The Social Responsibility of Computer Science

• Aaron Swartz

The ability to program is an incredible power -- almost like sorcery. But programmers don't spend a lot of time thinking about what this sorcery should be used for. Instead, they're attracted to interesting problems, even if these problems end up getting used for evil. Some social questions (free software, net neutrality) have been taken up by programmers, but they tend only to be the ones having to do with programming itself. Do programmers have a responsibility to think about the implications of their work? Are there interesting social problems that can be addressed by programming? What are the pitfalls of programmers working on these questions?

10/16/2010 7:45:00 PM to 10/16/2010 9:00:00 PM

Siebel Center: 1404

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