Abstracted Power and Responsibility in Computer Science Ethics Education

As computing becomes more powerful and extends the reach of those who wield it, the imperative grows for computing professionals to make ethical decisions regarding the use of that power. We propose the concept of abstracted power to help computer science students understand how technology may distance them perceptually from consequences of their actions. Specifically, we identify technological intermediation and computational thinking as two factors in computer science that contribute to this distancing. To counter the abstraction of power, we argue for increased emotional engagement in computer science ethics education, to encourage students to feel as well as think regarding the potential impacts of their power on others. We suggest four concrete pedagogical approaches to enable this emotional engagement in computer science ethics curriculum, and we share highlights of student reactions to the material.