Capturing the lively discussions, presentations, and other events that make up the daily activities of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
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Hear a podcast of Joseph Menn's talk, Hacking, Ethics, and the Future of Internet Security, presented Monday for the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at SCU. Menn, a reporter for Reuters, is the author of the true cyberthriller Fatal System Error.
The Center also offers Unavoidable Ethical Questions About Hacking, a brief look at the topic using he ethical approaches of rights, fairness, utlitarianism, common good, and virtue.
Journalist Joseph Menn reflects on hacking for the Tech Forum, a series on IT, Ethics, and Law co-sponsored by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, the High Tech Law Institute, and the Center for Science, Technology, and Society.
Technology reporter for Reuters, Menn has covered the tech beat for Financial Times, LA Times, and Bloomberg. His talk will take place Monday, April 9, 7 p.m., in Lucas Hall on the Santa Clara University campus.
Pictures posted on Facebook can get blasted out to the world. Social networking companies can store our data for long periods of time, aiding their marketing possibilities but upending our privacy assumptions. What can be done about these powerful trends?
Lori Andrews, author of I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy, speaks March 8, 6:30 p.m., about online privacy and a Social Network Constitution she is developing to protect the rights of Internet users. The talk will be held in the Forbes Room of Lucas Hall on the Santa Clara University campus.
Andrews is a law professor at the Illinois Institute of Technology-Chicago Kent School of Law, where she is also director of the Institute for Science, Law and Technology. The National Law Journal named her one of the 100 Most Influential Lawyers in America and the American College of Law and Medicine awarded her its highest honor, making her an Honorary Fellow for "distinguished achievement in the field of legal medicine."
Adminission is free, but registration is appreciated.
"I'm Craig Newmark and I'm a nerd." So begins a talk by Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist, given January 24, 2012 at Santa Clara University (video). Newmark, whose site is one of the 10 most visited on the Web, described his goal as "being able to connect everyone on the planet for the common good."
Newmark was a guest in the Tech Forum series, co-sponsored by the Ethics Center, the High Tech Law Institute, and the Center for Science, Technology, and Society. He discussed how craigslist can help people through its "free stuff" and "barter" categories. His new effort, craigconnects, helps nonprofits with fundraising and brings attention to causes such as military veterans and their families, and open government.
Join us for "A Conversation With Craig Newmark," January 24, 6:30 p.m. in the Santa Clara University Benson Center, featuring the founder of craigslist, one of the 10 most visited sites on the Internet.
In early 2011 Newmark launched craigconnects, his initiative to link up everyone on the planet using the Internet to bear witness to good efforts and encourage the same behavior in others. Newmark is involved with a variety of community efforts and is particularly interested in organizations promoting public diplomacy, Middle East peace, and new forms of media such as participatory journalism.
Newmark's appearance is the second in this year's Tech Forum, co-sponsored by the Ethics Center, the High Tech Law Institute, and the Center for Science, Technology, and Society.
Matt Flannery discussed the genesis of Kiva, the microfinance Web site he co-founded, at a presentation last month, the first in this year's Tech Forum Series on law, ethics, and high technology. Flannery explained how Kiva relies on the basic human principle of reciprocity: I will help you in expectation that you will help me. That reciprocity underlies the high repayment rate of loans made through Kiva. "People feel bound to repay people that they know," Flannery said.
Flannery is an alumnus of the Global Social Benefit Incubator, a project of SCU's Center for Science, Technology, and Society, which empowers socially minded entrepreneurs to build sustainable, scalable organizations, and solve problems for people living in poverty around the world.
The event was co-sponsored by the Ethics Center; the Center for Science, Technology, and Society; and the High Tech Law Institute.
Center Director Kirk Hanson commented today on the "Anonymous" hacking collective suspected of launching cyberattacks on various government and business sites in retaliation for attempts to rein in Wikileaks.
Hanson told ABC7,
"The Anonymous hackers justify their criminal actions by saying they want to expose secrets and government corruption...
"It appears that they are still motivated by the same desires, simply to create chaos, and now they've wrapped it in a kind of morally-defensible mission of revealing secret data," Hanson said.
The Ethics Center was awarded $500,000 this week, as one of 14 organizations chosen to receive funds as part of a class-action settlement between Internet consumers and Google.
The Center expects to use the funds for privacy and ethics education, such as:
Creating a model curriculum for undergraduate students on Internet privacy, which would be promoted and made available to faculty across the country free of charge.
Developing a website aimed at all Internet users which identifies and discusses choices users must make regarding their own privacy online.
Continuing to host events focused on the Internet and ethics for Silicon Valley audiences, which will be available online as articles, podcasts or videos.
The lawsuit centered on privacy concerns, all of which have since been resolved, related to Google’s Buzz social-network product.
Adobe co-founder and co-chairman of the Board Charles (Chuck) Geschke speaks Tuesday, April 19, on My Life as an Engineer: The Search for Integrity. The program begins at 5:30 in the Multipurpose Room of the Bannan Engineering Laboratories on the Santa Clara University Campus. A reception will follow. The event is free.
Geschke, who serves on the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Advisory Board, has received numerous honors for his work including membership in the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the 2008 National Medal of Technology and Innovation; and the 2010 Marconi Society Award for scientific contributions to human progress in the field of information technology.
"My Life as an Engineer" is the third event in the 2010-2011 Tech Forum, co-sponsored by the Center for Science, Technology, and Society; the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, and the High Tech Law Institute. The event is also sponsored by the SCU School of Engineering.
"Play When Reality is Broken: Video Games and the Recovery of the Future," will be the topic for renowned game designer Jane McGonigal at a talk Jan. 24, 7 p.m. at Santa Clara University.
McGonigal has received the following honors:
“Top 100 Creative People in Business”Fast Company (2009)
“20 Most Inspiring Women in the World” Oprah Winfrey for O Magazine (2010)
“Top Ten Innovators to Watch”Business Week (2009)
“The Most Important 50 Game Developers” Game Developer Magazine (2010)
“20 Most Important Women in Videogaming” Gamasutra (2010)
“Top 35 innovators changing the world through technology”MIT Technology Review (2006)
“Top 20 Breakthrough Ideas of the Year” Harvard Business Review
