Ethics for IT Professionals
Part 2: Professional or Mere Expert?
Norman Creaney

Professionals have Privileged Position
A private clinic (client) that specialises in cosmetic
surgery employs a software developer (professional)
to implement a computer system to manage its
customer accounts. It is essential for the business
that customers details remain confidential.
Client lacks knowledge &
Professional has knolledge
skills and is vulnerable to
& skills and is in a position
exploitation.
of power.

Professional or Mere Expert?
It is important for a professional to be an expert.
A medical doctor must understand medicine.
A lawyer must know the law.
A computer professional must understand hardware and
software.
But it is also important that he accepts the ethical
responsibilities that accompany his privileged position.

Professional or Mere Expert?
“Integrity without
The concept of ethical
knowledge is weak and
responsibility goes to the very
useless, and knowledge
heart of what it means to be a
without integrity is
professional.
dangerous and dreadful. ”
It is the acceptance of this
~ Samuel Johnson
responsibility that distinguishes
the professional from the mere
expert.

Conceptual Muddles & Policy Vacuums
A conceptual muddle occurs A policy vacuum occurs
because the new possibilities because conceptual muddles
made possible by new take time to resolve and
technology do not fit into make it difficult for policy
existing ways of thinking. makers to keep up with
technological change.

Player Pianos: part of a machine or
copy of music?
In 1909, the United States Congress
Today we would recognise a
revised the copyright law in a way that
piano roll as a kind of computer
enabled copyright protection without
program, containing a digital copy
resolving the conceptual muddle.
of a piece of music.
The US Copyright Act of 1976 finally
In 1908, the US Supreme Court
removed the conceptual muddle by
(White-Smith Music v.
enabling copyright protection on works
Apollo) found that piano rolls
that can only be perceived with the help
were part of a machine - and so
of a machine.
were not subject to copyright.

Have You Ever Loged into a
Neighbour's Wireless Broadband
Connection?
Is it more like:
breaking into his house to steal his computer?
collecting water that drains from his roof before it
disappears into the drainage system?

Codes of Professional Conduct
The utility principle and the The Association for Computing
golden rule are intended to Machinery (ACM)
be applicable to all ethical \"Commitment to\" the ACM Code of Ethics and
reasoning, in all contexts. Professional Conduct \"is expected of every member of
the Association for Computing Machinery\".
For practical reasons
The British Computer Societ (BCS)
professionals have found it
convenient to supplement The BCS Code of Conduct \"sets out the professional
these with ethical rules, standards required by the Society as a condition of
membership\".
which address the specific
needs of a specific
profession.

Codes of Professional Conduct
\"In your professional role you \"I must not misrepresent my skills
shall have regard for the public or knowledge.\"
~ ASM Code of Ethics (section 4.7.2).
health, safety and
environment.\"
~ BCS Code of Conduct (section 1).
\"You shall not claim any level of
competence that you do not possess.
You shall only offer to do work or
\"Avoid harm to others.\"
~ ACM Code of Ethics and Professional provide a service that is within
Conduct (section 1.2).
your professional competence.\"
~ BCS Code of Conduct (section 15).

Heuristic Methods
A code of conduct helps the professional to distinguish between
ethical behaviour and unethical behaviour - it enables him to
recognise a solution to an ethical problem when he see it.
It does not offer much guidance on how to go about finding a
solution when he is confronted with an new ethical problem.
Heuristic methods have been proposed as a way of bridging this
gap.

1. Form an ethics committee of at least five persons.
2. Frame a specific question that creates the desired ethical
dilemma.
3. Construct a scenario of about 150 words that will evoke
the dilemma.
4. Construct at least three persuasive arguments on each
side of the question.
5. Raise objections to these arguments.
6. Make replies to these objections.
7. Make counter-replies to these replies.
8. Take a stand on the issue and reach a verdict.
Maner, W. (2002), Heuristic Methods for Computer Ethics in: Moor & Bynum (eds.), CyberPhilosophy:
The Intersection of Philosophy and Computing , December, Wiley, 2002.

The Paramedic Method
1. Gather data systematically about the parties
2. Analyse the data systematically for the alternatives.
3. Try to negotiate a social contract agreement in an
imaginary meeting where all the parties are represented.
4. Judge each of the alternatives according to ethical
theories.
Collins, W.R & Miller, K.W. 1995, Paramedic Ethics for Computer Professionals in Johnson, D. &
Nissenbaum, H. (eds.) Computer Ethics and Social Values , Prentice-Hall.

Summary
The acceptance of ethical responsibility is what
distinguishes the professional from the mere expert.
When a professional behaves unethically it makes it more
difficult for all professionals to do their job effectively.
Professional bodies produce codes of conduct that regulate
the behaviour of their members.
Computer ethics is characterised by conceptual muddles
and policy vacuums.
Heuristic approaches to ethical decision making are of
practical help in real-world decision making.

Related Materials
Ethics for IT Professionals: Part 1
http://knol.google.com/k/-/-/1hzaxtdr9c09g/28#
Ethics for IT Professionals: Part 2
http://knol.google.com/k/-/-/1hzaxtdr9c09g/33#
Legal Issues for IT Professionals
http://knol.google.com/k/-/-/1hzaxtdr9c09g/7#