Paper Instructions:
The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate knowledge of key terms and concepts from the course materials and related readings. You will need to conduct additional research in other to answer the question(s) asked. The focus of your paper is to concentrate on the ethical concerns. Time spent on any technical math or science concerns is to be kept to a minimum. Your answers must devote much of the paper to an examination of the ethical issues, theories and solutions. For this paper, you will write a paper of approximately 8 pages (12 point font, 1-inch margins and 1.5 line spacing) on the topic provided below related data science ethics. At least five (5) additional primary reference sources must be used and appropriately cited according to the APA style guide. Cites and quotes are necessary. Appropriate reference sources include case law, scholarly research papers, articles published in academic journals or government websites, but not personal webpages or Wikipedia. Traditional news articles may be used if necessary to provide appropriate context. Submission of this Assignment must be made by the date and time indicated above in either Word or PDF format. Failure to submit on time, or in an improper format will not be accepted.
Topic: Contact Tracing
Jane Doe is alerted that there is an outbreak of a new strain of Covid-20 at the University. It is the first of its kind in the U.S. Baltimore County, the State of Maryland and the Federal Government have all deployed contact tracers to the University Campus. Jane learns that a person she met walking to class, John Smith, is one of the people diagnosed with Covid-20. Jane knows that she was in the presence of John within the last 5 days, and she had her mobile device on her at the time of the contact. Several days later, Jane is contacted by representatives from Baltimore County advising her that she may have been exposed and that they would like to interview her as soon as possible. The investigator does not tell Jane how she was exposed, or the identity of the infected person that potentially exposed her. Notably, Jane told no one of her interaction with John on the way to class and can only surmise that her cellular data provided the linkage to the contact tracers. Out of concern for her close friends and family, Jane sends a text message to everyone she knows stating that she believes John is infected with Covid-20 and to stay away from him. Jane then destroys her cell phone because she is concerned about the information on the device and being monitored by the cellular telephone provider and the Government. The next day, Jane abandons all technology, and leaves on a train for home. She is scared to speak to the County, she wants to keep her medical information private, she does not want to be tracked or monitored electronically and does not want to be involved. Specifically, your paper should address the following questions:
(1) What is the current proposed protocol by government (you can choose between local, state and federal) for the implementation of contact tracing?
(2) What is the scope of this program?
(3) What are the benefits?
(4) What are the privacy issues?
(5) What are the ethical concerns in developing applications, including data gathering, possession and use?
(6) What are the pros and cons to contact tracing?
(7) What suggestions do you have to provide ethical decision-making guidance todata science engineers involved in developing applications for contract tracing?
(8) What ethical issues are present in the scenario above?
(a) What are the ethical issues involving the contact tracers and the use ofdata (if any)?
(b) What are the ethical issues involving Jane’s conduct (if any)?
Included in your analysis must be an examination of the use of contact tracing by local, state and the federal government along with the use by private industry. Throughout the course additional reading materials have been provided on similar topics. The purpose of the analysis is to discuss the ethical considerations by the data science engineers developing and deploying these technologies. More than two-thirds of the paper (which is suggested to be about 8 pages long) should cover the ethical theories and concerns. You are not to simply list the ethical theories but apply them to the issue of contact tracing completely.
