Computer related discussions (2)

Computer Ethics

The information age and the age of humanity.

The widespread use of computers, information systems and telecommunication system has created major concern on the invasion privacy of individuals as well as of government, agencies and business organizations, which lead to crimes and frauds. Computer have made data both easier to obtain and easier to store. The increased ease of obtaining data tempts organizations to collect and store more data then necessary. The control to access data becomes less when it becomes part of a huge database and its security becomes a problem.

If users (individuals as well as agencies and government organizations) do not use computer data in a resposible manner and if they use information stored in the computers  without the regards of others, then more laws will be passed to restrict the use of computers and computer data. Such restrictions can be very detrimental to the free flow of information.

Education is a means of changing people's attitude towards security. People must come to understand that unauthorized intrusion, however innocent it may seem, is a crime. They should realize their responsibility for computer security. It is important for our society to educate people at an early age about ethical issues related to the use of Internet and computers in order to protect the free flows of information that we currently enjoy.

Ethics is concerned with the standards of moral conduct. People who are unethical necessarily break the law, but they are engaged in activities that are damaging to others and to society at large and usually end up in jail forcing the innocents in their influence. Computers offer us a wide range of exciting and innovative applications that can improve our lives. At the same time they also introduce ethical issues that have not been dealt with before. As a society, we have to decide if we will use this new tool for the betterment of mankind or for destruction and destructive purposes. 

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The difference between a brain and a computer

The difference between a brain and a computer can be expressed in a single
word, that is "complexity".
The human brain is the most complicated thing,
known to us. The human brain weighs only three pounds. In these three
pounds are ten billion nerve cells and a hundrad billion smaller cells. The
billions of these cells are interconnected in a very complicated network that
cannot be understood so easily.
"Can a computer think?" That depends on
what you mean by "think". If solving a mathematical problem is "thinking,"
then a computer can "think" and do so much faster than a man. Of course,
most mathematical problems can be solved quite mechanically by repeating
certain straightforward processes over and over again. Even the simple
computers of today can do that.
It is frequently said that computers solve
problems only because they are "programmed" to do so. They can only do
what men have fed in them. One must remember that human beings also
can do only what they are "programmed" to do.
Our "program" is very complex.
We might like to define "thinking" creativity that goes into writing a play,
composing a symphony", in conceiving a scientific theory, or a judgment.
In that sense, computers certainly cannot think.
The brain is made up of cells in a certain arrangement. The cells are made
up of atoms and molecules in certain arrangments. To duplicat the material
complexity of the brain is therefore to duplicate everything about it.
But how
long will it take to build a computer complex enough to duplicate the human
brain? Perhaps not as long as some think. Long before we approach a
computer that is, at least, complex enough to design another computer
more complex than itself. This more complex computer could design one still
more complex than itself. This more complex computer could design one still
more complex and so forth.
In other words, once we pass a certain critical
point, the computers take over and there is a "complexity explosion." In a very
short time thereafter, computers may exist that will not only duplicate the
human brain---but will perhaps surpass it. Will a time ever come when a
man will have to handover the job to someone who can do it better than him.
Yes! Perhaps. But we will have to wait till such a
wonder takes place!