Professionalism & Tech CS 340 FALL 2015

Transcription

1 Professionalism & Tech CS 340 FALL 2015 In-flight movie and beer scenario Eric is flying to Hawaii over the Pacific Ocean. Eric is an emergency room doctor. Over the intercom an announcement is made that a woman has gone into active labor and the flight attendants are asking if there is a doctor on board who could assist. Eric just paid $6 for a beer that he is waiting for attendants to bring and he is 30 minutes into the film Identity Theft. Is Eric ethically obligated to help the woman or can he enjoy his beer when it arrives? Pick the true statement(s). A. Many professions such as medicine, law and computing hold their members to higher standards. B. As a doctor, Eric has a duty to assist. C. The highest societal utility will be achieved by drinking the cold beer, as Eric doesn t even know the pregnant woman. D. A and B are true

2 Defining Profession According to Michael Bayles, a professional: requires extensive training involves significant intellectual effort provides an important service to society often requires certification or licensing often has an organization of members often is autonomous in one s work Caveats: No single definition of profession is accepted by everyone According to Michael Davis, a profession: is a number of individuals in the same occupation voluntarily organized to earn a living by openly serving a certain moral ideal in a morally permissible way beyond what law, market, and morality would otherwise require. According to Davis, a professional puts profession first Does having a license mean you are a professional? Good Works Project Good Works Project: A research project conducted at Harvard Graduate School of Education to examine how young people deal with ethical problems in their professions defines a profession as any career in which the worker is awarded a degree of autonomy in return for services to the public that are performed at a high level 5 Kultgen s (21) Attributes of Professions involves a skill based on a theoretical foundation requires extensive education requires passing an exam is organized and represented by one or more professional organizations adheres to a code of conduct provides altruistic service requires members to assume responsibility for the affairs of others 6 2

3 Kultgen s (21) cont d is indispensable for the public good members are licensed so their work is sanctioned by the community Members are independent practitioners, serving individual clients Members do their best to serve their clients impartially without regard to any special relationship Members are compensated by fees of fixed charges Members are highly loyal to their colleagues Members regularly contribute to professional development Members prestige is based on guaranteed service Members use individual judgment in applying their profession The work is not manual Profits do not depend on capital Professional status is widely recognized A Trick Question Suppose you are a practicing professional, and you find out that your client has been bribing city officials to get inside information on bids for city projects. Should you report your client to the authorities or keep his confidence? It depends on the profession: Lawyer? Physician? Reporter? 8 Professional Ethics Many professions hold their members to a higher standard of behavior. Computing professionals: Physicians: assn.org/ama/pub/physician resources/medical ethics/code medicalethics.page Attorneys: onal_conduct/model_rules_of_professional_conduct_table_of_contents.html Teachers: Social workers: Law enforcement: ct/tabid/196/default.aspx 9 3

4 ACM/IEEE Software Engineering Ethics Preamble Software engineers shall commit themselves to making the analysis, specification, design, development, testing and maintenance of software a beneficial and respected profession. In accordance with their commitment to the health, safety and welfare of the public, software engineers shall adhere to the following Eight Principles: 1. PUBLIC Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest. 2. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer consistent with the public interest. 3. PRODUCT Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible. 4. JUDGMENT Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment. 5. MANAGEMENT Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance. 6. PROFESSION Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest. 7. COLLEAGUES Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues. 8. SELF Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession. Why We Care about Professional Standards of Computing The privacy, safety, and well-being of the general public often depends on computer software Case Studies for today: Google autonomous car Therac-25 radiation How Medical Tech Gave a Patient a Massive (38.5x) Overdose 11 In-class Activity #2 Part 1 The ACM/IEEE preamble point 1 states that software engineers should act consistent with the public interest and point 3 states that these engineers should meet the highest standards possible. A) Is Google s development of the autonomous car consistent with the public interest? B) What actions/decisions has Google taken to ensure highest standards possible. 4

5 Did your group decide that Google s development of the autonomous car was consistent with Public Interest? A. Yes B. Yes, but with some reservations C. No Case Study: The Therac-25 chapter 5, pages Radiation therapy machine Typical system malfunctions number 40x day Intrinsic & Extrinsic software Intrinsic (embedded): Software that is part of a completed product Extrinsic (external): Loaded onto the computer or machine of the user, user directly encounters 5

6 The Therac-25 case facts 20 month period, overdoses to 6 patients, directly killing 3. Previous models, 6 & 20 Differences to the 25? Chronology of accidents Please see What was wrong with the Therac-25 programming? 2 modes X ray: high intensity beam deflected by tungsten target Electron: removes tungsten & reduces beam intensity by factor of 100 Quickly changing* (data entry editing) between mode resulted in electron mode not dropping the beam intensity * If the operator was able to edit and start < 8 seconds Use of a Race condition 2 or more tasks sharing a variable, order that each is encountered can affect behavior of the program The Therac 25 no longer had the hardware safety feature Therac 25 problems No fail safe No dose reporting Complicated programming Re use of code Inadequate testing Poor documentation Untrained technicians Poor communication 6

7 Who had ethical, moral and/or legal responsibility? Harm clearly shown. Was there intent? No So we consider tort of negligence Defining negligence from law.com n. failure to exercise the care toward others which a reasonable or prudent person would do in the circumstances, or taking action which such a reasonable person would not Must prove: a) that the party alleged to be negligent had a duty to the injured party specifically to the one injured or to the general public, b) that the defendant's action (or failure to act) was negligent not what a reasonably prudent person would have done, c) that the damages were caused ("proximately caused") by the negligence. An added factor in the formula for determining negligence is whether the damages were "reasonably foreseeable" at the time of the alleged carelessness The FDA enjoys sovereign immunity. In-class Activity #2 Part 2 A) Which principles of the ACM/IEEE preamble are relevant to Therac. Discuss and explain. B) Which participants in Therac do you believe to be negligent? Why or why not? Hospital(s) Nurse/operators Doctors Atomic Energy of Canada (AECL) Other participant Personal Opinion: Which participant in Therac do you hold most responsible for what happened? A. Hospital / operators B. Atomic Energy of Canada C. Doctors D. Other 7