Page 3: Military Technology in Everyday Life

Unit 5, Lab 5, Page 3

new pink box. added some comments for later (including suggesting splitting this page). cut a FYTD that didn’t make sense. –MF, 12/24/17

MF: could use a review and perhaps a page cut

On this page, you will learn how military technologies end up being used for civilian purposes and consider the ethics of working on military technologies.

  • Dual use: How have we benefited from technologies developed for war (nuclear energy, space race, GPS, drones)

  • Professional codes of ethics all say you shouldn’t build technology that’s harmful. Is it justifiable to work for the military, or for a military contractor?

    • Is there such a thing as a good war?

      • Are US wars good?
  • DARPA

  • put in Paul’s find about Stingray. Wikipedia page - as an example of technology coming into non-military use, but being questionable. Paul’s email was from ColorofChange.org and included the following references: References:

    1. “Feds to study illegal use of spy gear’,” The Washington Post, 08-11-2014 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/5846?t=7&akid=5391.1236061.7CEC0Q

    2. “Chicago Cops Used Stingray to Intercept Protester’s Conversations,” The Free Thought Project, 12-07-2014 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5847?t=9&akid=5391.1236061.7CEC0Q

    3. “Warrantless stingray case finally arrives before federal appellate judges,” Ars Technica, 01-29-2016 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5848?t=11&akid=5391.1236061.7CEC0Q

    4. “NYPD tracked citizens’ cellphones 1,000 times since 2008 without warrants,” The Guardian, 02-11-2016 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5849?t=13&akid=5391.1236061.7CEC0Q

    5. “Police keep quiet about cell-tracking technology,” Yahoo News, 03-22-2014 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5850?t=15&akid=5391.1236061.7CEC0Q

    6. “New Evidence Shows Milwaukee Police Hide Stingray Usage From Courts and Defense,” ACLU, 01-25-2016 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/5851?t=17&akid=5391.1236061.7CEC0Q

    7. “Chicago activists claim police used ‘Stingray’ surveillance during Garner protests,” RT, 10-24-2014 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/5852?t=19&akid=5391.1236061.7CEC0Q

    8. “The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution,” PBS, 02-16-2016 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/5868?t=21&akid=5391.1236061.7CEC0Q

  1. Look up the following:

    1. Which came first, nuclear power plants or nuclear weapons?
    2. Who set up the GPS satellite network, and why?
    3. Who paid for the development of the Internet, and why?

Many technologies are developed for military purposes and turn out also to be useful for the rest of us.

  1. Brainstorm as big a list as you can of dual-use technologies. (It doesn’t count as dual-use if a technology developed for everyone to use, such as the telephone, is useful to the military in the same way that it’s useful to anyone.)

Should You Work on Military Technology?

This feels like it should be a separate page. –MF, 12/24/17

photo of Mary Golda Ross

Image from Museum of Women Pilots

Mary Golda Ross (1908–2008) was a ground-breaking Native American engineer and the first female employed by Lockheed, an American aerospace technology corporation. Ross was passionate about educating women and Native Americans and spent over ten years teaching while earning her Master’s degree in mathematics during the summer. Lockheed hired her as a mathematician in 1942. During her thirty-plus years there, Ross contributed to cutting-edge aerospace designs including concepts for interplanetary space travel, crewed and uncrewed Earth-orbiting flights, and orbiting satellites.

Article: Aerospace Engineer, Educator, and Advocate

The Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct from the Association for Computing Machinery

1. General Moral Imperatives

As an ACM member I will…

1.1 Contribute to society and human well-being.

This principle concerning the quality of life of all people affirms an obligation to protect fundamental human rights and to respect the diversity of all cultures. An essential aim of computing professionals is to minimize negative consequences of computing systems, including threats to health and safety. When designing or implementing systems, computing professionals must attempt to ensure that the products of their efforts will be used in socially responsible ways, will meet social needs, and will avoid harmful effects to health and welfare…

1.2 Avoid harm to others.

“Harm” means injury or negative consequences, such as undesirable loss of information, loss of property, property damage, or unwanted environmental impacts. This principle prohibits use of computing technology in ways that result in harm to any of the following: users, the general public, employees, employers. Harmful actions include intentional destruction or modification of files and programs leading to serious loss of resources or unnecessary expenditure of human resources such as the time and effort required to purge systems of “computer viruses.” …

  1. Which do you think is more harmful to others: deleting their computer files, or killing them? Which of these does the ACM consider more harmful?
  2. Research and discuss: Is it ethical to work on weapons? How do some ACM members justify such work? Does it matter if the work is on a dual-use technology?