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Ethics for the Information Age Chapter 9 – Professional Ethics William H. Bowers – [email protected] Topics Introduction Code of Ethics Analysis of the Code Virtue Ethics – Strengths of Virtue Ethics – Weakness of Virtue Ethics Whistle Blowing William H. Bowers – [email protected] Introduction Professions – Require high level of education and experience – Moral choices can have wide impact on society Whistle blowing William H. Bowers – [email protected] Software Engineering No requirements for certification, licensing or education Society is dependent on quality of work Code of ethics can help guide practitioners William H. Bowers – [email protected] Code of Ethics Adopted by ACM and IEEE Based on eight general principles Each principle is defined by clauses William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 1: Public Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest 1.03 Approve software that does not diminish quality of life or privacy or harms the environment William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 1: Public 1.04 Disclose to appropriate persons actual or potential dangers associated with software 1.07 Consider issues of physical disabilities, economic disadvantage and other factors that can diminish access to the benefits of the software William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 2: Client and Employer 2.01 Be honest about limitations in education or experience 2.02 Not knowingly use software that was obtained unethically or illegally 2.05 Maintain confidentiality of client's information William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 2: Client and Employer 2.06 Report issues of concern to the client 2.08 Accept no outside work detrimental to their primary employer William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 3: Product 3.01 Insure that client is aware of tradeoffs in design and scheduling 3.03 Identify, define and address ethical, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues related to the project William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 3: Product 3.09 Ensure realistic estimates of cost, scheduling, personnel, quality and outcomes 3.10 Ensure adequate testing, debugging and review of products William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 4: Judgment 4.01 Temper technical judgments with social values 4.02 Maintain professional objectivity in evaluations of software William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 4: Judgment 4.04 Maintain ethical financial practices 4.05 Disclose conflicts of interest that can not be avoided William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 5: Management 5.01 Ensure good management, including risk management 5.12 Not punish anyone for raising ethical concerns William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 6: Profession 6.01 Help develop an organizational environment favorable to acting ethically 6.05 Not promote self interest over the profession, client or employer William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 6: Profession 6.07 Accurately state the characteristics of the software 6.08 Take responsibility for detecting, reporting and correcting errors in software or documentation William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 7: Colleagues 7.03 Credit fully the work of others 7.04 Review others' work objectively and fairly 7.05 Give a fair hearing to colleague's opinions, concerns or complaints William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 8: Self 8.02 Further your ability to create good software 8.03 Improve your documentation skills William H. Bowers – [email protected] Principle 8: Self 8.07 Not give unfair treatment to anyone 8.08 Not influence others to act unethically William H. Bowers – [email protected] Analysis of the Code Preamble – States that there is no mechanical process – Even two people using the same philosophy can reach different conclusions – The code is a guide, not the law William H. Bowers – [email protected] Virtue Ethics Aristotle distinguishes between intellectual and moral virtues Intellectual virtues are learned Moral virtues come through repetition of actions Deriving pleasure from a virtuous act shows that you have acquired that virtue William H. Bowers – [email protected] Strengths of Virtue Ethics Provides motivation for good behavior Utilitarian and Kantian may do the right thing through cold, analytical reasoning Virtue ethics stress the importance of those good actions William H. Bowers – [email protected] Strengths of Virtue Ethics Kant, utilitarianism and social contract require us to treat all people as equals These moral evaluations can be difficult to accept William H. Bowers – [email protected] Strengths of Virtue Ethics Virtue ethics reject the notion that every act must produce the maximum benefit for people overall Some virtues allow partiality towards friends and family Others extend equally to all William H. Bowers – [email protected] Weakness of Virtue Ethics Can be difficult to determine the right course of action In the case of three fires, one near a wealthy mountain resort, one near a poor town of 10,000 and one near a middle class suburb If we can only extinguish two, which will they be? William H. Bowers – [email protected] Virtue Ethics Complements Other Theories Makes it possible to consider rationale as well as benefit or harm of actions In the problem of moral luck, bad things can happen from well intentioned actions Complementation takes into account intent William H. Bowers – [email protected] Alternative List of Fundamental Principles Be impartial Disclose information that others ought to know Respect the rights of others Treat others justly Take responsibility for your own actions and inactions William H. Bowers – [email protected] Alternative List of Fundamental Principles Take responsibility for the actions of those you supervise Maintain your integrity Continually improve your abilities Share your knowledge, expertise and values William H. Bowers – [email protected] Whistle Blowing “Someone who breaks ranks with an organization in order to make an unauthorized disclosure of information about a harmful situation after attempts to report the concerns through authorized organizational channels have been ignored or rebuffed.” William H. Bowers – [email protected] Whistleblowers Frequently are fired If not, loose all chances of promotion Ostracized Serve the public good Are protected by the False Claims Act and the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 William H. Bowers – [email protected] False Claims Act First enacted in 1863 In response to fraud perpetrated by civilian suppliers during the Civil War William H. Bowers – [email protected] False Claims Act Allows whistleblower to sue, on behalf of the Government a person or company for submitting false claims to the Government If successful, the whistleblower receives half of the settlement William H. Bowers – [email protected] False Claims Act Amended in 1943 Reduced share of settlement Limited evidence of information Caused law to fall into disuse William H. Bowers – [email protected] Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 Provides safeguards for current and former Federal employees Whistleblowers can appeal to the US Merit Systems Protection Board William H. Bowers – [email protected] Space Shuttle Challenger 28 January 1986 – 78 seconds into liftoff, explosion destroyed the spacecraft, killing all aboard Caused by leaks from booster rocket Roger Boisjoly, engineer in charge of O-ring inspection reported failures William H. Bowers – [email protected] Space Shuttle Challenger NASA paid little attention to report Boisjoly wrote to VP of engineering to indicate problem and lack of NASA response Problem still not fixed William H. Bowers – [email protected] Space Shuttle Challenger Day before launch, a group of Morton Thiokol engineers recommended that the launch be cancelled due to low temperatures Under NASA pressure, recommendation changed to launch William H. Bowers – [email protected] Space Shuttle Challenger Presidential commission appointed to investigate Boisjoly disobeyed company directions and told of his objections and efforts Isolated by company a later quit William H. Bowers – [email protected] Morality of Whistleblowing We will assume altruistic motives Whistleblowers cause harm – Disloyal to company – Damage reputations – Generate bad publicity – Management, not employees make decisions William H. Bowers – [email protected] Morality of Whistleblowing Sign of organization failure – People become suspicious of each other, eroding team spirit – Manager’s careers can be ruined – Can be avoided through absolute moral rules William H. Bowers – [email protected] Whistleblowing as a Moral Duty Will problem result in serious and considerable harm to the public? Have you told your manager? Have you tried all internal paths? Have you documented the problem? Are you reasonably sure that public exposure will prevent the harm? William H. Bowers – [email protected] Whistleblowing as a Moral Duty Is there a moral requirement to be a whistleblower? Role responsibility Causal responsibility Legal responsibility Moral responsibility William H. Bowers – [email protected] Questions & Discussion William H. Bowers – [email protected]
