Ethics in the Digital Domain

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As a core text for undergraduate courses in new media, media ethics, and global communication, Ethics in the Digital Domainhelps students explore the big questions surrounding the impact of the digital domain on our daily lives.
There are those who promise an enhanced human future through adoption and acceptance of digital culture, and those who condemn this shift in no uncertain terms. What are the positions taken by futurists and technology inventors and adopters on these issues Through a series of case studies, this groundbreaking text challenges students to consider the future they will inhabit. Should they fear such changes or embrace them What ethical systems will help provide guidance in this new world What role will they have to play in this ecosystem Will their humanity survive Does it matter
Presented in a format designed to initiate debate and discussion, Ethics in the Digital Domain covers enduring debates in ethics such as privacy, copyright, libel, consent, surveillance and the necessity for truthful discourse. It also looks at new dimensions introduced by media practices in digital media, including:
24/7 tracking of handheld devices machine-to-machine and machine-to-human communicationpromises of immortality in the cloudthe movement of AI robots toward humanlike activitiesRegardless of where students stand on the different issues raised here, they will find themselves in ethical conundrums because the tensions raised are both ordinary and profound in the new world of digital media ethics.

Reviews

Fortner provides an engaging survey of applied ethics, presenting 16 case studies for classroom discussion that explore individual culpability for the consequences of "mindless" use of digital technology.... Overall, this important text, including steps to limit online privacy invasion, provides a practical framework that deserves a place in courses emphasizing ethical decision-making for a better world. Essential. * Choice Reviews *
For a long time, I have believed we need ethics taught across the curriculum of the liberal arts and professional programs. This book is excellent for that purpose. It presents the important issues chapter by chapter, and includes many pedagogical strategies for helping students come to competent decisions about them. -- Clifford G. Christians, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Author Bio

Robert S. Fortner is a research professor of communication at the University of Illinois. He has published widely on international communication, global public diplomacy, the history of international media, media ethics, and media theory. He has extensive experience teaching, lecturing, and interacting with media practitioners in various countries around the world from Moscow to Nairobi and Abidjan to Ulan Bator.