Computing Morality: A Computer Scientist's Approach Ethics and Economics

By Benjamin Chang

This book uses powerful concepts borrowed from computer science and a myriad of real-world examples to help the reader think clearly and logically in our politically-polarized environment. Principles of computer science are used to build an all-encompassing ethical and economic framework for how humans can be productive, live decently, and prote

• Language: English
• Publisher: Benjamin Chang
• Release date: Mar 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781736180716

Book preview

PART I

CREATING AN ETHICAL MENTAL MODEL FROM SCRATCH

Laying the Groundwork

Boring Computer Science Topics Made Fun

COMPUTER SCIENCE TOPIC #1:

Definitions, Definitions, Definitions

Computer scientists and logicians are obsessed with definitions. Most proofs simply try to show that something meets the definition of another thing. To prove something true or false, we must define our terms as specifically as possible. Then, we must lean on these definitions. Consider the following example:

Show that the statement 6 is an even number is true.

This proof essentially requires us to show that 6 meets the definition of an even number. The most obvious way to define an even number would be the following:

A number is even if it is divisible by 2.

However, we now need to define what divisible means, and we need to continue doing so until all non-common English terms are formally defined. You’ll notice that, in legal documents, almost every other word starts with a capital letter. This is because those words are formally defined in an appendix of definitions. Definitions restrict the number of interpretations of a statement and allow us to make formal conclusions.

Now, we must define what divisible means:

A number n is divisible by a number d if n can be divided by d without a remainder.

Now, we need to define what a remainder is. I’ll simply say that a remainder is whatever is left over after division. I’ll refrain from defining what divide means, for it seems obvious, and I do not want to re-create mathematics and the English language from scratch. However, if you are interested in what a full, ground-up definition of divides is, visit https://proofwiki.org/wiki/Definition:Division

Now, we can prove that 6 is an even number:

By the definition of divisible, since 6 is divided by 2 without a remainder, 6 is divisible by 2.

Therefore, by the definition of even number, since 6 is divisible by 2, 6 is an even number.

Put more simply, all we did was establish a chain of definitions to show that 6 meets some specific criteria to be classified as an even number. Definitions are the fundamental building blocks of proofs.

Just as in financial and legal documents, from now on, I will capitalize terms that I associate with a very specific definition in mind. All instances of words that are yet to be defined will be in boldface. These terms will be defined as you read along.

COMPUTER SCIENCE TOPIC #2:

An Important Corollary—Language and References

Earlier, I had to make an important statement that I was not going to redefine every word in the English language. This is crucial, because, to have any meaningful definition, we must come to some level of agreement on what certain words mean. For example, even if every person on the planet defines even numbers the same way, someone could still very much dispute the statement 6 is an even number if he disputes what the definition of is is. If both parties speak English but their interpretations of common English syntax and words are disputed, there can be no progress forward.

Language, when used correctly and precisely, is not ambiguous. That doesn’t mean that there are no ambiguous statements. For example, the statement This shirt is green is a fairly straightforward one. However, this statement can be true to some and false for others. One might fairly say that the shirt is more of a bluish-turquoise color instead of pure green.

To correct for this flaw of ambiguous language, we simply need to agree upon references ahead of time. For objects and descriptions of actions that occur in nature, we have a reference that we can point to. If we agree ahead of time that green means rgb (0, 128, 0)—this is a computer’s way of generating a specific color—then there is no ambiguity in determining whether the statement This shirt is green is true or false. As long as someone is precise with his language and fixes any potentially ambiguous language with a specific reference, there should be no problems with coming up with a mutually agreed-upon set of definitions that are not open to interpretation.

COMPUTER SCIENCE TOPIC #3:

Choosing Your Axioms for the Perfect Axiomatic System

Any mathematical or logical System starts off with Axioms.

A System is a set of rules that govern any possible behavior that allows someone to arrive at a conclusion or decision in an Exhaustive and Deterministic manner. Exhaustive means that the System needs to be able to handle any valid input that comes in. In other words, we can’t have an input which our System does not know what to do with. Deterministic means that there is no randomness involved. If the same input comes more than once into the System, the System will lead to the same output or conclusion it led to the first time that input was introduced.

For a real-life example:

Let’s say we are building an English dictionary from scratch, and the System we choose to order words is alphabetical