Whatever Happened to Information Systems Ethics?

Abstract

This paper explores the development of information systems and computer ethics along separate trajectories over the 20 years since the first Manchester Conference, and ponders how things might have been and could be different. Along each trajectory, the challenge of aligning theory and practice has stimulated much research. We evaluate some of this research with respect to this alignment, discuss ethical theories and behavior, and explore the role of education in the development of practitioners who can and do behave ethically. We recommend the inclusion of the ethics of care, and more research into the teaching and learning of ethics as part of the personal journey of students, teachers, and practitioners.