Ethics In Computing, Science, And Engineering: A Student’s Guide To Doing Things Right PDF
Preview Ethics In Computing, Science, And Engineering: A Student’s Guide To Doing Things Right
Barry G. Blundell Ethics in Computing, Science, and Engineering A Student’s Guide to Doing Things Right Ethics in Computing, Science, and Engineering Barry G. Blundell Ethics in Computing, Science, and Engineering ’ A Student s Guide to Doing Things Right 123 BarryG.Blundell UK ISBN978-3-030-27125-1 ISBN978-3-030-27126-8 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27126-8 ©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2020 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland This book is dedicated to my family: Jandy, Alys, Quintus, Kismet and Billy without whose faith, understanding, and support it couldn’t have been written. And also to the memory of Hawa Bangura When the conflict ended, we were not able to find her. Nobody could. ‘It was quite an affecting sight, I used to think, to see him with the kite when it was up a great height in the air. What he had told me, in his room, about his belief in its disseminating the statements pasted on it, which were nothing but old leaves of abortive Memorials, might have been a fancy with him sometimes; but not when he was out, looking upatthekiteinthesky,andfeelingitpulland tug at his hand. He never looked so serene as he did then. I used to fancy, as I sat by him of an evening, on a green slope, and saw him watch the kite high in the quiet air, that it liftedhismindoutofitsconfusion,andboreit (such was my boyish thought) into the skies. As he wound the string in and it came lower and lower down out of the beautiful light, until it fluttered to the ground, and lay there like a dead thing, he seemed to wake gradually out of a dream; and I remember to have seen him take it up, and look about him in a lost way, as if they had both come down together, so that I pitied him with all my heart.’ Charles Dickens ‘David Copperfield’ (1850) ‘We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in.Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical…More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness…Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.’ Charles Chaplin ‘The Great Dictator’ (1940) Foreword ‘…thereisnofreedomwithoutuncertainty; itisthemediuminwhichhumanwill isexpressedinpromises.’1 Ethical issues have attracted the attention of scientists and engineers at least since theinventionofdynamitebyAlfredNobelin1867.Nobelbequeathedthefundsfor theprizesbearing hisname in1895,allegedly wishingtoimprovehis posthumous reputation after he read a disparaging obituary of himself that a French newspaper had published by mistake when his brother died. Of the five prizes originally established by Nobel, three—in physics, chemistry, and physiology/medicine— wereinscience.Onewasinliterature.Theremainingprizeistheonemostnaturally associated with ethical issues, namely the Peace Prize. Since that time, a number of ethical issues have arisen as the result of the application of scholarship and technology: eugenics; nuclear, chemical, and bio- logical weaponry; changes in the physical environment caused by agricultural and industrial technology; human-rights issues associated with the new technology of surveillance and communication; humanitarian issues involved with providing adequate nutrition, education, and medical care to people living in poor countries; andmanyothers.Therapidandcontinuingincreaseintechnicalpowerprovidedby information storage and retrieval systems such as Google, by DNA forensics, by facial-recognition technology, and by hypersensitive optical devices used for surveillance, is constantly generating new challenges and a need for continuously updated ethical standards. These challenges weigh most heavily on the engineers and scientists who are inventing this new technology and studying the underlying phenomenaonwhichitisbased.Everyscientistandengineer,indeedeveryscholar in every area of natural science and social science, and even in some of the humanities—I have history particularly in mind—has a deep responsibility to understand the social, political, and ethical implications of his or her work, and to carry out that work in strict accordance with the norms laid down by professional organizations. One cannot—or rather, should not—nowadays focus narrowly on technical research to the neglect of its potential social effects. It is vitally important to be 1Zuboff,S.,‘TheAgeofSurveillanceCapitalism’,(2019). ix x Foreword involved in the interface between one’s specialty and the wider society. The potential consequences of new technology, for good or ill, are now enormous, and the past practice of building a new technology as soon as funding can be procured todosohasbecomedangerous.Moreandmoreattentionmustbepaidtowhatare commonly called Unintended Consequences. For example, people my age, who were born before there were television stations, may recall reading about the great boonthisnewmediumwouldprovideforeducation.Halfacenturylater,thatsame prediction was made with even greater enthusiasm about the Internet. While some of the predicted benefits of these technologies have indeed come to pass, we must also acknowledge that television profoundly disrupted family life and that the Internet has made it possible for people to live in restricted “bubbles,” where their viewsonpoliticsandsocietyareneverchallenged,therebyprovidingfertilesoilfor the growth of irrational conspiracy theories. The result, in both cases, has been an increasing estrangement of people from one another that has potentially serious psychological, social, and political consequences. Many other examples of such unforeseen consequences will no doubt occur to the reader. The present book, which I would like to see in the office of every engineer, mathematician, and scientist,elucidates theissues involved inall theircomplexity. It was written by an outstanding scientist who is also a man of profound human values.AlthoughtheauthorandIhavenotmetinperson,wehaveforseveralyears regularlycorrespondedbye-mailonavarietyofscientificandethicalissues.Ifeel both humbled and honored to have been asked to write this foreword, and I commendthebooktoitsreaders,confidentthattheywillfeelwellrewardedforthe time spent in reading and understanding it. Burlington, Vermont, USA Roger Cooke June 2019 Preface ‘…wemustseetoitthatthisagencyandallagencies thatpossessthistechnologyoperatewithinthelaw andunderpropersupervision sothatwenevercrossoverthatabyss. Thatistheabyssfromwhichthereisnoturningback.’2 TheycallitIndustry4.0:theFourthIndustrialRevolution.Howeverdespitehaving spentsomefortyyearsresearchingandworkingwithsomanydigitaltechnologies, I remain uncertain as to whether future generations will view Industry 4.0 as broadly heralding an age of human advancement—or something significantly less positive.Forthemostpartthisuncertaintyisn’tfoundedoninnatecharacteristicsof technologybutratherreflectsanappreciationoftheincreasinglycomplexsymbiosis of diverse human, societal, and technological traits. To date commercial and governmental considerations have played a dominant role in driving the development, deployment, and application of hardware and software systems. This has created a rapidly expanding and highly adaptive industry but the pace of progress has resulted in short-term opportunities often outweighinglonger-termconsiderations.Whilstdigitaltechnologieswererelatively simple,thiswasoflittleconsequencebutsincethe1990sthesituationhasgradually changed. Although innovation continues to yield results which are of great benefit to society, it’s becoming increasingly evident that the application of ever more sophisticated and interconnected technological systems may have adverse (and sometimes unanticipated) ramifications. Undoubtedly people are becoming more aware of data misuse, the erosion of personal privacies, and the sometimes life-changing impact of cyber crime, but relatively few have the opportunity to reflect on the possible consequences of our overall direction of travel. Ifwhenarmedwithasoundunderstandingofcurrentandemergingtechnologies we do endeavour to look ahead, it quickly becomes evident that we need to chart our course with care—for there are perils which threaten the individual, society in general, and the environment. We are for example gaining the scientific, techno- logical and engineering capabilities that will support the development of 2Senator Frank Church (Chair of the Select Committee on Intelligence and former Military IntelligenceOfficer)onNBC’s‘MeetthePress’,(17thAug.1975). xi
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