fandomhigh | Computer Science- Tuesday- 3rd period

Today the class was back in the Danger Shop, and it looked suspiciously like a game show set, complete with podiums for each student, with their names written on them.

"Hello!" Kitty greeted them. "Before we get into the nitty gritty of this class, there's something very important we need to discuss first, and that is ethics!"

Confetti rained down from the ceiling at that word- and would anytime someone said "ethics"- because Kitty was a giant dork.

Brushing confetti out of her hair, she said, "We're going to cover some topics in this class that could be seen as iffy. Now you might assume that if you're one of the good guys, whatever you do is the right thing. But there's a lot of gray area there. Just because you have the power to do something doesn't mean you should, and you need to take the situation and consequences into consideration. I can get into some extremely high level systems. If I do, and I get caught, I'm still subject to a whole lot of federal charges, and probably a stint in a cushy prison." So, she made sure she never got caught. "Today you're getting a pop quiz. I'm going to give you some scenarios, and you can buzz in and give your answer and reasoning.

"Also, this isn't really a game show, and you can all buzz in, or buzz in to reply to each other or whatever. I just like buzzers."

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Game show!

Khadgar

Paris Geller

June Iparis

Eric Bittle

In case you have narrative you want to get in there.

Paris was already convinced she was developing an allergy to confetti and glitter. This place was weird.

"You found a loophole into the NSA's computer system. Do you go into it, or not, and why?"

And then Kitty added, "Uh, NSA is the National Security Agency, which monitors and collects intelligence."

Edited 2017-09-05 03:10 (UTC)

"I would probably go into it. It would be good to see how intelligent other countries are, right?"

No, he had no idea what he was talking about, but he hoped the air of confidence hid that.

"Um, of course not because they will find me," Paris said. "I don't need that sort of stain on my permanent record."

"Absolutely," June said confidently. "First, because I'm a citizen and have every right to know what my government is doing. And second, because I need to explore it fully so I can tell NSA it's there."

Realistically, it was doubtful Eric would ever be good enough to get that far, loophole or not. For the sake of the scenario, though...

"No," he shook his head. "Mostly because I have no idea what I would do with any of that information." His future ambitions involved maybe owning a bakery. What would he need government secrets for?

"Your friend's in a maximum security prison for hacking into something and getting caught, and you need his help. Do you break him out or not?"

"It would depend on what he did to land in prison," Khadgar said. "If he was trying to help people, of course I would break him out. But if he was doing something selfish or wrong, then I'd probably leave him there for a bit."

"I'd find a friend who's better at hacking," Paris said, "and not one who's gotten caught."

"Not if I saw any other way," June said, some hesitation in her voice. "Breaking somebody out can get you in big trouble. It'd have to be incredibly important for me to risk my future on his mistake."

"I agree with Khadgar," Eric said. "If whatever he was hacking was to help someone, of course I'd help him get out." Though again, he had no idea how he would accomplish this. One semester's worth of classes was unlikely to get him up to that skill level. "But if he was in there because he did something cruel, I don't think I could in good consciense let him out, even if I needed his help. I'd find someone else."

"You know robbers are secretly diverting funds from a bank's systems to steal it. You have the ability to re-divert the funds into your own accounts to stop them from getting it. Do you do it?"

Edited 2017-09-05 03:11 (UTC)

Khadgar frowned a little, looking uncertain. "I would change where the funds go, but I doubt I'd be able to sleep well if I kept the money. If I could re-divert it somewhere good, like a charity fund, that would be better."

Paris made a face. "Why can't I just re-divert the money back to the account it really belongs in and then call the cops?"

Well, that was an easy one.

"Of course not," June said. "I'd alert the authorities."

"Uh, no," Eric said. "Obviously I'd send the money back where it came from."

"A politician you hate is giving a speech on every channel and you can't escape it by surfing." She was being vague and non-political, really. "Do you hack into into any of their systems to show dead air instead?"

"Anything would be better than the annoying man with terrible hair." He had a lot of opinions about current leadership, oh yes.

"Tempting," Paris said, "but I think I'd just unplug for a bit and reread the Art of War instead."

June shook her head. "That's a good way to get arrested," she said. "Not worth it when I can just turn off the TV."

"Tempting," Eric had to admit. "But I'd probably just distract myself with an activity that didn't require access to mass media."

"Artificial intelligence: yay or nay?"

At least here, Khadgar figured he had a 50/50 shot of being right. "Nay?" he said, since "artificial" sounded bad.

"What sort of artificial intelligence?" Paris asked. "Because yes to them running some things and no to them being our political overlords."

"Yay for most purposes," June said. "When we start letting it run things for us, we get in trouble."

"Sure, I guess," Eric said. "I mean in fiction everyone's always 'oh we used them for slave labour and now they're mad and taking revenge' so maybe like. Don't do that to start with? Create them to do jobs that organic beings can't do for whatever reason, but treat the AIs respectfully because of that. You know, the opposite of how we treat folks in the service industry these days."

She's around before and after class.

Please say ethics.

Computer Science- Tuesday- 3rd period

Sign In

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Listen to the lecture

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The game!

Round one

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Round two

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Round three

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Round four

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Round five

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Talk to Kitty

OOC