Computer technology is changing so fast that government policy isn't keeping up, and society isn't sure what to do about it.

The second Australian Institute of Computer Ethics (AICE) conference with the theme Computer Ethics: Why bother? in Canberra this weekend will hear concerns from Dr John Weckert from the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University (CSU), and Co-Director of the AICE, about the pace of information technology (IT) research and development and its moral dilemmas.

The AICE2000 conference, jointly sponsored by CSU, will be held at the Australian National University on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 November.

A leading international academic and government adviser on computer ethics, Professor Jeroen Van Den Hoven of the Centre for The Philosophy of Information and Communication Technology, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, is the keynote speaker on the topic Information Technology and Moral Responsibility: a Plea for Due Moral Diligence.

In his address, IT Research and Development: should there be control, Dr Weckert says the effects, or likely effects, of information technology research and development must be examined carefully.

Dr Weckert said there were a range of issues worrying people about the pace of new technology, with privacy currently the main concern.

He cited the much publicised hacking of the Microsoft company several weeks ago as an example of concerns regarding individual and corporate privacy and security.

"We need to look more closely at these issues and be more careful at how quickly and the way we introduce new technology."

Dr Weckert said technology is often introduced simply because it's there, and before we think about the consequences.

"I'm not advocating new technology, but we need to be more aware of what happens when it is introduced - and we need more people, especially professionals in the IT industry, the social sciences and in philosophy - to look at the consequences," he said.

"We can't only have people looking at technical issues: there's a lot more to life than technology.

"We need to remember that the whole purpose of technology is to help people and the community," Dr Weckert added.

He draws an analogy with genetic engineering: "Research and development in genetic engineering continues, but at least there is open discussion of ethical questions, particularly regarding possible and likely consequences for the lives of humans, and life in general.

"So far this kind of discussion has been lacking in IT, but it is surely time that it began."

Other papers to be presented at the conference include Mapping crime on the Internet: public service or litigious nightmare?; Cops, computers and the right to privacy in the information age; Authorship and the unstable text; Putting 'hackers' to work on improving system security; The role of ethics in electronic commerce; and The use of computers in schools: some ethical issues.