COMP 2903Computing Profession

Codes of EthicsDanny Silver

JSOCS, Acadia University

Computer Technology:A double-edged sword

It has the potential to do wonderful things:• Make routine tasks quick & easy• Save lives• Explore space and the world• Communicate

It has the potential to do terrible things:• Loss of privacy• Theft in ways never before imagined• Stimulate perversity and addition (games, pornography, etc)• Breakdown of complex systems that we rely on

Do Computer Professionals Have Special Responsibilities?

Gotterbarn (1999) believes that because software engineers and their teams are have significant opportunities to:

• Do good or cause harm• Enable others to do good or cause harm• Influence others to do good or cause harm

http://www.acm.org/crossroads/xrds1-4/gotterbarn.html

Gotterbarn

• The development of safety-critical systems is a differentiating factor

• A "safety-critical system" = computer system that can have a direct life-threatening impact: – aircraft and air traffic control systems– mass transportation systems – nuclear reactors missile systems– medical treatment systems. – design of bridges and buildings; – election of water disposal sites;– development of analytical models for medical treatment.

An Example• You are a computer system manager. An employee is out sick and another

employee requests that you copy all files from the sick person’s computer to theirs so that they can do some work.

• What do you do?• Risks: Privacy, Law suit, Loss of time/work by employee making request

– Financial consequences of not making a deadline• Ethical decision can depend on policies and expectations at particular company. • Often require additional information.• Can call sick employee. And if they say yes?? • Request authorization from management. And if they say yes??• In actual case, system manager refused to transfer all files, but agreed to transfer

specific files if given the filenames.

Professional Codes of Ethics

• Many professions have established professional societies, which have adopted codes of conduct:– AMA (American Medical Association) – ABA (American Bar Association).

• Two computing professional societies:– The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)– The Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers –

Computer Society (IEEE-CS)

Isaac Asimov – “Runaround” 1942

His Four Laws of Robotics in priority order:1. A robot may not injure humanity, or, through inaction, allow humanity to

come to harm (added later).2. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a

human being to come to harm. 3. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such

orders would conflict with the First Law.… infamous last words: “I was just following orders”

4. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

Try replacing “robot” with “program”, “system” or “person”

What is Ethics?

• Moral philosophy - concepts of right and wrong behaviour• Metaethics — where do our ethical principles come from?

– metaphysical issues– psychological issues– linguistic issues

• Normative ethics — arrive at moral standards that regulate right and wrong conduct

– deontological theory– consequentialist theory

• Applied ethics — considers specific controversial issues, use normative ethics (and metaethics) to try to resolve the controversy

• In our discussion, we will assume that people are rational and have free choice

Professional Ethics

The professional is a specialist; the products of professionals affect many people.

Ethical rules are not universal, but the tools we use should include:

– Reason, Introspection– Observation of human nature, values and behaviour– An understanding of ethical principles

Ethical behaviours within a profession are based on ethical theory and what is possible using current technology and what is generally accepted practice.

Professional responsibility includes:– Maintaining a level of competence– Learning enough to do a good job– Honouring agreements and contracts made

Question

• Do organizations have ethical status or is it only individuals who should be expected to behave ethically?

ACM Code - Preamble

• Commitment to ethical professional conduct is expected of every member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

• The code of ethics consists of – 24 imperatives formulated as statements of

personal responsibility– Identifies the elements of commitment– Supplemented by a set of Guidelines

Preamble

• Intended to serve as:– Basis for ethical decision making in the

conduct of professional work– basis for judging the merit of a formal

complaint pertaining to violation of professional ethical standards.

• It is understood that any ethical principle may conflict with other ethical principles in specific situations

ACM Code - Outline

Major Sections:1. General Moral Imperatives - fundamental ethical

considerations2. More Specific Professional Responsibilities - conduct

for computing professionals3. Organizational Leadership Imperatives – specific

issues for those in leadership role4. Compliance with the Code – principles for following

the code

1. General Moral Imperatives

1.1 Contribute to society and human well-being. 1.2 Avoid harm to others. 1.3 Be honest and trustworthy. 1.4 Be fair and take action not to discriminate. 1.5 Honor property rights including copyrights and

patent. 1.6 Give proper credit for intellectual property. 1.7 Respect the privacy of others. 1.8 Honor confidentiality.

2. More Specific Professional Responsibilities

As an ACM computing professional I will .... • 2.1 Strive to achieve the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in

both the process and products of professional work. • 2.2 Acquire and maintain professional competence. • 2.3 Know and respect existing laws pertaining to professional work. • 2.4 Accept and provide appropriate professional review. • 2.5 Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer

systems and their impacts, including analysis of possible risks. • 2.6 Honor contracts, agreements, and assigned responsibilities. • 2.7 Improve public understanding of computing and its

consequences. • 2.8 Access computing and communication resources only when

authorized to do so.

3. Organizational Leadership Imperatives

BACKGROUND NOTE: This section draws extensively from the draft of IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) Code of Ethics, especially its sections on organizational ethics and international concerns. The ethical obligations of organizations tend to be neglected in most codes of professional conduct, perhaps because these codes are written from the perspective of the individual member. This dilemma is addressed by stating these imperatives from the perspective of the organizational leader. In this context "leader" is viewed as any organizational member who has leadership or educational responsibilities. These imperatives generally may apply to organizations as well as their leaders. In this context "organizations" are corporations, government agencies, and other "employers," as well as volunteer professional organizations. (emphasis added)

Progress towards a World-Wide Code of Conductby John A. N. Lee and Jacques Berleurhttp://ei.cs.vt.edu/~cs3604/lib/WorldCodes/Gatlinburg.html

3. Organizational Leadership Imperatives

As an ACM member and an organizational leader, I will .... • 3.1 Articulate social responsibilities of members of an organizational unit

and encourage full acceptance of those responsibilities. • 3.2 Manage personnel and resources to design and build information

systems that enhance the quality of working life. • 3.3 Acknowledge and support proper and authorized uses of an

organization's computing and communication resources. • 3.4 Ensure that users and those who will be affected by a system have

their needs clearly articulated during the assessment and design of requirements; later the system must be validated to meet requirements.

• 3.5 Articulate and support policies that protect the dignity of users and others affected by a computing system.

• 3.6 Create opportunities for members of the organization to learn the principles and limitations of computer systems.

4. Compliance with the Code

As an ACM member I will .... • 4.1 Uphold and promote the principles of this

Code.

• 4.2 Treat violations of this code as inconsistent with membership in the ACM

An approach for ethical analysis (Baase)

1. Identify all people and organizations affected (stakeholders)2. List all possible actions3. Consider impact of each action on stakeholders

1. Consequences2. Risks3. Benefits4. Harms5. Costs

4. Identify responsibilities of decision makers & rights of stakeholders5. Decide which choices are ethically wrong, ethically obligatory,

acceptable but not required6. If there are several ethically acceptable options, consider ethical

merits of each

Example

• You work for one of the large credit card companies. Someone asks you to get a copy of a person’s file. He will pay you $1000.

• What do you do?– Who are the stakeholders?– What alternative actions are open to you?– Which are ethically prohibited or obligatory?

A variant of the scenario:• You know another employee who sells files with people’s

personal information.• What do you do?

Example

• You are the manager of a university computer system that provides computer accounts and email facilities to students. You discover that a handful of students have been spamming the entire class and sending junk email to all of the email aliases.

• You are unable to find out exactly who these students are as they are using a facility outside the university and posting anonymously.

• What do you do?

IEEE Code of Ethics

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

• http://www.ieee.org/web/aboutus/home/index.html

IEEE Code of Ethics1. To accept responsibility in making engineering decisions

consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;

2. To avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;

3. To be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;

4. To reject bribery in all its forms;5. To improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate

application, and potential consequences;

IEEE Code of Ethics (continued)6. To maintain and improve our technical competence and to

undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations;

7. To seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;

8. To treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin;

9. To avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action;

10. To assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics.

Criticisms of Ethical Codes• Ladd (1995) argues that ethical codes rest on a series of

confusions that are both "intellectual and moral."

• His argument has three main points. – First, ethics is basically an "open-ended, reflective,

and critical intellectual activity."– Second, codes introduce confusions with respect

to micro-ethics vs. macro-ethics. – Third, giving codes a disciplinary function makes

them more like legal than ethical rules.

In Defense of Professional Codes • Gotterbarn argues that we need to distinguish

between:

– codes of ethics– codes of conduct– codes of practice

In Defense of Professional Codes (Continued)

• Codes of ethics are "aspirational," because they often serve as mission statements for the profession and thus can provide vision and objectives.

• Codes of conduct are oriented more toward the professional and the professional's attitude and behavior.

• Codes of practice relate to operational activities within a profession.

Purpose of Professional Codes

• Professional codes of ethics are often designed to motivate members of an association to behave in certain ways.

• Four primary functions of codes are to:– inspire– guide – educate – discipline the members.

Table 4-1: Some Strengths and Weaknesses of Professional CodesCodes inspire the members of a profession to behave ethically.

Directives included in many codes tend to be too general and too vague.

Codes guide the members of a profession in ethical choices.

Codes are not always helpful when two or more directives conflict.

Codes educate the members of a profession about their professional obligations.

A professional code’s directives are never complete or exhaustive.

Codes discipline members when they violate one or more of the code’s directives.

Codes are ineffective (have no “teeth”) in disciplinary matters.

Codes “sensitize” members of a profession to ethical issues and alert them to ethical aspects they otherwise might overlook.

Codes do not help us distinguish between micro-ethics issues and macro-ethics issues.

Codes inform the public about the nature and roles of the profession.

Directives in codes are sometimes inconsistent with one another.

Codes enhance the profession in the eyes of the public.

Codes can be self-serving for the profession.

Strengths Weaknesses

Conflicts of Professional Responsibility: Employee Loyalty

and Whistle-blowing • What exactly is employee loyalty? • Do employees and employers have a special obligation of

loyalty to each other? • Should loyalty to one’s employer ever preclude an

employee’s "blowing the whistle" in critical situations? • In which cases can whistle-blowing be justified?

Do Employees Have a Special Obligation to Employers?

• Some believe we have a prima facie obligation of loyalty in employment contexts.

• In other words, all things being equal, an employee should be loyal to his or her employer and visa versa.

Does employee loyalty still make sense in the context of a large computer corporation?

• Duska (1991) argues that in employment contexts, loyalty only arises in special relationships based on a notion that he calls "mutual enrichment."

• So in relationships in which parties are pursuing their self-interests, the notion of loyalty would not be applicable.