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ES2.2 Ethical choices cannot be avoided.
Many students think that ethical choices
are irrelevant to a computer science or engineering discipline, and that it is their job simply
to do their assigned work tasks. Careful ethical thought involves recognizing that moral
responsibility is an important aspect of computer technology and cannot be abandoned by
choice. Courts of law, the military code, and many professional societies' codes do not
allow voluntary moral retreat, and computing professionals should be aware of its dangers.
We enter the realm of ethical choice in system development any time we make decisions that
affect people. Ethical reflection should begin with the assumption that all design and
implementation involves value choices.
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