Important WGU (QCO1) Ethics In Technology Exam Questions

Answer: B

Explanation:

A skewed sample occurs when historical data is biased, unrepresentative, or imbalanced, leading to discriminatory AI outcomes. In this case, the AI system was trained on 20 years of national data, which likely contained historical biases against minorities in drug and alcohol disorder treatments.

Since past law enforcement and healthcare policies have disproportionately impacted minority groups, the AI inherited these biases and began making unfair, discriminatory predictions.

Relevant Ethical Reference in Technology:

Algorithmic Bias & AI Ethics (ACM/IEEE Guidelines) -- AI models must be trained on diverse and representative data.

Fairness in Machine Learning (FAT/ML Framework) -- Preventing bias in AI requires identifying and correcting skewed data.

Historical Bias & Systemic Discrimination -- Training AI on biased past records leads to unethical and discriminatory outcomes.

Deontological Ethics (Fair AI Decision-Making) -- AI developers must ensure unbiased, ethical, and fair AI outputs.

Thus, the correct answer is B. Skewed sample, as the AI model was trained on biased historical data, leading to discrimination.

Answer: D

Explanation:

Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), organizations are required to store personal data only for as long as necessary and must securely erase or anonymize data once it is no longer needed for its original purpose.

This aligns with GDPR's 'Storage Limitation Principle' (Article 5(1)(e)), which mandates that data should be:

Kept only for as long as necessary for processing purposes

Deleted or anonymized when no longer required

Stored securely to prevent unauthorized access

Relevant Ethical Reference in Technology:

GDPR Compliance (Article 5: Principles of Processing Personal Data) -- Enforces storage limitation and secure erasure.

Data Ethics (Fair and Responsible Use of Personal Data) -- Ethical obligation to limit storage and prevent misuse.

Privacy by Design (Cavoukian, 1995) -- Encourages secure deletion of unnecessary data.

Utilitarian Ethics & Data Protection -- Secure erasure prevents potential misuse and data breaches.

Thus, the correct answer is D. Securely erasing data that is no longer needed, as it complies with GDPR storage limitation requirements.

Answer: C

Explanation:

A Denial-of-Service (DoS) attack is a cyberattack in which a hacker floods a target system with an overwhelming amount of requests, causing it to crash, slow down, or become unavailable. In this scenario, the hacker takes over multiple computers and forces them to flood a target site, which is a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, a more advanced form of DoS.

Relevant Ethical Reference in Technology:

Cybersecurity Ethics (ACM & IEEE Codes of Ethics) -- DoS attacks violate ethical and legal principles, causing harm to organizations and users.

Hacking Ethics (White Hat vs. Black Hat Ethics) -- Ethical hackers prevent DoS attacks, whereas malicious hackers exploit vulnerabilities.

Cybercrime Laws (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, GDPR, CFAA) -- DoS attacks are illegal and punishable under international cybersecurity laws.

Utilitarian Perspective on Cybersecurity -- Defending against DoS attacks protects public and private digital infrastructure, benefiting society.

Thus, the correct answer is C. Denial-of-service (DoS), as the hacker floods the target site with excessive data queries.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Industrial espionage refers to the unauthorized theft or copying of trade secrets, proprietary information, or intellectual property from one company to another, often to gain a competitive advantage.

Why is this Industrial Espionage?

The sibling stole proprietary source code from Employee A's laptop.

This act provides unfair competitive advantage to the sibling's company.

Unauthorized access to trade secrets violates legal and ethical standards (e.g., Economic Espionage Act).

Why Not the Other Options?

A . Nepotism -- Favoring family members in hiring or promotions, but this case involves theft.

B . Conflict of Interest -- Would apply if Employee A voluntarily shared information, but here, it was stolen.

D . Corruption -- Involves bribery or unethical business practices but does not specifically relate to corporate theft.

Thus, the correct answer is C. Industrial Espionage, as it involves theft of confidential trade secrets.

Reference in Ethics in Technology:

Economic Espionage Act (1996), 18 U.S.C. 1831-1839.

OECD Guidelines on Corporate Ethics and Intellectual Property Protection.

Answer: C

Explanation:

Consequentialism is an ethical theory that determines the morality of an action based on its outcomes or consequences rather than intrinsic moral duties or virtues. In this case, the CFO's decision is driven by anticipated business benefits---expanding the subscriber base, reducing customer churn, and increasing profits---while acknowledging the negative consequence of job losses.

This decision aligns with utilitarian consequentialism, which weighs overall benefits against harm and justifies actions that lead to the greatest good for the greatest number. While the workforce reduction is a significant ethical concern, the CFO believes that the positive business impact outweighs the negative effects.

Relevant Ethical Reference in Technology:

Utilitarian Ethics (John Stuart Mill, Jeremy Bentham) -- Prioritizing company growth and customer convenience over job losses reflects a utilitarian cost-benefit analysis.

Automation and AI Ethics -- The ethical implications of replacing human jobs with AI are widely debated in the context of digital ethics and corporate responsibility.

Corporate Stakeholder Ethics -- Ethical business practices should balance the needs of employees, customers, and shareholders rather than focusing solely on financial outcomes.

Future of Work Ethics -- Ethical discussions in AI-driven automation stress responsible innovation, retraining displaced workers, and ensuring economic fairness.

Since the CFO is primarily weighing outcomes, this decision-making process reflects consequentialist ethics rather than deontology (duty-based), virtue (moral character), or care ethics (relationship-driven concerns).