A meeting you should probably know about ... interesting selection of

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

PROSPECTUS:


The AAAS-ABA National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists has
received a grant from the Ethics and Values Studies Program of
the National Science Foundation to convene two conferences on
"Legal, Ethical, and Technological Aspects of Computer and
Network Use and Abuse."  The first conference will be held
December 17-19, 1993 at the National Academy of Sciences' Beckman
Center, in Irvine, California.  The focus of the meeting will be
on the ways in which the law, ethics, and technology can
contribute to shaping the bounds of acceptable behavior in a
shared computer environment.


The forty invited participants, including several from outside of
the U.S., will be chosen from a variety of disciplines (including
computer sciences and engineering, law, ethics, and social
sciences), as well as various areas of expertise and
institutional affiliations relevant to the project's concerns.
Representatives from industry, the legal community, professional
societies, academic institutions, law enforcement agencies, and
other agencies of government will be included.  The purpose of
the meeting will be to develop a clearer understanding of the
roles of law, ethics, and technology in dealing with the use and
abuse of computer networks (and other modes of shared computing)
and to develop a policy agenda based on this understanding.


The conference will combine several forms of presentation and a
mix of plenary and small group sessions to engage all
participants in the discussions.  Three commissioned papers will
help frame the discussion:


(1) A paper suggesting the likely course of development of
computer network technology and its diffusion in society over the
next ten years, and discussing the implications of these
developments for individual and social values, including
information access, privacy, equity, security, and other areas of
concern.


(2) A paper reviewing the role of the law in regulating and
influencing behavior on computer networks, including an overview
of approaches at the state and federal level, and (to the extent
possible) other countries, and discussing the strengths and
weaknesses of these approaches.


(3) A paper examining the state of computer ethics as it relates
to the use of networks, including issues of equity and access,
privacy and security, civility and responsibility, and
considering the roles of various institutions in developing,
transmitting, and putting into practice ethical standards and
norms for the use of computer networks.


In addition, in an effort to broaden the range of ideas and
individuals represented at the meeting, a call for contributed
papers has been placed in Science magazine and several
newsletters, as well as on a number of computer bulletin board
systems.  This notice describes the nature of the conference and
invites original papers responding to any aspect of it.  One or
more papers will be selected on the basis of summaries to be
submitted several months prior to the meeting.


Finally, all conference participants (other than commissioned and
contributed paper authors) are being asked to prepare "op-ed"
pieces -- 1,000 word papers setting forth their perspectives on
one or more selected issues related to the theme of the meeting.
Our intent is to collect all of the papers (the "op-eds" as well
as the longer commissioned and contributed papers) and distribute
them to participants about ten days before the meeting.


The papers will serve as the basis for discussion at the plenary
sessions.  Break-out groups will provide an opportunity to focus
in more detail on specific topics.  And a final plenary session
will seek to formulate recommendations and decide on next steps,
including setting the agenda for a second meeting, to be held in
mid-1994, which will be devoted to more in-depth discussion of
specific ways in which technology, the law, and ethics can
contribute to the solution of the problems identified in the
first conference.


Proceedings of both meetings will be published and the National
Conference of Lawyers and Scientists will disseminate the
findings and recommendations through various means, including
symposia, articles in popular media, and seminars for
policymakers, educators, and computer users.




DRAFT AGENDA:


Friday, December 17


10:30 am   Plenary Session I:  The Use and Abuse of Computer Networks


How are individuals and organizations (private, corporate,
academic, government) using computer networks today?


What kinds of new technological capabilities are likely to become
available in the next 5-10 years?  How will the technological
developments be influenced by social parameters?  What sorts of
uses will the new technologies lend themselves to?


What kinds of problems do network users encounter? (case studies,
anecdotes, data/surveys [if any])


How prevalent is "hacking"?  How big a problem is it?  What about
viruses and other network problems?


How broad are the areas of agreement and disagreement regarding
these problems?


12:30 pm     Lunch


 2:00 pm     Plenary Session II:  Technology and Network Abuse


What are the possibilities for technological solutions to the
problems of abusive behavior on computer networks?


What are the trade-offs in applying technology for such purposes?


 4:00 pm     Refreshment Break


 4:30 pm     Discussion Groups


 6:30 pm     Social Hour and Dinner


Saturday, December 18


 7:30 am     Breakfast


 8:30 am     Plenary Session III:  The Law and Computer Networks


What is the state of the law (state, federal, other countries;
civil, criminal) in shaping the bounds of acceptable behavior on
computer networks?


What are the difficulties in addressing problems of behavior on
computer networks through the law?  (jurisdiction, enforcement,
definitions, making the punishment fit the crime, etc.)


What has been the experience in applying federal and state
legislation to date?


(Mid-morning break at 10 am)


11:30 am     Lunch and free time


 4:30 pm     Plenary Session IV:  Ethics and Computer Networks


What is the state of computer "netiquette"?  What are the norms
of behavior on the net?


What kinds of formal ethical standards exist for computer network
use and how effective have they been?


What are the roles of different institutions (universities,
corporations, professional societies, etc.) in defining,
disseminating, and enforcing ethical standards (formal and
informal) for computer network use?


 7:00 pm     Dinner


 8:00 pm     Discussion Groups


 9:30 pm     Adjourn


Sunday, December 19


 7:00 am     Breakfast


 8:00 am     Session V: Shaping the Bounds of Acceptable Behavior on Computer
Networks ? Agendas for Law, Ethics, and Technology


What needs to be done in each of these areas to address the
problems identified in the conference?


How can these approaches be elaborated and implemented?
Who should be involved?
What should be on the agenda for the second conference?


11:00 am     Adjourn




PARTICIPANT LIST (AS OF 10/14/93):


Professor Norman Balabanian
Professor Emeritus
Department of Electrical Engineering
Syracuse University
Brookline, MA


Professor Robert G. Boehmer
Dept. of Insurance, Legal Studies,
  Real Estate, & Mgmt. Science
University of Georgia
Athens, GA


Anita Borg, Ph.D.
Network Systems Laboratory
Digital Equipment Corporation
Palo Alto, CA


Anne W. Branscomb, J.D.
Center for Information Policy Research
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA


Randy Bush
Pacific Systems Group
Portland, OR


Vinton Cerf, Ph.D.
President
Internet Society
Reston, VA


William Cook, J.D.
Willian Brinks Olds Hofer Gilson & Lione
Chicago, IL


Professor Peter Danielson
University of British Columbia
Dept. of Philosophy, Centre for Applied Ethics
Vancouver, CANADA


Professor Tom Forester
School of Computing and Information
 Technology
Griffith University
Nathan, Queensland, AUSTRALIA


Robert Gellman
Chief Counsel
Subcommittee on Information, Justice,
 Transportation, and Agriculture
Washington, D.C.


Sara Gordon
VFR Systems International
South Bend, IN


Professor Curtis Hardyck
School of Education
University of California
Berkeley, CA


Professor Lance J. Hoffman
Department of Electrical Engineering
 and Computer Science
George Washington University
Washington, D.C.


Rachelle D. Hollander, Ph.D.
Program Director - Ethics and Values Studies
National Science Foundation
Washington, D.C.


Professor Deborah Johnson
Department of Science and
  Technology Studies
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY


The Honorable Phyllis Kahn
House of Representatives
St. Paul, MN


Professor Rob Kling
Information and Computer Science
University of California
Irvine, CA


Professor John Ladd
Department of Philosophy
Brown University
Providence, RI


Professor Bruce V. Lewenstein
Department of Communication
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY


Herbert Lin
Senior Staff Officer
Computer Science & Telecommunications Board
Nat'l Rsrch Council, Nat'l Academy of Sciences
Washington, D.C.


Professor Richard O. Mason
Management Information Sciences
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, TX


Professor Roger Needham
University of Cambridge
Computer Laboratory
Cambridge, UNITED KINGDOM


Peter G. Neumann, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist
SRI International
Menlo Park, CA


Susan H. Nycum, J.D.
Baker & McKenzie
Palo Alto, CA


Todd S. Palmer, J.D.
Dept. of Insurance, Legal Studies,
  Real Estate, & Mgmt. Science
University of Georgia
Athens, GA


Virginia E. Rezmierski, Ph.D.
Office of the Vice Provost
 for Information Technology
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI


Michael M. Roberts
V.P. Networking
EDUCOM
Washington, D.C.


Marc Rotenberg, J.D.
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
Washington, D.C.


Richard Sclove, Ph.D.
Executive Director
The Loka Institute
Amherst, MA  01004


John F. Shoch, Ph.D.
General Partner
Asset Management Co.
Palo Alto, CA


Oliver R. Smoot, J.D.
Computer and Business Equipment
  Manufacturers Association
Washington, D.C.


Professor Eugene Spafford
Department of Computer Science
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN


Professor Lee Sproull
Boston University
MIS Department
Boston, MA


Professor George B. Trubow
Director, Center for Informatics Law
John Marshall Law School
Chicago, IL


Mark Weiser, Ph.D.
Principal Scientist
Computer Science Laboratory
Xerox Palo Alto Research Center