CSC 322.01, Class 18: Professional ethics

Overview

• Preliminaries
  • Notes and news
  • Upcoming work
  • Good things to do
  • Questions
• Introduction/context
• A case study

Preliminaries

News / Etc.

• I am, as always, behind on grading.
• Your mentor will be distributing a survey on good times to help with your projects.
• Rails can be difficult to debug. Your “code thinking” skills will get a lot of workout this semester. (Mine, too.)

Upcoming work

• More readings on professional ethics due next Thursday at 9:00 pm.
• Reports Friday at 5:00 p.m.
• In-class reports Monday.

Good things to do (Academic/Artistic)

Good things to do (Peer)

Good things to do (Misc)

• President White dive competition.
• GHS Basketball

Friday PSA

• You are awesome wonderful people, please take care of yourselves.
• Moderation.

Questions

Introduction/context

• We will be talking about professional ethics in computing
• We try to talk about these issues throughout the curriculum.
  • “This is a way that computing impacts the world; think about the implications of what you do.”
  • CS Table provides one opportunity to think about the role of computers in society
• We need some more formal coverage as well as the informal coverage.
  • Early in the curriculum may not provide enough context
  • In software design, because that’s when ethics really comes into play
  • In 322, because that’s when you’re working with a client
• At least two ways you think about ethics
  • “What are my general responsibilities as a member of society who computes and understands computing?”
  • Computing is a profession; Professions (sometimes) have codes of ethics. We use the ACM Code of Ethics.
• At least two ways to understand ethics
  • “Practical” - A general framework that you practice applying
  • “Theoretical” - Grounded in a deeper framework of ethics
• We will focus more on practical than theoretical approaches
• Process:
  • Read some papers
  • Try to work through some thorny problems
  • Try to ground our work in the code and in simplistic views of ethical frameworks
  • Write something

Quick review: Ethical frameworks

Social contract: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_contract

• You consent to give up rights in exchange for social order.
• Prioritization of social order as highest value.
• Social order is (potentially subjective, based on the society).

Deontology: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deontological_ethics

• You act in according to your duty to “the highest good”.
• E.g., “Be honest”. “Follow orders”.

Consequentialism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consequentialism

• “Ends justify the means”; focus on the consequences, rather than the action itself. Focuses less on rules than on what you accomplish.

Utilitarianism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utilitarianism

• Choose the thing that maximizes utility. Sum the pleasures of everyone and subtract the misery. Maximize well-being.

Virtue ethics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue_ethics

• There are traits that make you a good person. Follow those traits. (Honesty, courage, temperance, modesty, friendliness, …)

Justice as fairness: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Theory_of_Justice

• Provide the greatest amount of liberty without infringing upon the liberty of others.
• Equality of opportunity.
• Focus on the least fortunate.

A case study: Bypassing security mechanisms

A1. Who are the relevant actors in the case? (Someone who plays a role in the case.)

• The company
• The criminal
• The judge
• Law enforcement agencies (the Feds)
• You

A2. Who are the relevant stakeholders in the case? (Some who may be affected by your decision.)

• Users of the software/hardware
• Citizens of the country
• The criminal (and their cohort)
• Other companies (who may be told “Banana made this choice. You should, too.”
• Future judges of cases, who may take this as a precedent. (?)
• Shareholders of our company

A3. What are possible actions or choices to be made?

• Say “No”
• Make the software and give it to the government
• Make the software and give it to no one (proof of concept)
• Make the software and release it to the public (since the government will probalby allow it to be leaked to hackers in any case)
• Choose a very different technical approach; leave the password delay but add some other feature that gives access to the data.
• Distribute the software and an update that magically blocks the update. (Everyone else can update except for the one phone.)
• “I’m sorry, but that is not technically feasible.”
  • Truth
  • Lie

B5. What are the relevant sections of the ACM code of ethics?

B2. What rights of actors and stakeholders might be impacted?