CSE 303: Autumn 2006, Assignment 6

Due: Friday 8 December 2006, in class

Assignment Overview

This assignment is an individual assignment in which you will write a short paper on a societal implications topic brought up in class. Note that this paper is due only two days after the final programming assignment. There are two goals of this assignment:

• Encourage you to think about some impact of computer science (or technology in general) on society.
• Help you practice expressing your thoughts in writing.

Topics

Select one of the topics below, or pick your own topic that is related to the readings and discussions in class. You can also pick one of the topics below and rephrase the question.

• How should our society respond to the potential threats of robotics and nanotechnology?
• Should a society attempt to curb or halt the development of technologies that have the potential to bring about widespread suffering?
• What actions should computer scientists take in order to be responsible for the systems that they build?
• If your job requires you to manipulate private user information (for example, the medical records of some patients), should you be responsible for ensuring that no one can access the data?
• Should a company or the government be allowed to accumulate huge databases with people's private information?
• Is a "privacy notice" sufficient for keeping people informed about who has access to their private information and how it is being used?
• Should corporations be allowed to enforce copyright through digital rights management systems?
• Is the creation or distribution of "culture" threatened by the file sharing systems enabled by the internet?
• Does the Digital Millenium Copyright Act go too far? Why or why not?

Note that we will grade you on how well you express your opinion, not your opinion itself. Pick a topic that you find interesting or important and form an argument using your knowledge of the issues involved.

Page Format

Your paper should be between 1.25 and 2 typed pages long.

Single-space, 10pt font, 1'' margins (approximately... we won't actually measure them).

Please write your name and the topic on the first page.

Content Format

An important requirement for the paper is that you present two possible positions on the topic that you pick (i.e., present both arguments and counter-arguments to your main conclusion).

To help you with the assignment, we suggest the following 7 paragraph format. You do not have to follow this format.

• Paragraph 1: Introduction. State your problem. State two possible positions. State your position.
• Paragraph 2: Explain the problem.
• Paragraphs 3 and 4: Present two arguments for one of the positions.
• Paragraphs 5 and 6: Present two arguments for the other position.
• Paragraph 7: Conclude by presenting the position you chose and how you made your choice.

Assessment

Hopefully, everyone will get a good grade on this assignment.

The following criteria will be used when grading your papers:

• The paper discusses a topic related to technology and society.
• The paper follows the required page format (length, font size, etc.).
• The paper discusses two possible positions on the selected topic.
• The paper distinguishes clearly between facts and opinions.
• The paper is clear and easy to understand.

Extra credit will be given if the arguments for both positions are equally convincing. Being able to argue convincingly for a position you do not hold is a valuable skill, because it gives you a deep understanding of your opponents. People with this skill are especially good at forging agreement between groups in opposition.

Extra credit will also be given if you provide references for facts that you mention. Any format for the citations and references is acceptable, as long as they allow us to locate and read the document you refer to. At the very least, references should include either

• A web address, or
• A title, author, publisher, and publication date. (Articles that appear in books or periodicals should also list the title of the book or periodical.)

Do not plagiarize. If you want to quote an article or piece of news, make the quote clear by surrounding the text with quotation marks, and add a reference to the article.

Turn-in instructions

Please bring a printed copy of your paper to class.