SelectedWorks - Frances Grodzinsky

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Selected Works of Frances Grodzinsky

Professor Emerita

Dr. Grodzinky's teaching focus includes Computer Ethics, Software Engineering, Systems Analysis and Design, Networking, and Human Computer Interaction. Her research focuses on issues related to society and technology. She has presented internationally on topics such as autonomous agency, open source, privacy, intellectual property and the responsibility of software developers. Dr. Grodzinsky joined the Sacred Heart University faculty in 1985 and became Professor Emerita in 2018

Dr. Grodzinsky has been published widely.

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About Frances Grodzinsky

Dr. Grodzinky's teaching focus includes Computer Ethics, Software Engineering, Systems Analysis and Design, Networking, and Human Computer Interaction. Her research focuses on issues related to society and technology. She has presented internationally on topics such as autonomous agency, open source, privacy, intellectual property and the responsibility of software developers. Dr. Grodzinsky joined the Sacred Heart University faculty in 1985 and became Professor Emerita in 2018

Dr. Grodzinsky has been published widely.

Articles (54)

When AI Moves Downstream (Frances S. Grodzinsky, Keith W. Miller and Marty J. Wolf) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2023)

After computing professionals design, develop, and deploy software, what is their responsibility for subsequent uses of that software “downstream” by others? Furthermore, does it matter ethically if the software in question is considered to be ...

Session Replay Scripts: A Privacy Analysis (Frances S. Grodzinsky, Keith W. Miller and Marty J. Wolf) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2022)

Session replay scripts record a user’s actions while visiting a website or using a computer application. These recordings are typically sent to third party companies whose stated purpose is to analyze the recordings to help ...

AI Ethics: A Long History and a Recent Burst of Attention (Jason Borenstein, Frances Grodzinsky, Ayanna Howard, et al.) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2021)

Artificial intelligence (AI) ethics has become a hot topic in the popular press and in scholarly writing. In this column, five noted scholars give their opinions on what AI issues will become important in the ...

On the Responsibility for Uses of Downstream Software (Marty J. Wolf, Keith W. Miller and Frances Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2019)

In this paper we explore an issue that is different from whether developers are responsible for the direct impact of the software they write. We examine, instead, in what ways, and to what degree, developers ...

Responding to Some Challenges Posed by the Re-identification of Anonymized Personal Data (Herman T. Tavani and Frances Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2019)

In this paper, we examine a cluster of ethical controversies generated by the reidentification of anonymized personal data in the context of big data analytics, with particular attention to the implications for personal privacy. Our ...

Why We Should Have Seen That Coming: Comments on Microsoft's tay "Experiment," and Wider Implications (Marty J. Wolf, Keith W. Miller and Frances Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2017)

In this paper we examine the case of Tay, the Microsoft AI chatbot that was launched in March, 2016. After less than 24 hours, Microsoft shut down the experiment because the chatbot was generating tweets ...

This 'Ethical Trap' is for Roboticists, Not Robots: On the Issue of Artificial Agent Ethical Decision-Making (Keith W. Miller, Marty J. Wolf and Frances Grodzinsky) Computer Science & Information Technology Faculty Publications (2017)

In this paper we address the question of when a researcher is justified in describing his or her artificial agent as demonstrating ethical decision-making. The paper is motivated by the amount of research being done ...

This “Ethical Trap” is for Roboticists, Not Robots: On the Issue of Artificial Agent Ethical Decision Making (Keith W. Miller, Marty J. Wolf and Frances Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2017)

In this paper we address the question of when a researcher is justified in describing his or her artificial agent as demonstrating ethical decision-making. The paper is motivated by the amount of research being done ...

There's Something in Your Eye: Ethical Implications of Augmented Visual Field Devices (Marty J. Wolf, Frances Grodzinsky and Keith W. Miller) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2016)

This paper aims to explore the ethical and social impact of augmented visual field devices (AVFDs), identifying issues that AVFDs share with existing devices and suggesting new ethical and social issues that arise with the ...

Era of Big Data: Danger of Descrimination (Andra Gumbus and Frances Grodzinsky) WCBT Faculty Publications (2015)

We live in a world of data collection where organizations and marketers know our income, our credit rating and history, our love life, race, ethnicity, religion, interests, travel history and plans, hobbies, health concerns, spending ...

Developing Automated Deceptions and the Impact on Trust (Frances Grodzinsky, Keith W. Miller and Marty J. Wolf) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2015)

As software developers design artificial agents (AAs), they often have to wrestle with complex issues, issues that have philosophical and ethical importance. This paper addresses two key questions at the intersection of philosophy and technology: ...

Behind the Mask: Machine Morality (Keith W. Miller, Marty J. Wolf and Frances Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2015)

We consider machines that have the ability to masquerade as human in the context of Floridi's information ethics and artificial evil. We analyse a variety of different robots and contexts and the ethical implications for ...

Augmented Reality All Around Us: Power and Perception at a Crossroads (Marty J. Wolf and Frances Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2015)

In this paper we continue to explore the ethics and social impact of augmented visual field devices (AVFDs). Recently, Microsoft announced the pending release of HoloLens, and Magic Leap filed a patent application for technology ...

Trust, Betrayal, and Whistle-Blowing: Reflections on the Edward Snowden Case (Herman T. Tavani and Frances Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2014)

Is every act of whistle blowing, by definition, a betrayal of trust on the part of the whistle-blower? If so, are employees who blow the whistle, by implication, untrustworthy employees? Assuming that they are, would ...

Will "Smarter" Marketing End Social Discrimination? A Critical Review (Frances Grodzinsky, Andra Gumbus and Stephen J. Lilley) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2013)

Purpose - There are two claims made by the web marketing/advertising industry. 1) By collecting, managing, and mining data, companies serve consumer’s best interests and 2) by adopting sophisticated analytics web marketers avoid discriminations that ...

Will “Smarter” Marketing End Social Discrimination? A Critical Review (Frances Grodzinsky, Andra Gumbus and Stephen J. Lilley) Computer Science & Information Technology Faculty Publications (2013)

Purpose – There are two claims made by the web marketing/advertising industry. By collecting, managing, and mining data, companies serve consumer's best interests, and by adopting sophisticated analytics, web marketers avoid discriminations that disserve individuals. ...

Moral Responsibility for Computing Artifacts: "The Rules" and Issues of Trust (Frances S. Grodzinsky, Keith W. Miller and Marty J. Wolf) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2012)

“The Rules” are found in a collaborative document (started in March 2010) that states principles for responsibility when a computer artifact is designed, developed and deployed into a sociotechnical system. At this writing, over 50 ...

Revealing the Commercialized and Compliant Facebook User (Stephen J. Lilley, Frances Grodzinsky and Andra Gumbus) Sociology Faculty Publications (2012)

Purpose – Facebook users are both producers and consumers (i.e. “prosumers”), in the sense that they produce the disclosures that allow for Facebook's business success and they consume services. The purpose of this paper is ...

Privacy in "The Cloud": Applying Nissenbaum's Theory of Contextual Integrity (Frances Grodzinsky and Herman T. Tavani) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2011)

The present essay is organized into five main sections. We begin with a few preliminary remarks about "cloud computing," which are developed more fully in a later section. This is followed by a brief overview ...

Quantum Computing and Cloud Computing: Humans Trusting Humans via Machines (Frances Grodzinsky, Marty J. Wolf and Keith W Miller) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2011)

In this paper we use Levels of Abstraction and an object-oriented model of trust to analyze quantum computing and cloud computing to identify important ethical concerns. The method of Levels of Abstraction aids in identifying ...

Quantum Computing and Cloud Computing: Humans Trusting Humans via Machines (Frances Grodzinsky, Marty J. Wolf and Keith W. Miller) Computer Science & Information Technology Faculty Publications (2011)

In this paper we use Levels of Abstraction and an object-oriented model of trust to analyze quantum computing and cloud computing to identify important ethical concerns. The method of Levels of Abstraction aids in identifying ...

Ethical Implications of Internet Monitoring: A Comparative Study (Frances Grodzinsky, Andra Gumbus and Stephen J. Lilley) WCBT Faculty Publications (2010)

Organizations have become increasingly concerned about employee use of the Internet for personal reasons while at work. Monitoring Internet usage has become more and more prevalent in the workplace. While there may be legitimate business ...

Applying the “Contextual Integrity” Model of Privacy to Personal Blogs in the Blogoshere (Frances Grodzinsky and Herman T. Tavani) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2010)

In this paper, we analyze some controversial aspects of blogging and the blogosphere from the perspective of privacy. In particular, we focus on Helen Nissenbaum’s theory of privacy as “contextual integrity” and apply it to ...

Free, Source-Code-Available, or Proprietary: An Ethically Charged, Context-Sensitive Choice (Marty J. Wolf, Keith W. Miller and Frances Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2009)

We demonstrate that different categories of software raise different ethical concerns with respect to whether software ought to be Free Software or Proprietary Software. We outline the ethical tension between Free Software and Proprietary Software ...

On the Meaning of Free Software (Marty J. Wolf, Keith W. Miller and Frances S. Grodzinsky) School of Computer Science & Engineering Faculty Publications (2009)

To many who develop and use free software, the GNU General Public License represents an embodiment of the meaning of free software. In this paper we examine the definition and meaning of free software in ...