The document discusses the importance of software ethics and the misconceptions surrounding it, emphasizing that technology's ethical implications depend on its field of use rather than its design. It argues against the notion that software ethics do not concern developers, highlighting the necessity of their involvement in ethical discussions to foster empathy and responsibility. Key advice includes clarifying personal ethics, ensuring software design is ethical, and recognizing the distinction between legal rights and ethical actions.

1. MYTHS
OF
SOFTWARE ETHICS
ARIEL ELKIN
@ARIVOCALS

2. • Philosopher
• iOS Developer
• ACM Code of Ethics Panel Member, ETHICOMP 2018
ME

3. • Notion of software ethics needs clarity.
• Scant awareness of the ethical dimension of software.
• Scant regard for ethical issues in software.
ISSUES

4. AGENDA
1. Scope
2. Myths
3. Advice
4. Q&A & Discussion

5. SCOPE

6. • Moral norm: a principle used to distinguish between good and
bad behaviour.
• “deceiving is bad”
• “honouring contracts is good”
• “harming the environment is bad”
• Ethics: a set of moral norms.
SCOPE

7. META-ETHICSETHICS
PROFESSIONAL
ETHICS
SOFTWARE
ETHICS
SCOPE

8. MYTHS OF SOFTWARE
ETHICS

9. — Kranzberg’s First Law of Technology
TECHNOLOGY IS NEITHER
GOOD NOR BAD, NOR IS IT
NEUTRAL.
”
“

10. TECHNOLOGY IS NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD, NOR IS IT NEUTRAL
“By that I mean
that technology's interaction with the social ecology is such that
technical developments frequently have environmental, social,
and human consequences that go far beyond the immediate
purposes of the technical devices and practices themselves,
and the same technology can have quite different results when
introduced into different contexts or under different
circumstances.“

11. TECHNOLOGY IS NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD, NOR IS IT NEUTRAL

12. we CAN judge
the field of endeavour
that the object is meant for
DEBUNKING
“TECHNOLOGY IS NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD, NOR IS IT NEUTRAL”

13. • The ethical dimension of software is in the project’s field of
endeavour, not in its source code.
• The software maker should assess whether the project’s field
of endeavour is aligned with his/her ethics.
DEBUNKING
“TECHNOLOGY IS NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD, NOR IS IT NEUTRAL”

14. SOFTWARE ETHICS ARE NOT
MY CONCERN
”
“

15. STACKOVERFLOW ANNUAL DEVELOPER SURVEY 2018
DEBUNKING
“SOFTWARE ETHICS ARE NOT MY CONCERN”

16. • Discussions about ethics of software development need the
participation of software developers because they have unique
in-depth knowledge of a software’s risks.
DEBUNKING
“SOFTWARE ETHICS ARE NOT MY CONCERN”

17. • Ethical enquiry generates empathy between you, your users, and
colleagues.
DEBUNKING
“SOFTWARE ETHICS ARE NOT MY CONCERN”

18. • Group commitment to ethical behaviour is necessary for software
development to be fully established as a profession.
DEBUNKING
“SOFTWARE ETHICS ARE NOT MY CONCERN”

19. DEBUNKING
“SOFTWARE ETHICS ARE NOT MY CONCERN”

20. LAW == ETHICS
”
“

21. ETHICS
PROFESSIONAL
ETHICS
SOFTWARE
ETHICS LAW
DEBUNKING
“LAW == ETHICS”

22. DEBUNKING
“LAW == ETHICS”

23. DEBUNKING
“LAW == ETHICS”

24. DEBUNKING
“LAW == ETHICS”

25. DEBUNKING
“LAW == ETHICS”

26. DEBUNKING
“LAW == ETHICS”
• There is a difference between what you have a right to do and
what's right to do.
• Technology progresses much faster than laws.
• Laws vary by country, but software is the same across all
computers.

27. ADVICE
meta-ethical

28. • Don’t be indifferent.
• Don’t outsource moral responsibility.
• Don’t conflate ethics and law.
ADVICE
😫

29. ADVICE
• Clarify your own ethics.
• Clarify your software’s field of endeavour.
• Your software should be ethical by design (analogous to secure
by design)
• Build. Deploy. Test. Gather feedback.
• Iterate.
😀

30. DEVELOP
YOUR
ETHICS

31. LEARN MORE
code-is-law.org
eff.org
Everyday Ethics podcast
fsf.org
humanebydesign.com

32. THANK YOU

33. Q&A & DISCUSSION
ARIEL ELKIN
ARIELELKIN.GITHUB.IO
@ARIVOCALS

34. SPARE

35. PARTICIPATE

36. SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS & ETHICS
…Ethics?

37. SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS & ETHICS
STACKOVERFLOW ANNUAL DEVELOPER SURVEY 2018
#2749

38. CURRENT LAWS AND CODES OF ETHICS ARE ADEQUATE ENOUGH
CURRENT CODES OF ETHICS ARE ADEQUATE ENOUGH

39. ETHICAL PROBLEMS ARE
EXCESSIVELY COMPLICATED
”
“

40. ETHICAL PROBLEMS ARE EXCESSIVELY COMPLICATED
• Ethics is about modelling and systematising abstract concepts
(…sounds familiar?)
• The main difference between philosophy and computer science is
that problems in computer science tend to have a solution.

41. • There is a difference between what you have a right to do and
what's right to do:
DEBUNKING
LAWS ARE ADEQUATE ENOUGH