ISSUES OF LEGALITY, PRIVACY, AND ETHICS

15.11 ISSUES OF LEGALITY, PRIVACY, AND ETHICS

LEGAL I S S U E S

T h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f m a n a g e m e n t - s u p p o r t s y s t e m s , a n d e s p e c i a l l y o f ES, m a y c o m - p o u n d a host of legal issues already relevant to c o m p u t e r systems. T h e e x p e n s i v e , pro-

l o n g e d litigation o f t h e I B M and M i c r o s o f t antitrust c a s e s are p r o m i n e n t e x a m p l e s . Q u e s t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g liability f o r t h e actions of intelligent m a c h i n e s are just b e g i n n i n g to be considered. T h e issue of c o m p u t e r s as a f o r m of unfair c o m p e t i t i o n in business was already raised in the 1990s with the w e l l - k n o w n dispute o v e r the practices of air- line reservation systems.

I n a d d i t i o n t o r e s o l v i n g d i s p u t e s a b o u t t h e u n e x p e c t e d and p o s s i b l y d a m a g i n g

853 P A R T V IMPLEMENTING M S S IN THE E-BUSINESS ERA

liable if an enterprise finds itself bankrupt as a result of using t h e advice of an M S S ? Will t h e e n t e r p r i s e itself b e h e l d r e s p o n s i b l e f o r n o t t e s t i n g t h e s y s t e m a d e q u a t e l y

b e f o r e entrusting it with sensitive issues? Will auditing and accounting firms share t h e liability for failing to apply a d e q u a t e auditing tests? Will t h e manufacturers of intelli-

g e n t s y s t e m s be jointly liable? C o n s i d e r the f o l l o w i n g specific legal issues: • W h a t is t h e value of an expert o p i n i o n in court w h e n t h e e x p e r t i s e is e n c o d e d in

a computer? • W h o is liable for w r o n g advice (or i n f o r m a t i o n ) p r o v i d e d by an E S ? For e x a m p l e , what h a p p e n s if a physician accepts an incorrect diagnosis m a d e by a c o m p u t e r

and p e r f o r m s an act that results in the d e a t h of a patient? • W h a t h a p p e n s if a m a n a g e r enters an incorrect j u d g m e n t value i n t o an M S S and the result is d a m a g e or a disaster? • W h o o w n s the k n o w l e d g e in a k n o w l e d g e b a s e ? • S h o u l d royalties be paid to experts w h o p r o v i d e k n o w l e d g e to an ES or a k n o w l -

e d g e base, and if so, h o w m u c h ? • C a n m a n a g e m e n t f o r c e experts to contribute their expertise?

For a d i s c u s s i o n of t h e s e and o t h e r e t h i c s - r e l a t e d issues, c o n s u l t C e l i k ( 2 0 0 1 ) , Charles (1995), and Warkentin et al. (1994).