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Rita van Haren
Stacie Bernasconi
Lance Lameyse
Haley Nicholson 
Kylie McCabe
Jennifer Hernandez
Grant St. MartinWin18_Phil302 Cyberethics’s Updates
Lesson 8: Political Action and Computer Professionals
Module 5 Lesson 8: Political Action and Computer Professionals
Problems with codes of behavior and rules based ethical systems
In the last lesson we looked at the state of the art in codes of ethics for computing professionals. We saw that codes of behavior have a long tradition and that computing professionals have continued this practice and devised a number of codes to guide their own profession. The usefulness of codes of ethics is not something that there is universal agreement on. It is a serious question as to whether these codes work or not. It might just be the case that workers may look over them once when they are newly hired and then never refer to them again. Or that even if they know the codes, there is nothing to enforce them and people may violate them whenever it serves their interests without consequence. In this lesson we will read some critiques of these codes and then look at one way we might address the criticisms.
Let’s start by reading Are Codes of Ethics Useful? Then look at Criticisms of a Code of Ethics. After that please read, “Commentary on the ‘Ten Commandments for Computer Ethics’ by N. Ben Fairweather for a critique of short codes of ethics. Many codes of ethics have a distict cultural flavor and may take some things as granted that people from other cultures may find problematic. For one example of that let’s read “A Scandinavian View on ACM’s Code of Ethics.”
Embedded Ethics Design
One of the things we begin to see from these criticisms is that even well-crafted codes of ethics cannot be the entire solution when we are trying to create more ethical outcomes in our use of information technologies. While codes of ethics are one ingredient for building an ethical workplace in the information technology profession, we also have to think about how more nuanced ethical decisions are going to be made during the design phase of a new information technology. There are many examples of what happens when we ignore ethics in the design of products. Many times the results are highly damaging to the corporation that chose to cut when it comes to ethics.
A prime example of this can be found in the famous Ford Pinto case: THE FORD PINTO CASE: THE VALUATION OF LIFE AS IT APPLIES TO THE NEGLIGENCE-EFFICIENCY ARGUMENT, by Christopher Leggett, Law & Valuation. As you can see from the case study, Ford was aware of the danger inherent in the design of the Ford Pinto that would likely result in the burn deaths of drives and passengers of the car in certain rear end collisions. The company did a cost benefit analysis and determined that the benefit of eliminating the estimated 180 burn deaths, 180 serious burn injuries and the loss of 2100 burned vehicles at accost of $49.5 million was offset by the cost of fixing the problem which would require adding an $11 part to every car and truck that Ford made, which would cost $137 million. The company decided on not installing the part to save money and just pay out to the victims as they happened. This decision makes good economic sense when just looked at as a dollars and cents problem. However, when the drivers and passengers of rear-ended Ford Pintos started being burned alive and the survivors suffering horrible disfiguring burns, lawsuits ensued. Ford’s cost benefit analysis eventually became public and the cold calculation of it all enraged jurors who were morally offended by it which caused them to award massive damages to the plaintiffs in the case with $125 million suffered in damages alone, not to mention having to recall all their vehicles and fix the exploding gas tank problem. Ford’s calculations were wrong due to not taking into account the potential moral outrage and loss of public opinion they would suffer for making this choice. The people making this decision seem to have been completely morally and ethically blind, common ethical values made no appearance in their thought process.
Information technology is not often safety critical in nature and people do not directly die from software crashes, but IT corporations still make many design decisions that seem obviously unethical in retrospect and suffer from the otherwise easily avoided loss of public opinion and punitive lawsuit damages as a result. An interesting example of this is the Facebook Beacon case. In November of 2007 Facebook launched the Beacon service on their social network platform. Beacon was a piece of software that could track the user’s buying activities in third party websites and any buying decisions made by the user would be posted to the user’s newsfeed, even if they were not of Facebook at the time and without their knowledge or permission from the Facebook user. By the end of November angry Facebook users cause the company to allow users to opt-out of Beacon. By August of 2008 a class action lawsuit was filed and by 2009 Beacon was shut down entirely and Facebook paid $41 million dollars in a settlement to the plaintiffs of the lawsuit. It would not have been too difficult to see that Beacon was a breach of trust between Facebook and its users and that there was serious privacy issues at stake. If the designers of Beacon had thought about the ethics of the situation, they could have saved their company millions of dollars and lost public opinion. They might have even been able to design a Beacon that honored the privacy of its users in a way that was palatable to them and the program might still be successful and profitable today.
The best way to keep these problems from occurring is for corporations to take ethics seriously as a necessary part of the design process and embed it deeply in the teams of people working on these products. The following reading is an example of how this might be done in the field of robotics, but it applies equally well to many different IT endeavors. Please read, “Applied Professional Ethics for the Reluctant Roboticist,” by John P. Sullins.
Political Action, IT professionals and the Electronic Frontier Foundation
There will be times when codes of ethics and ethical designers will not be enough either. This can happen when IT companies are forced to do things they might not otherwise do by government agencies that have the power to coerce their behavior. Or it just might be the case that the general public is not aware of their own interests when it comes to IT policy due to the fact that the technology is too new and difficult for nonprofessionals to understand. When this happens, IT professionals need to become politically active, educate, and promote their political views. Two groups that exemplify this activity are; CPSR, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility; and EFF, the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Please browse both of these sites and see how IT can be a deeply political activity.
Assignment 13, Writing Reflection (200 to 400 words) posted to the comments section below—In your own words, explain why having a code of ethics might not be enough to prevent ethical abuse in the field of information technology. What are some of the other tools that are needed? What are some examples of issues IT professionals are concerned with given what you read at CPSR and EFF?
ASSIGNMENT 13
Having a code of ethics may not always be enough to prevent ethical abuse in the field of information technology for a few reasons. First of all, there may be some times when there is some sort of a conflict when the company’s ethics code doesn’t match up with the employee’s personal ethical values. Also, ethic codes are not always enforced very well because there are no real laws against being morally or ethically wrong. Enforcing laws over the computer can be very challenging. I think that in order for these codes to be upheld, they need to be clearly known and enforced from the very start. I know personally when I have been hired by companies, they have not really emphasized their ethic codes. They are handed to you in a packet full of many papers and it is just assumed that they will be read. There should also be a no tolerance policy on ethical code violations. If you can show your employees that there is no room for unethical behavior, they will not want to risk their job. An issue I saw within CPSR and EFF was the fact that they had very laid back and general terms in their codes. For example, “within reason.” Codes cannot have any room for question within their codes if they want their people to take them seriously.
Assignment 13
Having a code of ethics may not be enough to prevent ethical abuse in the field of information technology for a number of reasons. First, the employers must know that there is a code of ethics and after that must understand what they are. Other tools that are needed are ethical classes for employees in order for a full and well-rounded understanding of the code of ethics, the importance of ethics, and the philosophies addressed within the code of ethics. Before entering a work place, new hires should be presented with this information through not only upper management, but also reminded by those who remain entry level status. All bodies in the company should be holding themselves responsible and be aware that they have duties in accepting a job offer.
Some of the issues IT professionals are concerned with at CPSR are based on the concerns of its community members. They are all allowed to research and post information to concerns that they feel are relevant such as questions about who governs then internet, policies around intellectual property, and even discrimination in the computer work place. The EFF seems more updated and discusses the threat on Net Neutrality. This site informs users how to keep the internet open and free and reveals that the majority of Americans find that to end Net Neutrality would be highly unethical. This is the link urging people to take action and save Net Neutrality.
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/12/team-internet-far-done-whats-next-net-neutrality-and-how-you-can-help
Assignment 13: In the criticisms of a code of ethics they tell the importance of reading the code of ethics regularly to keep them fresh in the brain. Most people read something once but don't keep up with it which leads to forgetfulness causing errors when doing your job. The Ford Pinto case is a great example of an error of how the code of ethics does not always work or cover everything needed to not create errors. They didn't know the car would be as distinctive as it was. Facebook and beacon are another example where things went wrong because the rules were unclear. Facebook put their trust into the wrong people leading to a bad situation. Some other tools that are needed the than the code of ethics is connecting with your coworkers and the people you make business deals with. If you know the people and trust the people you work with there should be a smaller percentage of error occurring. IT professionals deal with as read in the CPSR website and EFF are to make sure you cover rules in every technological subject and also to constantly update your codes and rules to reinforce your employees when in the workplace.
Having a code of ethics may not always may not always be enough to enforce ethical behavior within the workplace. Because the Internet is used worldwide, a code of ethics may be different across the nation. People may not follow the code as they are mainly guidelines. People may think that they do not have to follow them, especially if the code is different to one's own beliefs. Their own personal code of ethics may not coincide with the code of the organization, therefore they will not abide to them. Having a code of ethics is of course important, it can possibly lead to individuals not developing moral sensitivity on their own. They may rely to the code in their everyday lives and that might not be the best outcome. Actions based on the code may lead to wrong decisions. We all have the right to our own actions, however there may be some consequences to those actions. On the Internet, people tend to act how they want to because of how easy it is to do so.
Assignment 13
We can have our own ethical code and follow it as closely as possible but that does not stop others who do not hold ethics to your standard or any standard at all. We all have free will and some people just choose to be evil and corrupt and that in turn hurts others in the process. This happens in every workspace but through information technology there seems to be an inclination to think it is okay to be even harsher because it is not face to face. It is easier to hurt another through words read instead of to their face to speak the words to them directly. Making sure that your employees are good candidates to hold a lot of technological power by checking their own social media to see what they retweet, favorite, post, follow. I don’t think that this is an invasion of privacy because if they have nothing to hide they would not care who sees it since they post it for everyone to see anyway. Your employer should have the right to know what kind of person they are hiring, since you could become an extension of their brand. Some of the issues I saw in reading these articles were issues concerning free speech and infringement on rights including censorship and security.
Assignment 13
Although having a code of ethics is a standard for people to make ethical decisions, sometimes it is not enough to prevent ethical abuse in the field of information technology.
One of the reasons it is not enough to have a code of ethics is because we are human and we make mistakes. One of my personal ethics is to do my best. It is something I try to live for, to be the best person I can be. However, sometimes I am not the best person I can be. I make mistakes. Having a code of ethics might not always be enough because humans make mistakes.
I think that one of the strongest tools that is needed to prevent ethical abuse in the field of information technology are consequences. In the Ford Pinto case, Ford was aware of the danger inherited in the design of the Ford Pinto that could result in injuries from burns and potential death. They knew people could potentially be burned alive. Ford made a cost benefit analysis. After people were burned alive, Ford was sued, and Ford’s cost benefit analysis became public, Ford faced consequences. The consequence of being unethical took a huge hit to the Ford company. They ended up having to pay more to the victims and recall all the vehicles to fix the exploding gas tank problems. In addition, I think Ford learned a lot – that taking unethical chances were not worth the money. The consequences of our actions prevent us from making unethical decisions.
From what I have read in the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility website, IT professionals are concerned with impact of computer technology on society. CPSR wants to educated policymakers and the public on issues such as Privaterra, the Public Sphere Project, EPIC and more. The EFF, Electronic Frontier Foundation, IT professionals are concerned with defending digital privacy, free speech and innovation.
Assignment #13
Code of ethics are sometimes not enough to prevent ethical abuse in the internet because of how widespread and worldwide the internet is. As one code may seem ethical in the United States, it may not be so much of an issue in other parts of the world. Because it reaches so many different people in the world, the internet is a global tool for information, it is extremely hard to create an Internet code of ethics. The amount of people with mobile devices and easy access to the internet, different cultures in different regions would make it impossible to enforce these rules. If a company put a lot of effort into creating a set of codes by bringing many professionals from many different fields and background, it will add different perspectives to the process of creating these codes of ethics. It may be a bit expensive at first, but in the long run, with well established set of rules, less changes of lawsuits or any financial issues. With technology moving at such a fast pace, it will be hard to keep updating these rules, the best we can hope is ensure we follow and update these rules to the best of our capabilities.
Assignment #13
According to Noble prize-winning economist Milton Friedman “A business should be “ethical” only insofar as it will maximize profits. Spending time and money on ethical issues is likely to divert efforts and assets that belong to the owners.” With arguable the greatest American economist making a bold statement like this about business, it is palpable that having a clear and positive code of ethics will not prevent ethical abuse in the field of IT. With company’s motives being driven by financials, it is understandable why management may set aside and ethical approach to a situation, when deadlines must be met. Now is that necessarily honest and moral? Probably not. But as Friedman states ‘an ethical approach should be applied in only as it will maximize profits.’ Which inherently justifies an unethical approach, to maximize profits. To prevent ethical abuse in the field of information technology, a tool that is used in my dads work at Pg&e is to require send their IT professionals to an annual conference that will update them on the everchanging legality of the IT space, along with ethic ways to maximize their efficiency. This conference is preceded by a series of online surveys to better understand the areas where they may lack knowledge in the ethical side of information technology. Following the conference, a personalized study guide is given to the employees to keep them up to date on ethical, and more importantly legal changes in the IT space. To my dad, an IT professional, the biggest issue that is in the Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility would be privacy and security. It is remarkable to see, or hear about the remote accessibility that he has within Pg&e’s network. He can access a broadcasting tower that is located in San Diego from the comfort of his office in Santa Rosa. A skilled hacker or disgruntled employee, or god forbid a criminal/terrorist could gain access to a powerplant location and cause massive blackouts in the areas that Pg&e provides power to. This is just one example as to why cyber privacy and security is of the utmost concern to IT professionals.
Assignment 13
Having a code of ethics might not be enough to prevent ethical abuse in the field of information technology because of a few reasons. One reason why this might not be enough is because the Internet is so accessible worldwide. If a code of ethics is placed in the United States but not in another part of the world, then it has a less effect. Codes of ethics in the IT field is something that should be agreed on worldwide. Another reason why having a code of ethics might not be enough to prevent ethical abuse in the field of IT is because it most likely will not please everybody. It would prevent freedom of searching the Internet and prevent people’s freedom to express themselves through the internet. A code of ethics is something that would be something that people would have trouble with agreeing on. Not everyone is going to agree with what is an ethical code. I think that reasons that people in the IT professions are concerned because of the lack of privacy. Net Neutrality is the concept in which providers would be given access to all of the content. This is a concern for IT’s because computer users will have less privacy.
Assignment 13:
Having a code of ethics is not a be all end all in regard to preventing unethical behavior. This is due to the fact that, a code of ethics is merely a guide. While it is intended to be adhered to, it is common knowledge that many individuals will deviate from it. I some cases, it is due to the fact that the code of ethics is not in line with that individuals own ethics. Therefore, they deviate from the code, which could be intentional or merely because they are resorting to what they know. In other cases, some individuals may succumb to temptations, and while they know what they are doing is unethical, they may justify their actions. While the code of ethics has good intentions to ensure ethics are being adhered to, you are not able to control actions of individuals, you can merely point them in the right directions.
Strict laws dictating what is ethical practices and what is not, will aid in reducing unethical practices. With the ever-changing tech field, it will be hard to have a law for every situation. Our best objective is to work diligently to ensure laws are put into effect. It would also benefit employers to screen their applicant my toughly to see where they stand ethically, not just by their technological abilities.
Some are the concerns that EFF has mentioned, were issues that have continued to arise in the information technology field. These ongoing concerns consist of; information security, privacy, and freedom of speech.