Scribd
Upload
180 views19 pages

LECTURE 6 Computing Professionals and Ethics

Computing professionals have an obligation to act ethically due to the significant impact of technology on society. Major organizations like ACM and IEEE have established codes of ethics for computing professionals to uphold values of honesty, competence, privacy protection, avoiding harm, and more. Scenarios involving illegal software use, vaporware tactics, failing to report critical bugs, and sharing trade secrets without permission would generally be considered unethical violations of these codes.

Uploaded by

肚子痛
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
180 views19 pages

LECTURE 6 Computing Professionals and Ethics

Computing professionals have an obligation to act ethically due to the significant impact of technology on society. Major organizations like ACM and IEEE have established codes of ethics for computing professionals to uphold values of honesty, competence, privacy protection, avoiding harm, and more. Scenarios involving illegal software use, vaporware tactics, failing to report critical bugs, and sharing trade secrets without permission would generally be considered unethical violations of these codes.

Uploaded by

肚子痛
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 19

LECTURE 6

COMPUTING PROFESSIONALS AND


ETHICS

1
Objectives

• To describe computing professionals.


• To explain ethics in computing profession.

2
Why should we, as computing professionals, be
interested in studying the social implications of
our creations?
• Computing technology has changed our way of life like no
other technology

• We need to study how it has done it to highlight the mistakes


and success stories of the past

• We need to do it so that we can learn from them and select


our future direction accordingly
3
Who is a computing professional?
• Professionals involved in the development and/or
maintenance of SW and/or computer HW

• Computer scientists, software engineers, computer


engineers, and some of the telecom engineers are generally
classified as computing professionals

4
Responsibilities of a
Professional
• As a professional, you advertise your expertise and therefore
have an obligation to provide it.
• The customers rely on the knowledge, expertise, and most
importantly the honesty.
• The products of professionals generally affect a large number
of people.
• Dishonesty, carelessness or incompetence could negatively
affect all of them.
• A computer professionals work could potentially affect the life,
health, and finances of a client.
Responsibilities of a Professional
(cont.)

• Computer professionals not only have


responsibilities towards their direct customers, but
also the general public.
• Thinking about potential risks
• Taking action to correct these risks
• Responsibilities for noncomputer professionals:
• Knowing/learning enough about the system to
understand potential problems
Ethics
• Ethics is a collection of heuristics that, when followed,
improves our way of life

• I find them wonderful as they simplify my life

• For example, if you believe in the heuristic always tell the


truth, your life becomes much simpler

• Now, you don’t have to think before you make every


statement that you make “Shall I tell the truth, or lie?”
7
What is professional ethics?

• Professional ethics cover the personal, organizational and


corporate standards that are expected of professionals.
-Includes issues involving relationships or
responsibilities with:
• Employees, employers, and other people who use
the products or services.
• “Computer Ethics” includes social, political, and personal
issues.
Professional Ethics
• Professional ethics are a category of ethics, and here we
discus the professional ethics relevant to computing

• Awareness of professional ethics is gaining importance


with time as the decision-making process in the work place
keeps on increasing in complexity

• The professional ethics provide a way of simplifying that


decision making process
9
Special Aspects of Professional
Ethics
• Professional ethics have several characteristics that differ
from general ethics.
• A professional is expected to be:
• Expert in a field that many people know little about
• Competent and skillful
• Keep up-to-date
• Constantly research
• Act in an ethical way
• Being a professional also creates responsibilities you must
uphold.
Professionals Codes of Ethics
• These codes provide a general statement of ethical values in the profession reminders
about specific professional responsibilities guidance for new/young members of the
profession
• There are several organizations for the range of professions included in the general term
“computer professional.” The main ones are the ACM and the IEEE Computer Society.
• They developed the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice
(adopted jointly by the ACM and IEEE CS) and the ACM Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct.
• The codes emphasize the basic ethical values of honesty and fairness.
• They cover many aspects of professional behavior, including the responsibility to
respect confidentiality, maintain professional competence, be aware of relevant laws,
and honor contracts and agreements.
• They stress the responsibility to respect and protect privacy, to avoid harm to others, and
to respect property rights. 11
Professionals Codes of Ethics
• Codes of two main computer professional orgs:
• ACM code of ethics and professional conduct
• ACM: Association of Computer Machinery
• Software engineering (SE) code of ethics and professional practice
• IEEE-CS: Inst. for Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Computer Society

• There are several organizations for the range of professions included in the general term
“computer professional.” The main ones are the ACM and the IEEE Computer Society.
• They developed the Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice
(adopted jointly by the ACM and IEEE CS) and the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional
Conduct. The codes emphasize the basic ethical values of honesty and fairness.
• They cover many aspects of professional behavior, including the responsibility to respect
confidentiality, maintain professional competence, be aware of relevant laws, and honor
contracts and agreements.
• They stress the responsibility to respect and protect privacy, to avoid harm to others, and
to respect property rights 12
Group Discussion

• In a group of 2 persons, discuss the Scenario 1, 2,


and 3.
• Relate also these situation with the ACM or IEEE
code of ethics and professional conduct.
• Then share your finding in the class:

13
Situation 1: Illegal Use
• A person is using a piece of SW without the author’s
permission and says: “I’m not really using it, I’m just
evaluating it before I make a firm decision on buying”

• That person is “evaluating” that piece of SW for 13 months


now!

• Is the conduct of that person ethical?


14
Situation 2: Vaporware (1)

• A small company announces a new SW product

• A larger, more established competitor hears about that


product, and starts a whispering campaign that she is also
working on a similar product that will be released soon

• Potential customers decide to wait for the product instead of


making the more riskier purchase from the smaller company
15
Situation 2: Vaporware (2)

• The new company’s sales become sluggish, and it fails to


earn back the investment that it has put into developing that
new product. That results in her closure

• The larger company never releases the promised product

• Is the conduct of that large company unethical or a


reasonable business tactic?

16
Situation 3: Whistle Blower
• SW bugs, at times, have catastrophic consequences

• While Bhola sahib was working for a contractor at NASA,


he found such a bug and reported it to his boss, Murphy
sahib, who ordered him to never mention it to any one, or
he will get fired

• Bhola sahib got scared, and did as he was told

• Did Bhola sahib’s behave in an ethical manner? Would


you hire him in your company?
17
Situation 4: Trade Secrets
• Bhola sahib was working at BholiSoft

• He leaves it to work for a competitor, SuperSoft

• Even before starting at SuperSoft, he already has divulged


many of the trade secrets of BholiSoft during his interviews
at SuperSoft, giving them an advantage over BholiSoft

• Do you agree with Bhola Sahib’s ethics? Would you hire


him in your company? 18
THE END

19

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy