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Ethical Issues in Computer Science

CSCI 328, Fall 2013Session 37

Professional Responsibilities

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Negligence

•Negligence is the failure to do something that a reasonable and prudent person would have done.

Example: Drunken security guard.

•Negligence presumes a standard of behavior.

•Members of a profession have certain duties. If they fail to perform them, they are negligent.

Example: Software engineer designing database.If database crashes when sorting, the designer was negligent.

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Responsibilities in ComputingThe responsibilities of computing professionals are not clear.Questions:

•Knowledge and techniques frequently change.•Is it negligent to use 5 year old standards?•How up-to-date must one be to not be considered negligent?

It is difficult to prosecute computer experts for negligence because the standards are continuously changing.

Parallels with Auto and Health industries:•Experts know how to go beyond the standard.•Knowledge is not used because of cost or risk.•One is not derelict for not doing everything possible.•Trade-offs between reliability and risks/costs.

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Guns-for-Hire

Guns for hire:•Sell expertise to the highest bidder.•Use expertise for anything the client wants (if legal and well paid).•Do not care about consequences of what they create.•Similar to agency client-professional relationship.

Arguments in favor of computer experts as guns-for-hire:

Arguments against computer experts as guns-for-hire:

Example: Doctors.

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Caught in the Middle

Computer experts are often caught between being professionals and being employees:

•Employer may pressure them to get things done quickly at low cost.•Expertise may tell them more testing is needed.•They are evaluated by a double standard:

CS standard: Quality, efficiency, elegance.Market place standard: Get things done quickly at low cost.

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Efficacy and Public Trust•Computer experts have efficacy, the ability and capacity to affect the world.

•The efficacy comes from their knowledge and their role in their organization.

•Example: Software engineer designing security for a database of patient records.

•Computer experts should take responsibility for safe and reliable computing.

•The result of unreliable software is public mistrust.

•Computer experts have an interest in aspiring to the features of a profession.