The editors of this book are both professors of philosophy and ethics. Bynum, located at Southern Connecticut University is a professor of philosophy, while Rogerson is a professor of computer ethics at DeMontfort University in the United Kingdom. Individually, they have each authored a number of journal articles regarding computer ethics and together, they founded the ETHICOMP conference/congress in 1995 which meets yearly and focuses on discussions and presentations regarding computer ethics.

The purpose of the book is to provide readers with a definition of computer ethics and a beginning understanding for why computer ethics is a subject into itself rather than a sub-set of other ethical genre such as ethics or medical technology ethics. The introduction begins by crediting Norbert Wiener, an MIT professor with originating the idea of computer ethics in 1950 with his book entitled The Human Use of Human Beings.

The book is organized around five big ideas: defining computer ethics, professional responsibility, codes of ethics, privacy, and global computer ethics. Various authors, many of whom are professors of ethics or philosophy, have written their perspectives regarding a related computer ethics topic. At the end of each section, there is a case to analyze which provides the reader a way to apply and reflect on the ideas presented in the chapter. Included is an appendix of six different codes of ethics from many of the computer programming organizations including The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and The Association for Computer Machinery Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct.

The accompanying website (www.southernct.edu/organizations/rccs/textbook/) is an extension of the book and well developed sections regarding the history of computing and the economics of computing. Additional resources, web sites and cases to analyze regarding computer ethics extend the written text of the book.

Part 1 of the book discusses what is computer ethics and presents definitions from experts in the field. The opening essay, entitled "Reason, Relativity, and Responsibility in Computer Ethics" by James Moor sets the framework for computer ethics. He begins his chapter by quoting from Bynum and Rogerson (editors of this book): "We are entering a generation marked by globalization and ubiquitous computing." Moor explains that the world is in the midst of a computer revolution that is "rapidly moving into every aspect of daily life." He argues that computers are logically malleable, because they can be manipulated to do most any activity in regards to inputs and outputs, and also informationally enriching because computers, especially when connected to the Internet, can be put to many uses in diverse activities. His assertions about computers and definitions of computer ethics are, in turn, quoted by many others in the book. He points out that computer ethics has two parts including the nature and social impact of computer technology and the responding ethical use policies regarding computer technology.

The second essay as part of defining computer ethics was written by Walter Maner. He discusses the unique ethical problems of information technology and postulates six levels of justification for the study of computer ethics. He then presents examples illustrating the levels and ethical questions ranging from computer use for stock market trading to computer programming.

This section of the book is concluded with an essay by Bynum outlining policies to guide one’s judgment. He then outlines an heuristic method by which to conduct an ethical case analysis. These eight areas of the analysis process include taking the ethical point of view, developing detailed descriptions of the case, identifying the ethical issues, apply ethical knowledge and skills, get the advice of others, apply one or more systematic analysis techniques, draw relevant ethical conclusions and then draw relevant lessons about the future. Throughout the book, there are cases that are relevant to both educational and professional organizations, companies and institutions that can be analyzed following this framework.

Part II of the book deals with professional responsibility. It is noted that computer professionals generally work in companies with a variety of laws, rules and policies. The editors note that within these types of jobs, there are roles that carry ethical responsibilities and obligations. Examples given regarding the types of roles and responsibilities include doctors, parents, bus drivers, school board members and parents. In this section, the issues of intentional and unintentional power are discussed along with ethical neutrality and positive and negative responsibility. The section concludes with a discussion of the types of ethics that should occur among software development professionals and in particular the principles of honor, honesty, bias, professional adequacy, care, fairness, consideration of the social cost, and effective and efficient actions.

In Part III, the importance of having codes of ethics in computer related fields is discussed. The editors highlight the fact that such codes serve the functions of inspiration, education, guidance, accountability and enforcement. They also emphasize that such codes should not be considered laws or ethical frameworks. The essay in this section by N. Ben Fairweather suggests that there are four ethical issues of the information age and they fall in one of these categories: privacy, accuracy, property or accessibility and referred to with the acronym, PAPA. He concludes that incomplete codes of ethics that may not address all aspects of a particular profession are useless because they cause employees to consider loopholes around the code. Overall, it is important that any codes of ethics that are developed should address all aspects of the jobs carried out by a computer technology company. The following section lists codes of ethics for six different computer technology professional organizations which could serve as a model for other organizations, companies and institutions.

In the next section, Moor writes about ways to justify privacy in relationship to computer ethics. He points out that there are two ways of justifying privacy. First, there are instrumental values which are values that are good because they lead to something else which is good. Second, there are intrinsic values are values that are good in themselves or an ends. Moor suggests there is a third justification for privacy which he calls core values. These are values found in all human cultures including life, happiness, freedom, knowledge, ability, resources and security. The rest of this section gives examples of the above. Another essay discusses how the data protection act passed into law in the United Kingdom in 1984 and 1998 is an example of how certain data should be protected and private (personal data such as medical or legal records), while other data can be less private (processed by organizations such as legislative discussions regarding laws).

The final section of the book deals with global ethics and if there are worldwide computer ethics that exist. Krystyna Gorniak-Kocikowska suggests that there is no revolution larger than the computer revolution. Up to this point in history, there has not been a common universal ethic of character and that the nature of computer technologies may cause one to take place. She emphasizes the importance of computer ethics and that there should be an agreement on the global character in cyberspace.

Overall, the book identifies key issues regarding computer ethics and provides a way to frame the field of computer ethics. Anyone interested in examining the ethics of the development of software, web pages, or blogs will find the essays useful to identify a developing code of ethics. The printed codes of ethics shared in the book will guide any organization or company in this process, despite the fact that technology and online technology applications change more quickly than books such as this can be written. The cases to analyze provide the reader a way to apply the ethics concepts discussed in each chapter.

The book mostly focuses on codes of ethics for companies and individuals who are professionally employed to develop technology code, software applications or web sites. Although one could generalize the principles presented, the book does not address ethics for individuals who have become "citizen journalists" through their blog entries or by creating their own web pages from their own personal computer. Educational institutions such as universities or school districts will find the codes of ethics a good framework for developing guidelines within their institutions, but there are limited references to educational institutions or the need for codes of ethics to be developed.