4.3.2 ACM Code of Conduct
Regardless of the fact that computing professionals are not yet licensed, commonly recognized principles for ethical behavior are emerging. The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), the oldest and largest organization of computing professionals, has formalized these principles in their “Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct” which is discussed below.
The Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct of the Association for Computing Machinery[13] attempts to capture in 24 imperatives the essential aspects of ethical behavior. It is intended to serve as “the basis of ethical decision making in the conduct of professional work” and also as “a basis for judging the merit of a formal complaint pertaining to violation of professional ethical standards”.
The code is divided into four sections. The first section addresses “general moral imperatives”, the second “more specific professional responsibilities”, the third section concerns “organizational leadership imperatives”, and the final section “compliance with the code”.
The general moral imperatives consist of the following eight statements, which are designed to address fundamental ethical considerations:
- Contribute to society and human well-being.
- Avoid harm to others.
- Be honest and trustworthy.
- Be fair and take action not to discriminate.
- Honor property rights including copyrights and patent.
- Give proper credit for intellectual property.
- Respect the privacy of others.
- Honor confidentiality.
Under more specific professional responsibilities, the following eight statements are made:
- Strive to achieve the highest quality, effectiveness and dignity in both the process and products of professional work.
- Acquire and maintain professional competence.
- Know and respect existing laws pertaining to professional work.
- Accept and provide appropriate professional review.
- Give comprehensive and thorough evaluations of computer systems and their impacts, including analysis of possible risks.
- Honor contracts, agreements, and assigned responsibilities.
- Improve public understanding of computing and its consequences.
- Access computing and communication resources only when authorized to do so.
The third section of the code addresses the ethical obligations of organizations – stating them from the perspective of the organizational leader. This section consists of the following six imperatives:
- Articulate social responsibilities of members of an organizational unit and encourage full acceptance of those responsibilities.
- Manage personnel and resources to design and build information systems that enhance the quality of working life.
- Acknowledge and support proper and authorized uses of an organization’s computing and communication resources.
- Ensure that users and those who will be affected by a system have their needs clearly articulated during the assessment and design of requirements; later the system must be validated to meet requirements.
- Articulate and support policies that protect the dignity of users and others affected by a computing system.
- Create opportunities for members of the organization to learn the principles and limitations of computer systems.
The final section of the code deals with compliance and consists of the following two statements:
- Uphold and promote the principles of this Code.
- Treat violations of this Code as inconsistent with membership in the ACM.
Accompanying the code is a set of “guidelines”. The purpose of these guidelines is to illuminate the principles underlying the statements that form the code and to provide guidance concerning interpretation and application of the code.
The complete text of both the code and its associated guidelines is included in an Appendix to this text. The student is encouraged to read the code and its guidelines and to carefully reflect on their content.
In addition to the general ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct discussed above, the ACM and IEEE Computer Society have together adopted a joint “Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice”.[14] The reader is encouraged to download a copy of this code and reflect on its contents as well. Changes and modifications to the 2012-2013 edition
- SECURITY AND PRVACY -- Update the section on password security
- PRIVACY -- What are the potential privacy implications of ubiquitous technologies such as Google Glass? Life loggers, record everything? What about your right to privacy?
- FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION -- Fred Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church @ GodHatesFags.com, protest of military funerals; Terry Jones, Dove World Outreach Center (International Burn a Koran Day); “Innocence of the Muslims” Nakoula Basseley Nakoula (aka “Sam Bacile”)
- WHAT CONSITITUES CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR? -- Update the legal section – ok to record police during arrests and/or questioning? Reid Technique, Norfolk Four, Michelle Moore-Bosko, 1997, false/coerced confessions, recording of all police interactions. Wireless router controversy.
- GLOBAL PHENOMENON -- Add a section on Cyber Security, Cyber Attacks, and Cyber Warfare, Richard Clarke’s book “Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About it” – argues America is more vulnerable than most because we are so dependent of computing and communications infrastructure – we spend handsomely of Cyber Offense, but almost nothing on cyber defense of critical infrastructure.
Footnotes
[13] http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html
[14] http://www.acm.org/serving/se/code.html