Life Stories of Moral Exemplars in Computing: A Cross-Cultural Analysis

Saint Olaf College, Northfield MN

Investigators

Abstract

There are celebrated cases where individual moral decision making in computing has mattered greatly, but there is little systematic work on how moral decisions are made by individual computer professionals. The literature on organizational issues in computing has focused on variables such as status, power, and organizational imperatives. It leads us to focus on situational parameters. This important perspective ignores or underestimates the influence of the individual decision maker in the process. This study explores the life stories of moral exemplars in computing in two cultures, those of Britain and Scandinavia. These two cultures are an interesting contrast because the associated countries have been heavily involved in computing research and design, but their national cultures differ markedly in their approach to workplace values. This case-based study, based on in-depth interviews and questionnaires, examines how particular moral exemplars in computing develop over time in their moral reasoning and action. This study will be done while the investigator is in residence at the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility (CCSR) at De Montfort University, Leicester, UK. A panel of experts in computing ethics refines criteria for selecting moral exemplars in computing in British and Scandinavian cultures, and then helps develop a snowball sample of those moral exemplars. Once selected, the moral exemplars are asked to participate in interviews using a format called the "Life Story Interview" in which interviewees are asked to relate narratives of important episodes in their life (e.g. a peak experience, a nadir experience, a turning point). The interviews are transcribed and coded to identify important developmental milestones and influences. This research breaks new ground by combining developmental work in moral psychology with concern for moral values and behavior on the part of computer professionals. It will be of interest to psychologists studying moral reasoning and action and to the interdisciplinary field of computer ethics. Scholars in the related field of social informatics will also be interested. Finally, this exploratory research will provide an excellent foundation for a continuing research program in the moral development of computer professionals. Much effort has been expended in talking about teaching computer ethics and we have various curricula as guidelines for teaching computer ethics. If we knew something about what actually motivates computer professionals to be ethical, it might well change what (or how) we teach computer