Consequences of Computing:
A Framework for Teaching

Principles and Skills Underlying the Social and Ethical Dimensions - Page 24 of 36

[ES3] Identifying and evaluating alternative courses of action. Often, ethical mistakes are made more from a failure of imagination rather than a failure of moral principle. If you simply cannot think of alternative courses of action, then you are left with little choice. An important practical aspect of ethical reasoning involves determining if all the available options have been exhausted. Many students will look at a situation and assume that the dichotomous choices as given (copy or don't copy the interface, test or don't test the system, involve or don't involve users in design) are the only choices. Practice in negotiating alternatives can give students caught in ethical binds the confidence that they can think about their choices. Practice evaluating the alternatives they have generated can make it easier to evaluate the options in actual decisions. Again, this sort of practice can be equally well done in both concentrated courses on ethical and social issues and in technical courses.

[ES4] Applying ethical codes to concrete situations. Professional ethical codes represent the consensus of the field with regard to the responsibilities of those professionals. Students who aspire to join the profession should be familiar with these codes in their application to situations that are likely to occur in professional life. Remember that the methods of ethical reflection we are asking students to learn include comparing their intuitions and reasoning to both concrete cases and to established values in the field. Ethical analysis that does not do this is incomplete because it is not anchored in dialogue with other professionals and their ethical reasoning. It should be clear from the way we are proposing dialogue that we are not talking about slavish obedience to any ethical code, but thoughtful reflection that includes as a significant part a concern for the consensus of the field on ethical issues.

This concern can be taught in both the dedicated class and in technical classes. Reminders to consider ethical codes can easily be included as a part of case analysis in technical classes. The dedicated class can also view the code as a document of a social process of dialogue, and explore the process of adoption, evaluation, and revision of ethical codes. This places the student firmly in the tradition of dialogue with other professionals as they evaluate the code.