Consequences of Computing:
A Framework for Teaching
Importance of the Dimensions - Page 14 of 36
We have described our conviction that individual and professional responsibility should be an undercurrent to the discussions of all specific issues in the table. But for pedagogical reasons alone we felt it useful to include these two columns and set them apart as foundational to a consideration of the other issues. Student response to the issues in the other columns will be at least partly determined by the ways they understand their own individual and professional responsibility. Thus, it is crucial for each student to examine his or her own conception of individual and professional responsibility, and useful to do it in the context of a course that highlights the social and ethical concerns associated with their chosen profession.
Individual responsibilities are those held in common with other people, regardless of technical expertise or position. These include the common moral imperatives listed in the early sections of the ACM code of ethics such as: avoid harm to others, be honest, be fair, take action not to discriminate, etc. These individual responsibilities underlie many of the more detailed ethical issues described in later columns. For instance, barring higher moral obligations, all people are expected to be honest in their dealings with each other. It is difficult to imagine any ethical system that could survive without a basic expectation of this sort. These individual responsibilities need not be thought of as the obligations of socially isolated individuals (though in American philosophical traditions they often are). One's individual responsibilities are often the result of one's group memberships, including family, political entities, cultures, and professional affiliations.
Professional responsibilities are those that computing professionals should undertake because of their special knowledge and skill, their association with others who share that knowledge and skill, and the trust that society places in them because of that knowledge and skill. Computer professionals are not always as easily identifiable as professionals as are some other occupational groups. Doctors and lawyers, for instance have in common with computer professionals a requirement for specialized knowledge, a code of ethics associated with the profession, and professional associations that help maintain expertise in the area.
But a major criterion for 'professional' status is the expectation of some autonomy in the exercise of responsibilities. Doctors and lawyers have this sort of autonomy to a large extent, though a changing economy has removed some of it. Some computer professionals have a great deal of autonomy in the decisions they make. On the other hand, many computer professionals are employees of large firms and software shops where they are quite restricted in their duties and autonomy. They often work on only a small part of a larger system and have little knowledge of or control over decisions made about the larger project. Thus, the extent to which computer professionals are "professional" is more likely analogous to accounting or engineering. Accountants and engineers claim special expertise, have professional associations, and many are licensed based on their expertise, commitment to maintain it, and adherence to a code of ethics for the practice.
To the extent that computing is a profession, its adherents have a responsibility to shape that profession in ways that are at least socially benign, and better, socially desirable. These responsibilities include maintaining a code of ethics, taking it seriously, and teaching it, making the public aware of the advantages and risks associated with computing, creating opportunities for people to learn the principles and limitations of computing systems, and striving to create the highest quality products and processes possible. It is, in fact, one characteristic of a profession that it professes to have the best interest of the public at heart and at least attempts to act in accordance with this profession. Thus, though we are all obligated to be honest, computer professionals have a more specific responsibility to give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer systems (Professional Responsibility) and to only make claims for a product that they know the product can accomplish (Honesty and Deception). In this way individual professional responsibilities are woven into the other ethical issues.
The professional responsibilities that are outlined in the ACM Code of Ethics are a reasonable list and can be seen to correspond with many of the issues we include in the columns of the table. The knowledge of these responsibilities, and the practice of them, is fundamental to ethical thought and behavior among computer professionals. For this reason, a careful study and application of professional codes of ethics is crucial to ethical practice in computer science.
