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Professional Codes of Conduct
Professional Ethics - A set of morally permissible standards of a group that each member of the group wants every other member of the group to follow even if their doing so would mean that he/she must do the same Micheal Davis, Professional Code and Ethics Burlington: Ashgate 2001
Morally permissible
- Morality is ubiquitous, as moral standards apply to everyone
- Professional ethics only apply to the members of particular groups (such as lawyers, doctors, etc.)
Ethical does not equal moral
For example it is against ethical standards in the USA for doctors to advertise prices for their services, but there is nothing inherently immoral about advertising prices for services.
- An action may be morally permissible but unethical
- It is also possible to behave ethically but apparently immorally
- Professional ethics requires that one behaves consistently with the standards of the group.
Professional ethics is a subset of moral concerns
- Morality encompasses societal reasoning and norms of conduct as to what constitutes right and wrong
- Professional ethics govern professional practice with respect to particular moral issues or challenges like algorithmic decisions
- As the broader social-moral order evolves, so do professional ethics, like the ACM Code of Ethics
Standards
Govern professional practice Standards consist of:
- Principles
- Rules of Conduct
- Embedded in code of conduct or code of ethics
A professional puts profession first. When a conflict arises between the professional's code and the policy of an employer or the law, the professional's code must take precedence - Brinkman & Sanders, Ethics in Computing Culture. Boston: Cengage Learning, 2013.
Shared by a Group
Standards are shared by a cohort of people engaged in professional activity
What constitutes professional activity?
- Provides an important service to society
- Requires extensive training
- Involves significant intellectual effort
- Organisation of members
- Individual autonomy
- Certification or Licensing
Is computing a profession?
The problematic static of computing
-
Lack of accreditation, certification or licensing
- No single organisation of members for the computing profession
Question is immaterial: The harms enabled by computing mean that computing professionals still have important ethical obligations
Programmers need ethics when designing the technologies that influence people's lives - President of the ACM
We still need professional ethics in computing even if computing’s professional status is dubitable.
- We need ethics if we are to be considered professionals
It is impossible to satisfy the definition of profession without a code of ethics, impossible to teach 'professionalism' without teaching the code, and indeed impossible to understand professions without understanding them as bound by such a code. Without a code of ethics, there are only honest occupations, trade associations, and the like - Micheal Davis
The Different Codes
British Computer Society (BCS)
Public Interest
These standards require:
- You have due regard for public health, privacy, security and the wellbeing of others and the environment in your work
- Your work has due regard for the legitimate rights of third parties
- You conduct your professional activities without discrimination
- You promote equal access to the benefits of IT
Professional competence and integrity
- Only undertake to do work or provide a service that is within your professional competence
- Do not claim a level of competence that you do not possess
- Continue to develop professional knowledge relevant to your field
- Ensure that you have the knowledge and understanding of relevant legislation
- Respect and value alternate viewpoints
- Avoid injuring others
- Reject and do not make any offer of bribery or unethical inducement
Duty to relevant authority
- Carry out your professional responsibilities with due care and diligence
- Avoid situations that conflict with the interests of relevant authorities
- Accept professional responsibilities for your work
- Do not disclose confidential information
- Do not misrepresent or withhold information on the performance of products, systems or services
Duty to Profession
- Accept your personal duty to uphold the reputation of the profession
- Seek to improve professional standards
- Uphold the reputation and good standing of BCS
- Act with integrity and respect in your professional relationships
- Notify the BCS if convicted of a criminal offence
- Support fellow members in their professional development
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Covers about half of what the BCS covers, little attention to duty to relevant authority which undermines its commitment to the highest ethical and professional conduct.
Association of Computing Machinery (ACM)
25 principles governing professional conduct
- 7 general ethical principles
- 9 principles governing professional responsibilities
- 7 principles of professional leadership
- 2 principles of compliance
General ethical principles
- Contribute to society and human well-being
- Avoid harm
- Be honest and trustworthy
- Be fair and take action not to discriminate
- Respect the work of others
- Respect privacy
- Honour confidentiality
- Unless in cases in which it is evidence of the violation of law or the code itself
This links to the BCS public interest requirement
Professional responsibilities
- Strive to achieve high-quality work
- Maintain high standards of professional competence
- Know and respect rules pertaining to professional work
- Accept and provide appropriate professional review
- Evaluate computer systems and possible risks
- Providing objective evaluations for employers or clients
- Perform work only in areas of competence
- Foster public awareness and understanding of computing
- Access computing only when authorised or for public good
- Basically do not hack, unless it is to disrupt or inhibit malicious systems
- Design and implement robust and secure systems
- Does not link to BCS code however important
Professional leadership Principles
- Ensure centrality of public good
- Promote social responsibility
- Enhance quality of working life
- Support the principles of the code
- Create opportunities for professional development
- Use care when modifying or retiring systems
- Take special care of systems integrated in societal infrastructure
Compliance with the Code
- Uphold, promote and respect the principles of the code
- Treat violations as inconsistent with ACM membership
ACM & BCS Code of Ethics
Mapping
- More to the ACM code
- But a strong relationship between the two exists, although it is not always direct