Once I receive my undergraduate degree from Charleston Southern University; I want to work for a software development company. And in that career field we have a lot of ethical dilemmas; especially when it comes to company and used relations. How much monitoring should you do on your users. Or How much data collecting should you do with your users and should you sell it to the government. Or when should or should you not fix bugs in your code. Should your stuff be free or open source. So many questions and concerns; when do you start to take advantage of your user base. Those are the major challenges I feel like I will face as a young programmer just starting off.
Privacy is one of the big issues to me. Where do we say that we are collecting data to much data on our users. Data collection is a means to help make your software better for your users. But how do we cipher though data to know what is diving to deep into someone’s personal life. There are companies who make money by buying and selling information that is collected off the internet. “Merged data collection” banks infringe on people’s personal rights; so how do I as a young programmer ensure that everything I collect never goes to one of those collection banks.According to ACM we should “ only collect the minimum amount of personal information” to complete the task. Also that “ the retention and disposal periods for that information should be well defined”. Also there are many stories of the US government court ordering companies to turn over files to the US government without users permissions.
Another problem I feel I will face as a young programmer is knowing when to charge for a program or open source it. The consumer is the best tester for new code; but should you make someone pay for something that you know isn’t a hundred percent working or should you let people download it for free. Also what about the programmers that come after me should I make schools have to purchase my code to help students learn or should it be free. Because as a student I know that you learn by doing and seeing. I also understand the value in software that is open source and how it has helped me to become a better programming. Colossians 3:17: (NIV) And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. As Christians we shouldn’t just do things for the monetary gain; we should perform deeds for the goodness of the Christian Kingdom and for humanity. By allowing my software to be open source I can help someone else do good work.
You can overcome the dilemmas that I have stated by being honest and upfront with the users that you sell your software too. “A computing professional should be transparent and provide full disclosure of all pertinent system capabilities, limitations, and potential problems to the appropriate parties.” By keeping things honest you not only are doing the moral right thing but you are also are living in the way of the Lord. Also you will need to not only sell software but also put software on the internet for others to use as well to learn from. I want others to learn from what I create in my lifetime just as I have learned from those who have created software before me.
I feel that I am semi prepared for the challenges that are to come as I enter into the workforce. I also feel as I am not prepared enough to handle everything. As a Christian I will always turn to the Bible for guidance when I am in uncertain territories. I feel as if I need to become stronger in my conviction to help me prepare for tough situations in the workplace. Also I have to be prepared to accept that I won’t always be able to do the right thing when it comes to ensuring that all information that is collected for research gets destroyed properly. I will also prepare by knowing that you are only as good as those around you. I will need to educate myself and the people I work with on the proper procedures. There are so many ethical dilemmas when it comes to programming. Most of the problems I feel like I will face as a programmer is going to deal with privacy issues. Also I feel like it’s everyone’s responsibility to help teach the ones that come after us but how do we teach them if the software is unavailable to them because of pricing. It’s everyone’s job to do the morally right thing.
Works Cited
“IEEE Code of Ethics.” IEEE – Advancing Technology for Humanity, www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/p7-8.html.
“The Code Affirms an Obligation of Computing Professionals to Use Their Skills for the Benefit of Society.” Code of Ethics, www.acm.org/code-of-ethics#h-3.6-use-care-when-modifying-or-retiring-systems
The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments Translated out of the Original Tongues and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared & Revised. American Bible Society, 1986.