the new reality: being a responsible computing professional requires more than technical...

Etica e Responsabilitȧ Sociale dell’Informatica

MilanoDon Gotterbarn

ACM Committee on Professional Ethics

Software Engineering Ethics Research Institute

The New Reality: Responsible

Computing Professional require

more than technical solutions/skills

[email protected] Decembre 2016

[email protected]

Headlines: Computing Cyber warfare

Cyber Terrorism- hospital data held hostage

Hack anything that moves – Pacemakers, insulin

pumps. Ransomware

Power grid- 256 plants off line- code problem

The election is rigged – electronic voting

Spiacente, c'è un problema di compute !!?!

5 Decembre 2016

Airbus 320

5 Decembre 2016 [email protected]

Airport

-3.3

[email protected]

Our Common Goals

Do a good job

Not hurt people, maybe even contribute

something positive

Do a good Job

Make my family proud

Feel I have accomplished something.

“I believe in the positive aspects of

computing.”

5 Decembre 2016

How fix computing’s problems???

A. Work more efficiently

Training and learn new skills:

Development, testing, management, risk analysis

B. Stop the Bad people

Make Laws to put them in jail

Make IT a Profession like Medicine and

Law


Professionalizing ICT:• ACM, BCS, IFIP-IP3, ISACA, FEAO, ITU,

UNESCO, ICC, IIBA, Malaysia

• EU ICT Professionalism Project

• UNESCO 193 govt’s & 700 Corps

• USA- 10 states

• Why all the interest

– “The most important reason for change

however, stems from the extent to which

ICT has the potential to harm society”

– Blame the Harm on incompetence

– Lack of skills


Professional Societies

IP3 defining skill sets, certifications

Learn skills

“Competent creation”- do the job right and it

is useful- That is being a professional.

Competent creation = project success.

California Sex Offender project - successful


Failure to consider the context

Evaluate the system from a functional

perspective. Is it likely to protect children from

pedophiles?

What is the danger of the Pedophile app on

the I phone? Flatbush

Professionalism is more than

Competent application of skills


Hallmarks of Professionalism

Systematic Theory- advanced knowledge

Autonomy in decision Making

License monopoly, certification –

Skills proven by: experience, testing

Skills a service to society

Professional Organization

Code of Ethics / Conduct

Service to Society – Higher order of Care


Professional Values - General

Be impartial

Disclose information others ought to know

Respect the rights of others

Treat others justly

Take responsibility for your action

Take responsibility for those you supervise

Maintain your integrity

Continually improve your abilities

Share you knowledge expertise and value.


Codes of Ethics Particular

Related to a Profession

global profession, with standard of good

practice being largely the same anywhere in

the world

Instruct society about what to expect

Express the conscience of profession

(Globally)

What we expect of ourselves and each other

Guide & Justify Professional’s decisions


Ethics Simplified

• My Behavior with a POSITIVE or Negative

impact on society, its citizens and the

environment (cultural and natural)

Minimalism- don’t cause harm

Idealism- prevent harm

Ethics is important but not simple, especially in IT

Need special skills

Contact Lens


Google SMART contact Lens

Develop a technology which:

What do we need to think about?


Ethics Simplified (revised)

ETHICS IS NOT (only)

ABOUT You…

…it is also about the impacts our

chosen actions have in the world.


[email protected]

We are Good people

Add elements without consider

stakeholders

LED visual warning

Test other elements – glucose++

Night vision

Significant changes to society

What changes ?

Who is effected ?5 Decembre 2016

Analysis of Potential Impact

For each of stakeholder identified, consider

how your proposed solutions might affect

them.

There are usually a variety of feasible

solutions. Select the solution which does the

least harm to core values.

Specific Codes and “Rules of Conduct”


Why Good people miss things?

Second nature

Trained by parents

about how to interact

Trained in school

Trained by government

and legal rules

Trained by religion

Religious positions

Advice of religious

leaders

Not thought of before

Electronic stalking

Who owns the pictures

that I gmail?

My Facebook account

is my property?

Can you Skype record

or sell my video calls?

Does your holy book

mention Twitter?


Required Professional SKILLS

• Ability to:

1. …identify potential ethical problems in a particular context.

2. …identify the cause of these issues, and stakeholders.

3. …determine alternate actions consistent with appropriate guiding principles.

4. For each possible action, determine expected outcomes and reasons for taking or not taking that action.


Professional SKILLS (cont.)

• Ability to:

5. …select a workable solution and work through the situation, both technically or ethically.

6. …recognize responsibilities of computer professionals.

7. …communicate effectively your well-informed and well-reasoned positions on these issues.


Ethics Codes Provide Direction

1. Consider fundamental principles, rather than blind reliance on detailed regulations.

2. Consider broadly who is affected by your work.

3. Are you treating other human beings with respect?

4. How will the least empowered be affected by your decisions?

5. Concern for the health, safety and welfare of the public is primary.


Role of Codes

Not primarily about prohibited actions

Encourage us and facilitate us being as good

as we believe we are

See our actions and decisions as part of and

contributing to a boarder social community.

What is the problem following Codes??


Being Good is not good enough

Past experience does not supply clear

answers about new technologies

Technology is complex so we narrowly focus

on development risks

Limited view of who are the real stakeholders

Professionalism is the answer, right??


3 Models of a Profession

Great Applications ,Efficient Systems

Professional relationships with client

I will build whatever you want

I will show you how to get what you want

I will use my special skills to work along with

you developing something positive

Consider X- aske for changeable font size


[email protected]

Helping the visually challenged

Accessibility

5 Decembre 2016

High Power X-ray removes tumor

filter

2000 Rads

150 Rads


[email protected]

High Power X-ray removes tumor

X – fire X Ray

C - Clear settings, too dangerous

5 Decembre 2016

Competent creation

not good enough

“organise the resources available to him

and optimise these in attaining the

objectives of his organization”

Professional certification- Setting

standards of IT competence

Paternalism _ I know best and can ignore

context (and you)


AGENCY and PATERNALISM

Customer desires

Professional Skills

Missing Professional Judgement and

Responsibility

Context

Impacts

Stakeholders


Professional MORAL

Responsibility:

Profess- Medieval Roots

Special Rights and Responsibilities

1-Professionals like everyone else: humanity- honesty

fairness, beneficence

2-Profession- Higher order of Care: non-malfeasance ;

professionals can have special moral obligations that

exceed those of ordinary individuals.

3- obligations unique to individual profession- informed

consent


Computing changes Society ??

People use my work

My work impacts the way people live

My work changes society

I am a good person and I am responsible

But Why do ICT problems keep happening


Risks in Decision

Making Reasoning traps


Frame Change - examples

Context in which we are acting

Day Care – a business decision

Role- Manager or engineer – Challenger

Goals associated with each frame

business frame goals – competent & successful

ethics frame goals – fair & not hurt

Focus on one frame’s goals, and other

frame’s goals completely fade


Parts of system

function

technicalSocial/ethical


Font Change

function



ROLE

Cost

benefit

Self-interest

SELF-

IMAGE

Fiddling –

Function -rebuild

Low tech-Fire

Social/ethical


Framing out the

context and stakeholders-

opps!!


Traps

How frame the question - approach

Thinking bounded/confined - psychology


Cognitively Bounded and problem

Solving Conceptually Bounded

Awareness

Watch out for the gorilla in your yard

not aware of other issues in your surrounding

not intentional

Attention to something else

Discount the future

Disengagement from the irrelevant to task


Conceptually Bounded and

problem Solving

Ethically Bounded

not aware dealing with an ethical issue

Google Contact Lens

not MALICIOUS or intentional

Attention to something else

Discount the future

Moral disengagement


Moral Buffers,

Moral Distance makes my life easier-

Computer did it,

Give moral authority to computers

APACHE Medical diagnosis decision,

Unmanned, automated flying robot

Sentencing algorithms

Combine with Bounded awareness


Moral Buffer and Distance

function



People

[email protected]

I am ethical – damn it !!

Convinced I am Moral

Convinced I am competent

Convinced I am not susceptible to ethical

problems

Causing Frame Change, Moral Buffer

People think they are more ethical than

they really are.

Boundedness in noticing our own ethicality

5 Decembre 2016

A third Approach- Fiduciary

(Trust) Model Uses special skills sharing responsibilities with

client to develop something positive

Both exercising their respective responsibilities

Client understands problem

Professional understand technical solutions and their

possible impacts (technical and ethical consideration)

How to reduce the problems of

reframing and moral buffers ?


Things to Do- Mitigate Problem

Reframe Questions

Ask Proactive questions and document your ethically significant decisions.

Commit to doing more than merely meeting the customer’s requirements. – re commit, re-commit

Make ethics discussion part of self-performance reviews.// Project reviews

Focus on both the technical and social aspects of our socio-technical work.


Consider Impacted Stakeholders

Minimal set of questions: Ask Whose…

…behavior and work process will be affected?

…circumstances or job will be affected?

…experiences will be affected?

Project types affect who are stakeholders

Education: teachers, students, parent, taxpayers

Scientific : researchers, funders, study subjects


Societies Role Professionalism

Initial Pre-commitment – Ethics Code

Ethics exam helps determine if you know

the issues

Publicity tests

How would the public, if well informed,

view your decisions?

Would your acts would be judged worthy

of the ideal IT professional?

Ethical principles in clear terms


At work Training based on:

1. Consider fundamental principles, rather than blind reliance on detailed regulations.

2. Consider broadly who is affected by your work.

3. Are you treating other human beings with respect?

4. How will the least empowered be affected by your decisions?

5. Concern for the health, safety and welfare of the public is primary.


MISTAKE Hiring a PROFESSIONAL- tech.

incomplete technical expert?

Automatic, simple reflexes fixed

dogmatically, thought and beliefs

coming to mind are never doubted

Ask technical questions- how do it-

How do you Code this in C++? What

is the EU standard for a project plans?

Etc.

Can they do whatever- FAST


BETTER: Hiring a complete

ICT PROFESSIONAL Understands the importance of the

context and system effects

focus is on the consideration and

investigation of all stakeholders’ feelings,

duties and interests, as well as all

possible alternative approaches and how

they are affected by and affect the

context

Ask probing questions- What is wrong

with this? What are the risks? Reduces

ALL forms of risks


How to make professionalism

irrelevant - wrong

Allocate only 60 minutes once a year

An annual column in the newsletter

Only have others talk about ethics

Don’t mention it in performance

evaluations

Encourages less attention to ethics-

“we will fix that later”


How to make professionalism

relevant - right

Open peer to peer discussions as issues arise -

encourage members/staff to address the

social/ethical risks of a project

Share ethical elements of decisions with

employees (buy in to professional values)

Respond positively to verbalized ethics concerns-

Point them to Professional standards and

evaluation techniques


The real value of Professionalism

Adds “value” to a product

Reduces Rework

Meets obligation to those affected by ICT’s

work

Is a model for the entire occupation- non-

professionals also see how they ought to

behave

Sets standards by which all ICT is judged


Ethicing as a way of life

ETHICS IS NOT (just) ABOUT US

It is about the impacts our well

chosen actions have in/on the world.

Being as good as we think we are

requires:

Vigorous Effort by Professional

Organization, employers, and

individuals.……well worth it !!!.

QUESTIONS: [email protected] Decembre 2016