Author Topic: Can software be morally "bad"  (Read 14211 times)

Tama

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #15 on: April 14, 2005, 03:26:24 PM »
>I took a trip to try and prove you wrong
Tom Christiansen covered this topic pretty thoroughly.

drakkenkorin

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #16 on: April 14, 2005, 03:28:48 PM »
Quote from: RoD
seems im a moron  :cry:

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Ken Fitlike

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #17 on: April 14, 2005, 04:01:33 PM »
Quote from: Mike
In your opinon can a piece of software be morally "bad" or morally objectionable.  Or is it the employment of it that determines the morality?
I had a friend many years ago who was studying philosophy and often asked questions like this of his friends, started big arguments and quietly took notes in the background before writing up his essay for course submission. :rolleyes:

Morals are what people do. Software isn't people or a person, therefore....

So, the notion that something like software can (or even should) be anthropomorphised in this way is ludicrous.

The use to which a piece of software is put by a person is an entirely different matter.

So, when someone creates what's often termed 'malicious' software, or malware, their intent may be morally wrong (setting aside for the moment the relativism implicit in any discussion regarding morality and that intent is almost impossible to prove), their action of releasing the malware may also be morally wrong but what the software does is essentially amoral because morals only apply to people.

Now, go and write that essay, Mike, in your own words and with your own ideas because any other action would be morally suspect. ;)
« Last Edit: April 14, 2005, 07:12:29 PM by Ken Fitlike »
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Mike

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #18 on: April 14, 2005, 06:24:03 PM »
Not for a class.  I came under fire for writing a mod for SMF that some people had a "moral objection" to.  :rolleyes:

Steve

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #19 on: April 14, 2005, 07:18:20 PM »
Quote from: Tama
>I took a trip to try and prove you wrong
Tom Christiansen covered this topic pretty thoroughly.



Shes so through and through with her insults : )
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

salvelinus

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #20 on: April 14, 2005, 08:47:56 PM »
It's meaningless to speculate on whether software can be moral or immoral. Software has no morality.
Except, maybe, SkyNet and other AI's...
Go with the bad joke theory - RoD

Steve

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #21 on: April 14, 2005, 10:25:05 PM »
Arguing it cant be immoral based on lack of human qualities is asinine.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=personification
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

ober

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #22 on: April 14, 2005, 10:39:06 PM »
Quote from: Mike
Not for a class.  I came under fire for writing a mod for SMF that some people had a "moral objection" to.  :rolleyes:


Mind telling us what it was?  Lemme guess.... it has something to do with pr0n  :thumbsup:

jverkoey

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #23 on: April 14, 2005, 11:35:09 PM »
What about Artificial Intelligences with emergent behavior?  Assuming they do something that we would classify as bad/immoral, would that make the software immoral?
-Jeff Verkoeyen

Major_Small

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #24 on: April 15, 2005, 12:20:44 AM »
Quote from: Tama
And it's viruses, not virii. ;)
stop trying to be Prelude  :nerd:
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Ken Fitlike

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #25 on: April 15, 2005, 12:50:29 AM »
Quote from: RoD
Arguing it cant be immoral based on lack of human qualities is asinine.

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=personification

:rofl:

Well, you've found a dictionary, so I suppose that's always a start:

moral.
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?.

Major_Small

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #26 on: April 15, 2005, 01:22:36 AM »
Quote from: Ken Fitlike
:rofl:

Well, you've found a dictionary, so I suppose that's always a start:

moral.

 :wstupid: personification doesn't make an object human... it's a human 'pretending' an object has human qualities...
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Ken Fitlike

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #27 on: April 15, 2005, 01:57:34 AM »
Quote from: "Ken Fitlike"
So, the notion that something like software can (or even should) be anthropomorphised in this way is ludicrous.
People have morals; 'things' (even esoteric/abstract 'things' like software) don't, unless you subscribe to the notion that morals possess a distinct and separate existence - in which case things like rocks, tennis balls and breakfast cereals would have morals, too.
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?.

Steve

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #28 on: April 15, 2005, 12:35:19 PM »
I got told. Well, ken, your proving the point i started out trying to make for me so win win lol
hey ethic if you and i were both courting lily allen..... oh wait, which one of us has a relationship that lasted more than the bus ride home?

VBprogrammer

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Can software be morally "bad"
« Reply #29 on: April 15, 2005, 01:00:44 PM »