Ethics

1. Ethics

2. What is ethics? • The science of conduct: • science: rational inquiry to gain knowledge • conduct: behavior when voluntary choice is made because of belief that it right. • Ethicists study how people ought to behave • Moralists try to make people behave better

3. What is ethics? • The systematic inquiring into human conduct with the purpose of discovering the rules that ought to govern actions. • Deontological: what is right • Teleological: what is good

4. What is ethics? • Ethics is the study of morality. • Tavani, 2004

5. What is morality? • A system of rules for guiding human conduct and principles for evaluating those rules. • Tavani 2004) • (Not a universally accepted definition.)

6. Moral System Rules of conduct Principles of evaluation (Standards to justify rules of conduct) Microlevel (individuals) Macrolevel social policies Privacy should be respected Do not steal

7. Problem: People disagree on solutions to moral issues

8. Problem: People disagree on solutions to moral issues • But many experts disagree on key issues in their fields. No need to stop the discussion. • People do agree on many moral issues. • Need to recognize that disagreements could be about • principles • facts • eg: stealing is wrong. Is copying over the internet stealing?

9. Problem: Who am I to judge others?

10. Problem: Who am I to judge others? • Need to distinguish between judging to evaluate and judging to condemn • We routinely evaluate people: who fixes your car? who do you buy groceries from? • Sometimes, we are morally obligated to make judgments • child abuse • human rights abuse

11. Problem: Morality is a private matter

12. Problem: Morality is a private matter • Morality is a public system • if not, then it must be OK for me to steal from you if I think it is OK for me to steal from you • Don’t confuse moral choice with personal preference

13. Problem: Morality is a matter for individual cultures to decide

14. Problem: Morality is a matter for individual cultures to decide • Does it follow that a culture can devise any moral scheme so long as the majority of people in that culture approve? • What if the majority says it’s OK to use chemical weapons (or airplanes) to attack us?

15. Views • Utilitarian: the goodness of the consequence determines the rightness of the action • Act Utilitarianism: An act, X, is permissible if the consequences produced by doing X result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people affected by X. • Rule Utilitarianism: An act, X, is morally permissible if the consequences of following the general rule Y of which X is an instance, would bring about the greatest good for the greatest number.

16. Views • Duty: (Kant) the goodness of the motives determine the rightness of the action • Each individual has the same moral worth, regardless of wealth, intelligence, or circumstance • Each principle is universally binding, without exception, for all human beings

17. Views • Hedonism: the sole good in life is pleasure

18. Views • Contract-based (Hobbs) • We surrender some freedoms to a sovereign in return for the benefits of the rule of law that protect individuals from being harmed by others

19. Logical Arguments • is a form of reasoning • is comprised of statements or assertions • aims at establishing a conclusion based on evidence provided in the claims

20. Fallacy • An error in reasoning • (not a false statement)

21. Fallacies • ad hominem argument: attack person rather than substance of argument • Slippery Slope: “X can be abused, so we must not allow X.” • Appeal to Authority: “X is an authority, and X said Z, therefore Z.” • post hoc ergo propter hoc (False Cause Argument) “since X preceded Y, X caused Y”

22. Fallacies • Fallacy of composition/division: confusing the whole for the parts. • “X is the best since it contains the best parts” • “Since X is the highest-rated, every part of X must be the highest rated” • Ambiguity: “Computers have memory. Humans use memory to recall their childhoods. Therefore computers can recall their childhoods.”

23. Fallacies • Argumentum ad populum: “Two million Elvis-believers can’t be wrong.” • Many/Any Fallacy: “Many X are Y, therefore all X are Y.” • Virtuality Fallacy: “X exists in cyberspace. Cyberspace is virtual. Therefore X (or its effect) is not real.”

24. What is a Profession?

25. What is a Profession? • Calling in which special knowledge and skills are used in the service of mankind • Elements (Greenwood 91) • systematic theory • authority • community sanction • ethical codes • culture

26. Who is a professional?

27. Who is a professional? • One who recognizes his/her obligations to society by living up to accepted codes of conduct

28. What is the purpose of professional codes? • Inspire, educate, guide, and discipline members • must be broad enough to cover ethical conflicts, and specific enough to guide professionals

29. Software Engineers • Ought to uphold normal standards of honesty and integrity • Ought to uphold the law • Ought to uphold the reputation of the profession

30. Standards of behavior not bounded by law • Professional responsibility • Confidentiality • Competence • Intellectual property rights • Computer misuse

31. Standards of behavior not bounded by law • Professional responsibility • Confidentiality • Respect the confidentiality of employers and clients with or without signed agreement • Competence • Intellectual property rights • Computer misuse

32. Standards of behavior not bounded by law • Professional responsibility • Confidentiality • Competence • Engineers should not misrepresent their level of competence • Intellectual property rights • Computer misuse

33. Standards of behavior not bounded by law • Professional responsibility • Confidentiality • Competence • Intellectual property rights • Engineers should be aware of laws governing use of intellectual property and protect the rights of employers, clients, and other engineers • Computer misuse

34. Standards of behavior not bounded by law • Professional responsibility • Confidentiality • Competence • Intellectual property rights • Computer misuse • Engineers should not use technical skills to misuse computers belonging to others (e.g. game playing at work or dissemination of viruses)

35. Three levels of obligations • Level 1: Humanity • Level 2: Professionalism • Level 3: Each Profession

36. Three levels of obligations • Level 1: Humanity • Integrity • Justice • Level 2: Professionalism • Level 3: Each Profession

37. Three levels of obligations • Level 1: Humanity • Level 2: Professionalism • Fairness, giving credit • Level 3: Each Profession

38. Three levels of obligations • Level 1: Humanity • Level 2: Professionalism • Level 3: Each Profession • Understand specifications • Ensure adequate testing

39. Software Engineering Code of Ethics • Purpose: • A standard for practicing engineering • Documents ethical and professional responsibilities of software engineers • Adopted by IEEE and ACM • Developed by international task force including industry, academics, military, and government

40. Standard • Describes ethical and professional obligations against which peers, the public, and legal bodies can measure a software developer’s behavior.

41. Why our own code? • Most professionals have profession-specific codes of ethics. • Professionals have great impact on the well-being of others. • They have a higher standard of conduct than non-professionals.

42. Eight Principles of Responsibility • Public • Client and employer • Product • Judgment • Management • Profession • Colleagues • Self

43. Public • Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest.

44. Public • What is the public interest? • How do we know the public interest?

45. Client and employer • Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interest of their clients and employer, consistent with the public interest.

46. Client and employer • Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interest of their clients and employer, consistent with the public interest. • What does that mean? • What about making bombs? • Ethical? Public interest?

47. Product • Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible.

48. Product • Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible. • What are the professional standards? Does that mean “zero defects”?

49. Judgment • Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment.

50. Judgment • Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment. • If your boss comes in and says “we have to ship the pacemakers next week, cut the testing cycle.” what do you do?