polimd/Computer Ethics/lesson_02.md

Computer Ethics - lesson 1

Viola Schiaffonati

19 September 2017

Engineering Responsibility

An example: the Challenger disaster

In 1986 the first launch of a space shuttle with a civilian onboard, the shuttle exploded after 73 seconds from takeoff.

Years later the cause was found to be the O-rings (rubber sealing rings) that failed to work properly at low temperatures, so fuel started to leak and caught fire.

There is a difference between legal responsibility and moral responsibility

The legal resposibility was attributed to the o-rings failure, and nobody was blamed, but the moral responsibility is to be found elsewhere.

In July 1985 an engineer at Morton Thiokol (supplier of the O-rings) communicated his concernment about the reliability of the O-rings

A project group was set up to investigate the problem but with low funds and information, and the research was not successful.

The night before the flight:

The launching had already been delayed 5 times (partly for weather related reasong: low temperatures at night)

Morton Thiokol had warned NASA to not go ahead with the launch below 11 degrees Celsius.

NASA claimed that the data were insufficient to declare the launch unsafe

This is strange because usually we need data to declare something safe, not the contrary

There was a second conference in which MT decided that the launch had to be done (in view of a contract extension)

The points that emerge is that:

• There is a kind of responsibility from MT in delivering a defective/untested product and making a financial decision.
• Boisjoly also could have contacted directly NASA about the problem.

After a Presidential committee the blame of the incident was given to a communication problem inside NASA and between the suppliers.

The space mission was suspended for 2 years and the communication structure of nasa was changed by involving more the engineering part.

Definitions:

• accountability is necessary to be responsible of something

For example Boisjoly was not accountable as an engineer, regarding the project, but he wa also a human being and as such he could have warned NASA for example.

• Responsibility is linked to the role that you have in a situation.
• Responsibility based on roles
  • Moral responsibility
  • Professional responsibility
• Responsibility:
  • active responsibility
  • passive responsibility

Passive Responsibility

Is a kind of backward-looking responsibility, which is relevan after something undesirable occurred.

• accountability NASA was accountable to the family of the victims, society and sitting judge.
• blameworthiness For someone to be blameworthy, the following conditions are needed:
• wrong-doing: NASA had to prove the flight to be safe
• causal contribution: Both NASA project team and Morton Thiokol management could have postponed the launch
• foreseeability: knowing the consequences of an action
• freedom of action: NASA team project, MT and Boisjoly were under presure but the pressure was not enough to declare that they lacked freedom of action.

Active Responsibility

It's the responsibility before something bad happens.

Prevent the negative effects of technology but also realizing certain positive effects (bovens 1998)

Artifacts can try to implement in their design some values, like "do not drive when drunk" or "do not use much water"

Computer engineers have a code provided by ACM

It requires:

• perception of violations
• consideration of the consequences
• Autonomy
• ...

Ideals of engineering

Are all ideals of engineers morally commendable

ideals may be:

• Behaving in the profession for the common good and not following pressure.
• Try to obtain technological advancement / be an efficient engineer
• Technological enthusiasm

Technological enthisiasm may have consequences, like in the development of Google Earth.

negative effect were overlooked, like privacy and security issues. One of the boardmen of Google, Marissa Meyer said that "Engineers don't need to care about consequences, they are only committed to find the best technical solution"

• Effectiveness: extent to which an established goal is achieved
• Efficiency: the ratio between the goal achieved and the effort required consequences

They are apparently neutral, objective and measurable example: Taylorism and the idea of scientific management, which attempt to design a production process and ultimately society.

Also the professional practice of engineers is not morally neutral.

Engineers versus managers

Three models of dealing with this conflict:

• separatism
• technocracy
• whistle-blowing

Separatism is the idea that scientist and engineers should apply the technical inputs but the management an political organs should make the value decisions.

Boisjoly was of this opinion stating that he would have not done anything more of what he already did.

Technocracy Frederick Taylor proposed that engineers should take over the role of managers in the governancce of companies and that of politicians in the governance of society.

Whistle-blowing Renounce to your professional duty and make a sign that something is not working, this kind of behaviour is punished by a legal point of view.

Collingridge dilemma (Collingridge 1980)

• It is not possible to predict the consequences of new technologies in the earlier phases
• Once the negative consequences materialize, it is difficult to change the direction of technological development.

Constructive Technological Assessment (CTA) is an approach in which TA-like effors are carried out in parallel to technological development.