The Social Responsibility of a Software Engineer
Abstraction: The social responsibility is one of important responsibilities defined by ACM in its ethic codes for software engineer. Compare to other responsibilities, social responsibility is more remote and ambiguous. When a software engineer obtained the privilege to practice his/her right from the society, he/she is required to take corresponding responsibilities. But the definition of the responsibilities is not unified in computing professional community but heavily depended on the software engineer's personal life experience and the social environment around him/her. Meanwhile, the final social effect of software is not always straightforward. In many cases, that effect is not decided by software itself but decided by who use it and where it is used. In this article, we will discuss a case that some so-called "Hacktivists" who are trying to break down the "Great Fair Wall" in China. By analyze the arguments around this case and some concerns we may have about these arguments, we are trying to describe the difficulty a software engineer may have to face when he/she assume his/her social responsibility.
Introduction: What Are The Social Responsibility For A Software Engineer
In accordance with ACM code of ethics and professional conduct, software engineer has the social responsibility "to protect fundamental human rights and to respect the diversity of all cultures" and "computing professional must attempt to ensure that the products of their efforts will be used in socially responsible ways"[2]. A software engineer also "must be alert to, and make others aware of, any potential damage"[2] about his/her products. The responsibilities are thought as a contract signe...
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Everyday people in China are suffering from their government. From being wrongly accused to being executed for petty crimes. In a country where you cannot speak your opinions, talk poorly about government officials, speak about Chinese communist failures, or even browse the internet freely. China has kept its citizens in the void. One example is the great firewall of china, which sensors most social media and other sites. This essay will go into some individual stories of the Chinese government's unfair social injustices towards its people.
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According to an article by Rebecca MacKinnon, “While the Chinese government has supported the development of the Internet as a tool for business, entertainment, education, and information exchange, it has succeeded in preventing people from using the Internet to organize any kind of viable political opposition. Balancing openness with control has been the central challenge for the Chinese Communist Party since Deng Xiaoping began his policy of “reform and opening up” in 1979.” Clearly, the normal Chinese citizen would be afraid to just browse the Internet because of the filters and possible risks involved. “One student blogger in China, pen-named “Undersound” estimated that only about five percent of the people he knows actually use proxy servers to access blocked websites. Most of his classmates...
The Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice is the public policy developed by the IEEE Computer Society (CS) and the Association of Computer Machinery (ACM). The IEEE-CS is dedicated to “advancing the theory, practice, and application, of computer and information processing technology.” 3 With more than 100,000 members, it hails itself as the world's leading organization of computer professionals. The ACM serves the same purpose as the IEEE-CS but also encompasses membership for computing students. Both organizations are highly respected among the engineering community and both include membership and offices worldwide.
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The great firewall of China is a manifestation of the oppressive regime that denies the Chinese people their basic rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. The recent action taken by Google to leave China is a move in the right direction. However, Google, like other U.S firms in China, played a deceitful role in abetting the injustice perpetrated by the Chinese government. Google as a company enjoyed the rights guaranteed by the U.S constitution, while they helped an oppressive regime deny it to billions of citizens. Furthermore, abetting an oppressive regime suppress and subjugate its citizens is unethical from any moral standpoint. Therefore, it is a moral imperative to help bring down the firewall and give China access to free and fair information.
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In the paragraphs that follow you will be introduced to the Code of Ethics as outlined by IEEE, and what it means to its members. A comprehensive summarization will be provided for each guideline along with examples of how this code has been recently violated. The vast world of technology, as ever-changing as it is, can affect almost everyone in any aspect of life. This being the case it is important that we as students and engineers adhere to the guidelines set forth by the IEEE, and commit to conduct ourselves to act in a professional and ethical manner. While this is the conduct expected to be exemplified by the members of IEEE, many organizations and firms have similar codes to which they too expect their members to follow.
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Engineering ethics focuses on the behavior of the individual - the engineer, and the development of ethical standards governing their professional activities. Engineering ethics has always existed as a set of rules or a system that governs the behavior of an engineer. Among its main provisions, we can attribute such as the need to faithfully perform engineering work that would bring welfare and do not cause harm to people; be accountable for engineering professional activities; a good relationship ( customs and rules governing relations ) with other engineer, etc.
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