records that are so easily accessible within nearly anyone's reach is unfair and much too risky. This is especially true in cases such as violent and sexual crimes, in which errors could have destructive consequences for an individual's life and reputation.  Therefore, such Internet-accessible registries should not be supported by government at any level, nor allowed by the private sector.

Thesis:  Computer owners should have a right to exert control over their own property, and methods that include web-tracking, cookies, and adware usurp computer-owners’ property without their knowledge or consent. Thus, web surfers should be asked for explicit agreement to any action taken by a web site or program in all cases.  This should be the case in both the government and the private sectors.

Thesis:  Users' demands for total control over their systems are incompatible with their demand for user-friendly interfaces. Thus, companies should be free to dictate their own balance between the transparency of their programs' and web sites' operation and the simplicity of the interfaces that they provide to their customers or potential customers.  This should be the case in both the government and the private sectors.

Thesis:  Since the digitization of medical data opens up countless possibilities for data theft and abuse, the US government and the medical industry should encourage doctors to use paper-based methods of collecting and storing data. Medical information is extremely private and it should be subject to the strictest security, which cannot be made secure if electronic files are shared, especially over the Internet.  In addition, only you and your doctor should have unfettered access to your records, and no one else should without your permission.

Thesis:  Because accidents often happen when one is away from one's primary health care provider, a central database of medical information accessible by all doctors could save countless lives. As such, the US government and the medical industry should design and implement such a database as quickly as possible.  In addition to you and your doctor, others who should be given access include insurance companies, other medical offices who have a need (i.e., you're brought to their facility and are unconscious), and employers and potential employers who have a specific need to know.