Ethics and the computing professional
Introduction
Ethics and professional employees, including those in the Computing industry, deals with how professionals in an industry behave and take decisions.
Computers are in a central role today and software engineers are at the heart of developing both new software and the new systems that the software will run on. They are in a very powerful position and can do a lot of good, as well as a lot of harm. They are also in a position to influence others to do good or to do harm. Because of their power, software engineers must work towards and be seen to be working towards being a force for good and working in a way that promotes their profession rather than brings it into suspicion.
There are various definitions of what 'ethics' are but most commentators seem to agree that there are three areas of concern. These are:
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- a person's own personal code of conduct and their moral compass
- a person's own informal code of ethics
- a person's formal codes of ethics as laid down by their professional bodies.
The ACM / IEEE Software Engineering Code of Practise is an attempt to define the relationship a software engineer has with himself, those he works with, those he works for and society at large.