2007 Focus: Information Technology: The good, what was working; the bad, what was not working; the ugly, the hurdles ahead.
The “Information Sharing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” conference included government officials, policy and technology experts in an off-the-record event focusing on information sharing as it is currently practiced in the federal government and the impediments to maximizing the benefits of information technologies.
2004 Focus: The media’s role in the security vs. liberty debate. The media is the primary source of information for the public on such critical issues and should be informed participants’.
Reporters and columnists met with participants from the “Balancing Civil Liberties and National Security in the Post-9/11 Era: The Challenge of Information Sharing” event to work toward creating a framework for balancing security and liberty in the government’s use of information technologies for data integration and information sharing. The participants decided that this framework must have the support of the government intelligence community while meeting the civil liberty concerns of the public.
2003 Focus: How to balance ethical, security and civil liberties in information sharing.
“Balancing Civil Liberties and National Security in the Post-9/11 Era: The Challenge of Information Sharing” invitation only event attended by many government agencies, including the newly formed Dept. of Homeland Security, corporations, as well scholars studying security and information sharing. The conference provided an overview of technologies that could be deployed to secure the nation in matters of information integration, electronic communication interception and public surveillance. Technologists, government officials, legislators and public policy scholars discussed how to develop a balance between national security and civil liberties. The end goal was to promote collaboration, ensure participation, and help build the knowledge necessary to address these issues in a digital age. All agreed that the media should be involved in conversation.
1996 Focus: CyberCivics 101: The Relevance of Representative Democracy in the Information Age
This conference addressed the concerns of how information technology will affect the political process and ideals of democracy. It also confronted the ethical and public policy consequences that will have to be faced. In addition, CEI ran an electronic mock presidential election through Votelink, Clinton vs.Bush and openly discussed the results amongst scholars of not needing to have the public go to the polls to vote in the future.
1996: CyberRisk Conference, co-sponsored with the National Computer Security Association, addressed electronic ethics in the corporate setting.
1996: “Kids and Computers: Recognizing Values, Choices and Character”looked at kids’ ethical use of technology.
1996: “Computer Ethics and Moral Theologies,” co-sponsored by Washington Theological Consortium.
1995 Focus: “Virtuous Reality: CyberEthics and the Balance of Individual, Communication and Corporate Interests”
This conference addressed the emerging popularity of the internet and how the individual, community, and corporation will be represented in this different environment. Scholars spoke on the preservation of democracy on the internet and of the individuals’ rights to free speech. Others spoke about corporate policy and technological advancement in response to the internet and our ethical demands.
1994 Focus: “Further Pursuit of a Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics”
This conference discussed the wide array of ethical frameworks that have been and need to be established within the fields of identity in cyberspace, the public perception of the internet, the relationship between law and the databases. This conference also called for a means to inform children about computer ethics and eventually gave rise to the 1996 Kids and Computers conference.
1993 Focus: “Ethics and CyberCulture”
This conference addressed the new community being formed on the internet and the change in personal interaction and organization. Topics addressed questions such as how will communities be formed on the internet, how will social interaction change and will the moral imperatives of the past apply to the future, and how should we balance the rights of the individual with that of the community.
1993: “Forum on Privacy”, collaboration with the Washington Philosophy Club.
1992 Focus: “In Pursuit of a Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics”
CEI attained a powerful voice for the advancement of a normative approach to the ethical use of computers. This national conference brought together scholars, technologists and business people to establish guidelines for the ethical use of computers. Out of the conference, Dr. Ramon Barquin, the President of CEI, developed the now much used and publicized Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics
1992: “Computer Mediated Interaction and Moral Agency,” co-sponsored with Conference of Philosophical Societies, American Philosophical Association Easter Division Meetings
1992: “Computer Ethics and Public Policy” Satellite Session, American Philosophical central division meeting
1991: The Computer Ethics Institute was incorporated as a 501 (c)3.
1990: “The First National Computer Ethics Conference,”
This Convocation on Computer Ethics was formed by IBM, the Brookings Institution and the Washington Theological Society, In the presence of this diverse atmosphere, scholars and researchers established the groundwork for how one can view the connection between the use of computers and ethics. By focusing on the connection, the convocation called for an annual conference that brings the leaders of various fields together to discuss the underlying principles needed to guide one through ethical dilemmas. The initiated National Computer Ethics Conference.
1986 Focus: “New Ethics for the Computer Age?” Convocation
This was the first conference, held by the Coalition for Computer Ethics, occurred before computers were widely used and the internet was main-stream. The conference discussed ethical concerns, such as privacy and intellectual property rights in a digital age, well before society was forced to addresses these issues.
1985: The Coalition for Computer Ethics was founded by from The Brookings Institution, IBM, the Washington Consulting Group and the Washington Theological Consortium.