Deadly Codes
02 May 2017Although ethics exist all around us, there are several ways in which ethics can be interpreted. Ethics, in a very general sense, is having the ability to determine what is right from wrong. This determination will then lead us in our actions. For example, our parents have taught us that lying is wrong. However, as we enter adulthood, we are sometimes taught that it’s “okay” to tell a white lie. This is where ethics come in. You will have to determine for yourself what the right thing is based on your morals and beliefs.
But how does ethics affect us as software engineers? It seems almost irrelevant to know about computer ethics in terms of software engineers. I mean, what could a bunch of written lines on a computer do?
As experienced coders and tech-savy people, we know that just a few lines of code can do a lot of damage. One of the most common issues people run into on a daily basis is getting viruses or trojans on thier computer. By invading other people’s privacy, we area already breaching into our ethical sphere. But our codes can go much deeper than that. I remember watching a television series, called CSI: Cyber, where a hacker was able to hack into the hospital’s mainframe and override the codes of the hospital machines, killing several patients to show people that he is, in fact, capable of killing someone from his own home (You can read about that episode here). Of course, this is a bit exaggerated for the television drama, however, the same situation could apply to us in real life. Our own code could hurt or kill someone. So we’ll look at an example where this happened to someone and discuss the ethics behind it.
The Scenerio
For this essay, I will be focusing on the case “The Code I’m Still Ashamed Of”
In short, the author of this article,Bill Sourour, wrote about an experience he had while working with an interactive marketing firm in Canada. One project he had to work on required him to essentially disguise an advertisement for a drug in a website where it was “basically designed to trick young girls.” The project was a “success,” where his client was pleased with the results, however, a girl ended up dying due to major side effects from the drug that he was advertising on his project. As he stated, nothing about this project was illegal, but he never “felt okay about writing that code.”
The Discussion
Much like the episode from CSI: Cyber, the code written ended up with someone dead, although under very different circumstances. Although our author never intended for the young girl to die nor did he even kill her directly, the fact that he left out the side effects in his client’s “advertisement” could make him feel guilty. He stated that “It’s easy to make an argument that I had no part in it at all. Still, I’ve never felt okay about writing that code.”
His unease in taking part of this is due to his ethics. He had his suspicions while writting his code and his suspicions grew when his project manager (PM) took the quiz on the website. When the PM got the result where he should take the client’s prescription drug, the author had to explain to his PM that everything leads to the client’s drug.
This decietfulness is quite small, however, the fact that the side effects were very strong and cost someone their life made the author realize that as developers, there are two important things to remember:
We, as developers, are often one of the last lines of defense against potentially dangerous and unethical practices
Think twice about the effects of your code before you write it
In Conclusion …
I believe that it is very important for every computer scientist to have their own ehtics and to hold firmly to what they think is right. In the scenerio mentioned above, if the author had spoken up about what wa wrong with this, some of the deaths from this drug could have been prevented. Thus, I will always remember to hold on to what I believe is right.