Simon Rogerson – författare

In a world that is awash in ubiquitous technology, even the least tech-savvy know that we must take care how that technology affects individuals and society. That governments and organizations around the world now focus on these issues, that universities and research institutes in many different languages dedicate significant resources to study the issues, and that international professional organizations have adopted standards and directed resources toward ethical issues in technology is in no small part the result of the work of Simon Rogerson.

– Chuck Huff, Professor of Social Psychology at Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

In 1995, Apple launched its first WWW server, Quick Time On-line. It was the year Microsoft released Internet Explorer and sold 7 million copies of Windows 95 in just 2 months. In March 1995, the author Simon Rogerson opened the first ETHICOMP conference with these words:

We live in a turbulent society where there is social, political, economic and technological turbulence … it is causing a vast amount of restructuring within all these organisations which impacts on individuals, which impacts on the way departments are set up, organisational hierarchies, job content, span of control, social interaction and so on and so forth. … Information is very much the fuel of modern technological change. Almost anything now can be represented by the technology and transported to somewhere else. It''s a situation where the more information a computer can process, the more of the world it can actually turn into information. That may well be very exciting, but it is also very concerning.

That could be describing today. More than 25 years later, these issues are still at the forefront of how ethical digital technology can be developed and utilised.

This book is an anthology of the author’s work over the past 25 years of pioneering research in digital ethics. It is structured into five themes: Journey, Process, Product, Future and Education. Each theme commences with an introductory explanation of the papers, their relevance and their interrelationship. The anthology finishes with a concluding chapter which summarises the key messages and suggests what might happen in the future. Included in this chapter are insights from some younger leading academics who are part of the community charged with ensuring that ethical digital technology is realised.

In a world that is awash in ubiquitous technology, even the least tech-savvy know that we must take care how that technology affects individuals and society. That governments and organizations around the world now focus on these issues, that universities and research institutes in many different languages dedicate significant resources to study the issues, and that international professional organizations have adopted standards and directed resources toward ethical issues in technology is in no small part the result of the work of Simon Rogerson.

– Chuck Huff, Professor of Social Psychology at Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota

In 1995, Apple launched its first WWW server, Quick Time On-line. It was the year Microsoft released Internet Explorer and sold 7 million copies of Windows 95 in just 2 months. In March 1995, the author Simon Rogerson opened the first ETHICOMP conference with these words:

We live in a turbulent society where there is social, political, economic and technological turbulence … it is causing a vast amount of restructuring within all these organisations which impacts on individuals, which impacts on the way departments are set up, organisational hierarchies, job content, span of control, social interaction and so on and so forth. … Information is very much the fuel of modern technological change. Almost anything now can be represented by the technology and transported to somewhere else. It''s a situation where the more information a computer can process, the more of the world it can actually turn into information. That may well be very exciting, but it is also very concerning.

That could be describing today. More than 25 years later, these issues are still at the forefront of how ethical digital technology can be developed and utilised.

This book is an anthology of the author’s work over the past 25 years of pioneering research in digital ethics. It is structured into five themes: Journey, Process, Product, Future and Education. Each theme commences with an introductory explanation of the papers, their relevance and their interrelationship. The anthology finishes with a concluding chapter which summarises the key messages and suggests what might happen in the future. Included in this chapter are insights from some younger leading academics who are part of the community charged with ensuring that ethical digital technology is realised.

This is an important book. Ethics is not an easy topic, and arguably the ethics of IT is less so—not leastdue to its potential for developing and evolving in ways that are either unforeseen or unimaginable . . . . Use this book as a practical resource, an informative and educational source of material in developing expertise, but also as an invaluable toolkit to support practical application of ethical thinking.

—Declan Brady, President of the Irish Computer Society and a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies

Digital technology is about people. It is about those who plan, develop and implement applications which other people use and are affected by. It is about the impact on all these people as well as on the world at large. Ethical Digital Technology in Practice takes a real-world perspective to explore these impacts over time and discover ways in which to promote ethical digital technology through good practice. It draws upon the author’s published articles in trade magazines, professional journals and online blogs. These are synthesised into a blueprint which addresses, in a practical manner, the societal issues surrounding the increasing use and abuse of digital technology. It is a follow-up book to the author’s book The Evolving Landscape of Ethical Digital Technology, which has a researcher’s perspective.

This book is a hands-on account of the computer revolution from 1995 to the current day when the world is increasingly dependent on digital technology. It explores some of the social and ethical issues that are part of this revolution. This is not a book about deep philosophical and technical concepts. Nor does it claim to be comprehensive. It is the author’s personal account of technological change and its effects on people. It is written by a boy who was smitten by computer technology at the age of 15, became a computer professional and subsequently spent many years showing young people how to develop and use digital technology in a good way. It is a book based upon the author’s engagement with practitioners, academics and students during the period as well as his continued fascination with this fantastic technology. Ethical Digital Technology in Practice is a book about the real world, of what has happened and what might happen as digital technology continues to pervade.

This is an important book. Ethics is not an easy topic, and arguably the ethics of IT is less so—not leastdue to its potential for developing and evolving in ways that are either unforeseen or unimaginable . . . . Use this book as a practical resource, an informative and educational source of material in developing expertise, but also as an invaluable toolkit to support practical application of ethical thinking.

—Declan Brady, President of the Irish Computer Society and a member of the Board of Directors of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies

Digital technology is about people. It is about those who plan, develop and implement applications which other people use and are affected by. It is about the impact on all these people as well as on the world at large. Ethical Digital Technology in Practice takes a real-world perspective to explore these impacts over time and discover ways in which to promote ethical digital technology through good practice. It draws upon the author’s published articles in trade magazines, professional journals and online blogs. These are synthesised into a blueprint which addresses, in a practical manner, the societal issues surrounding the increasing use and abuse of digital technology. It is a follow-up book to the author’s book The Evolving Landscape of Ethical Digital Technology, which has a researcher’s perspective.

This book is a hands-on account of the computer revolution from 1995 to the current day when the world is increasingly dependent on digital technology. It explores some of the social and ethical issues that are part of this revolution. This is not a book about deep philosophical and technical concepts. Nor does it claim to be comprehensive. It is the author’s personal account of technological change and its effects on people. It is written by a boy who was smitten by computer technology at the age of 15, became a computer professional and subsequently spent many years showing young people how to develop and use digital technology in a good way. It is a book based upon the author’s engagement with practitioners, academics and students during the period as well as his continued fascination with this fantastic technology. Ethical Digital Technology in Practice is a book about the real world, of what has happened and what might happen as digital technology continues to pervade.

You will find in this book a fascinating critical analysis about digital technology from a humanistic perspective.... You will enjoy pictures, poems, stories, and quotations that should encourage self-reflection and community discussion about your real life, your digital life, and the role of technology in society..... This book is oriented towards anyone and everyone, breaking the academic and professional barriers thereby increasing universal awareness of the importance of the ethical concerns surrounding digital technology.—Mario Arias Oliva, Profesor Titular de Universidad Complutense de Madrid.

Our dependency on digital technology keeps growing. Are we happy with this? Do we understand the positives and negatives of being so dependent? Imagine! Ethical Digital Technology for Everyone will help everyone to better understand these issues through the use of stories, pictures and poems which explore the world of digital technology. The aim is to demystify and encourage the reader to reflect on how to get the best out of digital technology, but not at the expense of others or of the world at large. This unique book has something for everyone regardless of age, background or technological awareness. It will help to give the reader the confidence to challenge societally unacceptable and promote societally beneficial digital technology offerings.

The book is a meeting between technology and the creative arts as our lives become more and more technologically dependent. It aligns with the transition of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), which aims to promote creativity and curiosity. The book has four facets: short stories, quotations, pictures (many of which are schematics) and poetry about the social and ethical issues surrounding digital technology.

Through a lens of creative arts, the book maps the evolution of digital technology from its infancy through to glimpses of the future. This includes many first-hand examples from the 1970s onwards. Alongside this account, surrounding ethical and social issues are portrayed. These two elements are synthesized to encourage thought about how the challenges of evolving digital technology can be met thus leading to social benefit for all of us.