Good Computing: A Pedagogically Focused Theory of Professional Computer Ethics

Saint Olaf College, Northfield MN

Investigators

Abstract

This Scholar's Award by the NSF program in Science, Technology & Society supports research that examines ethics and values issues in computing. Work in computing ethics over the last 30 years has borne much fruit. Yet we still know very little about how computer professionals manage to be ethical in their everyday lives. This research investigates the skills and strategies computer professionals use to navigate normal and unusual stresses, conflicting demands, and multiple possibilities and difficulties of their careers. This inquiry follows the life stories of computer scientists who are known for their ethical commitment, and builds on previous work that documents the life stories of moral exemplars in computing in the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. Moral exemplars are people who are successfully integrating ethical concern into their practice of computing. This work will contribute to a multifaceted picture of how moral exemplars in computing structure their lives, make choices, and implement plans. Initial results suggest that there are at least two types of exemplars in computing: craftspersons who design software to help users (e.g., persons with disabilities) and reformers who attempt to change society (e.g., by changing laws and regulations on privacy). The research in this project will use advanced statistical techniques to tease apart the relationships between technical and social skill in the success or failure of the projects described by the exemplars in interviews. Detailed biographical data will also be collected on a subset of the exemplars to investigate how they have charted their moral careers in the midst of sometimes helpful and sometimes hindering social environments. The proposed statistical and qualitative investigation will be rooted in a model of ethical action in computing across a variety of environmental circumstances. One outcome of the project will be a new direction in education that will promote ethical commitment as well as development of skills and knowledge for computer professionals.