The Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
Written by the Computer Ethics Institute
By the Computer Ethics Institute
1. Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people.
2. Thou shalt not interfere with other people’s computer work.
3. Thou shalt not snoop around in other people’s computer files.
4. Thou shalt not use a computer to steal.
5. Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness.
6. Thou shalt not copy or use proprietary software for which you have not paid.
7. Thou shalt not use other people’s computer resources without authorization or proper compensation.
8. Thou shalt not appropriate other people’s intellectual output.
9. Thou shalt think about the social consequences of the program you are writing or the system you are designing.
10. Thou shalt always use a computer in ways that ensure consideration and respect for your fellow humans
In his statement to the then Cabinet in January 1998, His Excellency, the former President, and founding Father of the Namibian nation Dr. Sam Nujoma, highlighted the need to be clear “about where we are, where we want to go from here, and over what time frame” and called on a vision that will take Namibia from the present into the future. “A vision that will guide us to make deliberate efforts to improve the quality of life of our people to the level of their counterparts in developed world by the year 2030”. Dr. Sam Nujoma. January 1998. This led to the establishment of the National Planning Commission and the birth of Vision 2030 Namibia.
The creation of this Vision called for careful analysis of our problems as a Nation then. One of the major elements identified was Information and Technology and an area to improve identified through following projects was the current situation of Vocational Education and Training. Considering the later I am of the opinion that the ten commandments of computer ethics written by the Computer Ethics Institute are applicable and of more importance to Namibia as a developing country. Also if we are to achieve our vision of becoming an innovative independent and industrialized country by 2030 then we need to foster ICT in all our applications as a culture. Computer literacy and usage has changed the way in which industries operate today. Industry sectors such as transportation and finance will not be able to function in the ICT driven world of today. Having connectivity and competency of ICT applications and usage will contribute to achieving the development objectives of the country as set out in Vision 2030. In simpler terms the following are some of the benefits of computers and computer literate and competent people;
• Could help with the economy and government.
• Learners can learn to read, write and create, as well as build skills for the future.
• Namibians that have access to computers will have the option to learn and work either at a school, office, or their homes.
• Computers allow for people to build new skill sets giving them the opportunity for a job. Businesses that have computers will also need personnel who know how to operate computers and their software, as well as personnel who can fix them.
• Children and adults in countries that do have computers are able to access to text books, health information and government documents such as birth certificates
Another key element of our vision as a nation is that of education in particular Vocational Education and Training. Namibia’s demand for a highly skilled workforce for its economy is to provide competent and professional VET instructors. The use of ICT by VET instructors in Namibia is far from expectation. Improvement processes are in place such as the Instructor programme offered by the Polytechnic of Namibia and ICT plays a vital support role towards its success. Basically their aim is to instill more ICT innovations and implementation in VET.
All in all computers and computer users have increased significantly since Independence and will continue to grow with the Nation. This renders more and more Namibians accountable to some form of computer ethics. Finally as a recommendation to Policy makers and in my personal experience I suggest that computer ethics should become part of policy and be integral in training. The problem I find however is that policies are forced onto people and they therefore perceive it to be a policing tool. People need to be involved in policy making so that they can embrace it.
More recent case studies also reveal that more Namibian are now legally challenged for the incorrect use of computers either professionally or socially with substantial financial claims successfully instigated as a result. This might be due to a lack of knowledge of ethics prescribed such as the Ten Commandments for Computer Use. One such case is the one where a German citizen was recently ordered by a Namibian court to remove defamatory material from his Facebook page about his ex-girlfriend. Another example is one where a freelance journalist won a defamation claim against SWAPO following information placed on their webpage.
References:
Menges, W. ( 6 February 2013). Sheriff Uses Newspaper to Track Down Facebook Stalker. The Namibian Newspaper. Retrieved from http://allafrica.com/stories/201302060835.html
Lee, J.Computer Ethics Institute. (October 10 1999). Retrieved from: http://courses.cs.vt.edu/cs3604/lib/WorldCodes/10.Commandments.html
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