inf851 Computer Science and Society (Complete module description)

no participant requirements

Graduates of the module Informatik und Gesellschaft know the history of the development of Information technology and its impact on society and are familiar with issues of data protection. They will be able, individually or in a team, to analyze the ethical and socio-political implications of different areas and applications of computer science and develop a reasoned own position on this, in particular concerning their professional responsibilities as computer scientists. They have learned to present the results of their work convincingly and suitable for their target group using appropriate media and they are able to organize events such as workshops or small conferences for that purpose.
Professional competence
The students:

• reflect on the ethical and societal aspects of selected areas of computer science
•  create and design websites
•  create and manage documents in a team

Methodological competence 
The students:

• explore methods of structured teamwork
• organize project work
• make presentations with different media

Social competence
The students:

• develop a subject area as a team
• teach a bigger audience to appreciate their knowledge
• discuss their observations and opinions with others

Self-competence
The students:

• reflect their role in a team
• reflect their role as computer scientists in society

In brief, topics like the following are covered:

• Computer Crime
• Computer Games
• Data Protection
• Electronic Democracy
• Ethics in Computer Science
• History of Information Technology
• Use of information technology at school
• Internet - integration or division of society?
• Artificial Intelligence
• Manipulation by War Games
• Open Source Software
• Robots in Society
• Trustworthy Systems

• See reference books Informatik und Gesellschaft in BIS.
• Joseph Weizenbaum, 2001: Die Macht der Computer und die Ohnmacht der Vernunft.
• H. Klaeren u.a., (Eds.), 1999: Tübinger Studientexte Informatik und Gesellschaft. Universität Tübingen.
• J. Friedrich, Th. Herrmann, M. Peschek, A. Rolf (Hrsg.),1995: Informatik und Gesellschaft. Spektrum.

The topics for the teams are assigned during the first week of the semester

Module Capacity:
unrestricted