Professional Ethics

Tom Kelliher, CS 200

Feb. 10, 2004

Administrivia

Announcements

Collect analyses.

Assignment

Read Chapter 4.

Turn in a one paragraph summary of your paper/presentation topic for my review and approval.

From Last Time

Philosophical perspectives.

Coming Up

Ethics online.

Chapter Summary

1. Strongly differentiated professions.
   1. Exceptions to ordinary morality by virtue of profession, not position.

   2. Role of efficacy.

2. Characteristics of a profession.
   1. Mastery of an esoteric body of knowledge.

   2. Autonomy, at personal and profession levels.

   3. Formal Organization. Sets standards; controls admission.

   4. Code of ethics.

   5. Social function.

3. Professional relationships:
   1. Employer-Employee.

   2. Client-Professional.

   3. Society-Professional.

   4. Professional-Professional.

4. Codes of ethics.

Discussion Questions

1. Beginning of chapter case studies.

2. Should computing be a profession?

3. What about software engineering?

4. What about other sub-disciplines of computing?

5. Some thorny technical ethics cases:
   1. Challenger and Columbia disasters.

   2. Therac-25 disaster.

   3. e-Voting.

   4. RFID technology.