Reading00: Why ethics in computer science?

Maggie
Maggie
Aug 25, 2017 · 3 min read

Why study ethics in the context of computer science & engineering?

As software engineers, we are obligated to ensure that our code produces a solution that is as correct as possible. With computer science having control over so much of society and only increasing that realm of influence, it is becoming more important to understand the impact that just a few lines of code or even a single line of code could have.

For example, in the article “The code I’m still ashamed of”, the author discusses how he was asked to essentially rig a quiz so that no matter what the user (young teenage girls) put in as their medical history and answers to the quiz questions, the quiz would always return the same answer: buy the company’s drug. It turns out that this drug had depressive side effects and the developer later learned of a case where a girl had committed suicide after taking the drug. One of the insights he provides in light of this incident is as follows:

As developers, we are often one of the last lines of defense against potentially dangerous and unethical practices.

I found this statement particularly powerful, especially considering I enjoy working on the frontend of projects. It isn’t very difficult at all for the frontend of an application to always return a required result that someone may unethically specify. It’s extremely easy to code a deceitful user interface that a user may trust, but may be very incorrect. It’s also not that difficult to unintentionally make a mistake on a piece of code. Stories like this make me realize how important it is to spend time testing. Test. Test. And test again. Without testing software features completely, developers can’t be confident that the code they’ve produced is correct.

It’s critical to learn how to take moral responsibility and write ethical, correct code at a college age when students haven’t yet entered the industry. A quote from a Spider Man clip may best explain the reason that students should learn how to be responsible in the industry at this time in their lives:

These are the years a man changes into the man he’s going to become.

The college years are very formative years and it is key for students to have a strong foundation in ethical values before entering the professional workforce. In this way, when an ethical or moral dilemma inevitably crops up in someone’s professional life, they may remember how to best approach it and handle it. As Uncle Ben says in the clip:

With great power comes great responsibility.

Another reason to study ethics in the context of computer science includes that developers should be made aware of the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct so that they can follow these rules in their day to day job. I found it surprising that the original idea of a code of conduct for developers consisted mostly of devising rules around their professional interactions with other developers. According to the NAE publication “Engineering Ethics: The Conversation without End”, it seems that ethics has transformed over the years, now that some of the things that were previously ethical have been since deemed illegal. Besides considering the illegality of certain actions that developers could take, the article discusses the implications unethical code can have on product safety. It is clear that the issue of ethics in the context of computer science is extremely multi faceted and one worth studying.

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    Maggie

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    Maggie