The Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) is a global rating system that helps organizations evaluate and select eco-friendly electronic products. Since the telecommunications company is committed to green computing and seeks to compare and select environmentally friendly suppliers, EPEAT is the appropriate tool.
EPEAT criteria include:
* Energy efficiency
* Material recyclability
* Reduction of hazardous substances
* Sustainable manufacturing practices
* Green Computing & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - Companies must minimize environmental impact through responsible sourcing.
* Sustainability & IT Ethics - EPEAT ensures ethical environmental practices in product selection.
* Utilitarian Ethics (Sustainable Impact) - Green computing benefits society by reducing e-waste and energy consumption.
* ISO 14001 Environmental Standards - Encourages companies to adopt sustainable environmental management systems.
Relevant Ethical References in Technology:Thus, the correct answer is A. Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT), as it helps assess eco-friendly technology options.

The unintended source of bias in AI algorithms comes from human developers, who bring their own unconscious biases into data selection, feature engineering, and model training.
Even when AI is designed to be neutral, developers may:
* Select biased training data
* Define biased decision-making rules
* Fail to recognize discriminatory outcomes
* Algorithmic Bias & Human Influence - AI reflects the biases of those who design it, making human oversight crucial.
* ACM & IEEE AI Ethics Guidelines - Encourage bias audits and ethical AI development.
* Historical Bias & Discrimination in AI (Amazon Hiring AI Case) - AI replicated gender biases because of biased developer input.
* Deontological Ethics & AI Responsibility - Developers must take responsibility for preventing bias in AI systems.
Relevant Ethical References in Technology:Thus, the correct answer is C. Human developers, as they introduce unintentional bias into AI systems through their decisions.

The factory manager is applying consequentialism, an ethical theory that evaluates actions based on their outcomes or consequences.
Why Consequentialism?
* The manager is weighing all possible outcomes and choosing the action that produces the greatest good-a fundamental characteristic of consequentialist ethics.
* This aligns with utilitarianism, a form of consequentialism, which suggests that an action is ethical if it maximizes overall benefits (e.g., higher profits, safety, lower costs).
* Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill developed utilitarianism, emphasizing that ethical decisions should be based on maximizing happiness or well-being.
* A. Deontology: Focuses on moral duties and rules rather than consequences. A deontologist might argue that replacing workers with robots is wrong if it violates workers' rights, regardless of the positive outcomes.
* B. Relativism: Suggests that morality is subjective and varies by culture. The factory manager's decision is based on objective outcomes, not cultural or subjective ethical norms.
* C. Virtue Ethics: Focuses on the moral character of the decision-maker rather than the outcomes of actions. The manager is making a cost-benefit analysis, not prioritizing virtues like fairness or compassion.
Why Not the Other Theories?Thus, the correct ethical framework that describes the factory manager's decision is D. Consequentialism because it is based on maximizing benefits while accepting potential negative consequences.
* Mill, J. S. (1863). Utilitarianism. London: Parker, Son, and Bourn.
* Bentham, J. (1789). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
* Brey, P. (2000). "Disclosive Computer Ethics." ACM SIGCAS Computers and Society, 30(4), 10-16.
* IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (2019).
References in Ethics in Technology: