Legal, moral, ethical and
cultural implications
By Elementrix
What we need to know
7.1.1Computer Ethics
-A set of principles set out to regulate the use of
computers.
7.1.1
● Three factors are considered:
● 1. Intellectual property rights (copying software without the permission of the owner)
● 2. Privacy issues (hacking or any illegal access to another person’s personal data)
● 3. Effects of computers on society.
● Internet use has led to plagiarism
7.1.2 Professional ethical bodies
There are a number of professional bodies representing individuals
working the fields of computing and information technology that have
developed their own code of conducts, to which members are expected to
adhere.
The British Computer Society(BCS)
● BCS is a professional body set up in the UK, initially to represent the rights and ethical
practices of all professionals working in the IT and computing industries.
● The BCS covers four main areas:
1.The Public Interest
2.Professional Competence and Integrity
3.Duty to Relevant Authority
4.Duty to the Profession
THE INSTITUTE OF
ELECTRICAL AND
ELECTRONIC ENGINEERS
● raising awareness of ethical issues
● promoting ethical behaviour among professionals working in
the electronics industry
● ensuring engineers and scientists respect the need for
ethical behaviour.
● the members of the IEEE, recognised the importance of IEEE
technology in affecting the quality of life throughout the
world, and in accepting a personal obligation to the members
and the communities they served. They committed
themselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct
IEEE CODE OF ETHICS
The members of the IEEE, recognised the importance of IEEE technology in affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal obligation to
our profession, its members, and the communities we serve, do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:
1. to hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public, to strive to comply with ethical design and sustainable development practices, and to disclose
promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;
2. to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist;
3. to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;
4. to reject bribery in all its forms;
5. to improve the understanding by individuals and society of the capabilities and societal implications of conventional and emerging technologies, including
intelligent systems;
6. to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full
disclosure of pertinent limitations;
7. to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;
8. to treat fairly all persons and to not engage in acts of discrimination based on race, religion, gender, disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender
identity, or gender expression;
9. to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action; to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional
development and to support them in following this code of ethics.
ACM/IEEE Engineering
code of conduct
● The Association for Computer Machinery(ACM) and the Institute of
Electrical And Electronics Engineer (IEEE) are based in the USA
but have an influence globally.
● Consider the ethics they have defined, but codes of practice in
other countries are important too.
● They stress that the public interest is the central focus for the
code and the code presents a set of fundamental principals
● They say a professional should make an ethical judgement based
on thoughtful consideration of these fundamental principals.
● The code they talk about has 8 principles and each principle is
expanded into clauses
● Each clause refers to a specific aspect that should be considered
in the context of that principle.
Principles and Guidelines
The software engineering code of ethics is a set of guidelines and principles that help software engineers to make ethical decisions
while developing software. Its application ensures that software products are developed with integrity, professionalism, and
respect for the end-users.
These are the following:
1. PUBLIC – Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest (contains 8 sub-clauses).
2. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER – Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer
consistent with the public interest (contains 9 sub-clauses).
3. PRODUCT – Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional
standards possible (contains 15 sub-clauses).
4. JUDGEMENT – Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgement (contains 6 sub-
clauses).
5. MANAGEMENT – Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the
management of software development and maintenance (contains 12 sub-clauses).
6. PROFESSION – Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the public
interest (contains 13 sub-clauses).
7. COLLEAGUES – Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues (contains 8 sub-clauses).
8. SELF – Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice of their profession and shall promote an
Applications
There are 80 clauses for those principals. To include all of them would be wasteful and little would be gained
Here is a scenario where some of the clauses are used:
John is a software engineer working on a new project for a healthcare company. The project involves developing software that will be
used by doctors and nurses to manage patient records and monitor their health. As he works on the project, John encounters a problem:
the software is generating false alarms for patient vital signs, which could cause unnecessary panic and alarm among medical staff.
To address this issue, John consults the software engineering code of ethics. Specifically, he looks at clause 1.06, which states that
software engineers should "ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible." He
also considers clause 4.04, which states that software engineers should "disclose to appropriate persons or authorities any actual or
potential danger to the user, the public, or the environment."
In light of these clauses, John decides to inform his project manager and the healthcare company's IT department about the false
alarms. He works with them to develop a solution that will ensure the software generates accurate alerts, in accordance with the
highest professional standards.
By applying the software engineering code of ethics in this scenario, John is able to ensure that the software he develops is safe and
effective for end-users, in this case, doctors and nurses.
Questions
