Rocco D’Ambrosca: 03/01/2010
There are unique fields of study that create upon themselves a specialized service to the community at large. In these very general terms, this description could fit any number of occupations. However, the topic here to be discussed is that of the professional. In the following description and analysis it will be shown that a computer professional, just like any other, exhibits equal, if not greater, thought upon ethical considerations as upon technical applications.
Before any specific discussion can occur regarding what it is to be a computer professional, it must first be said what it means to be a professional in general. “Profession is often used as an empty synonym for occupation” (Professionalism), but this couldn’t be further from the truth. As a professional, an individual must commit themselves to a so called higher calling, than the direct pursuit of money as defined by an occupation. “A profession requires a monopolistic knowledge that circumstances a clearly defined territory. These traditional hallmarks are perhaps derived from the priests who were early exemplars of a profession. They had special powers and knowledge and controlled entry into their ranks, exercised a large degree of autonomy, and served an important social function. In this tradition, medicine and law are paradigm professions.” (Professionalism). In all three of these cases of a professional, all aspire or profess to a greater good than simply monetary gain. The priests profess to their God or gods, the doctors of medicine profess to good health, and lawyers profess to justice.
So what does it mean to be a computer professional now that the general term of professional has been addressed? “By computing professional I mean anyone involved in the design and development of computer artifacts. Computer artifacts include things like: program documentation, test plans and test cases, feasibility studies, source code, user manuals, system maintenance manuals and design documents, that is, all the products of the system development process.” (Responsibility). Just like the doctor who must study and understand the technical nature of biological systems, and as a lawyer does equally in regards to legal systems; a computer professional must also do so with computer systems. The responsibilities of a computer professional, just like any other professional, “generally requires advanced skill and training” (Responsibility), but most of all requires autonomy.
Just as technical, “training provides a variety of technical solutions to a problem”, a computer professional must still thoughtfully consider, “among these using their professional judgment to pick the best solution. The existence of some form of autonomy is critical to ascribing moral responsibility to the professional” (Responsibility). Professionals by definition have proven their extensive knowledge of their respective field and have earned the right to be called a professional through accreditation. Of what use would they be if they were unable to function as an individual within this profession. This is why, “the notion of autonomy is critical to the concept of a professional and it is just as evident in a physician’s decision while practicing in a PC as it is for a computing professional working in a large corporation.” (Responsibility). When doctors diagnose a malignity and prescribe a cure they, like computer professionals, “use their professional judgment in determining which cure would be the best in any particular case” (Responsibility). In both cases, “if they did not exercise autonomous judgment we would not consider them professional.” (Responsibility).
It is because of this required autonomy that such a high standard of ethical and moral fortitude is so vital. For this very reason professionals, “set higher standards for themselves than society requires of its citizens. Therefore only they will be able to recognize and censure those members who do not live up to these standards. Society in turn generally requires proof of such competence before giving someone license to enter the profession.” (Professionalism). The accreditation given by a governing body or organization of a profession entails the strict observation of the, socially obligated, code of ethics and conduct or risk loss of accreditation. “At the simplest level a code of ethics is a statement of the obligations of individual computing professionals in the conduct of their profession. The code will generally embody a moral commitment of service to the public. Sometimes they are used to clarify expectations and appropriate behavior of professionals.” (Professionalism).
Technical knowledge can be studied and tested over and over again until the knowledge of the technical tools, systems, and their various applications are thoroughly understood. The same cannot easily be said of ethical knowledge or conduct. An ethical code of conduct cannot and should not be used as a reference manual similar to a technical syntax dictionary. Every circumstance involving moral or ethical deliberation is extremely unique and cannot be looked up like a technical error code. “Accepting a role of professional also carries with it a commitment to a set of ethical principles.” (Responsibility).
However, these principles, as laid out by an ethical code, should be used as guidelines that define the profession. A professional should not be arbitrarily constrained by specific laws that govern his profession. As stated before, autonomy is of supreme importance as a professional. The ethical code, “is more like what lawyers call a ‘quasi-contract’ or a ‘contract implied in law’; that is, an obligation resting not on an actual agreement (whether express or tacit) but on what it is fair to require of someone given what he has voluntarily done, such as accepted the benefits that go with claiming to be an engineer” (Thinking) or any professional. A computer professional must be mindful of the ethical code in regards to the spirit of the law and not become overly burdened and hindered by a letter of the law deontological approach. If a spirit of the law interpretation is not exercised, a professional greatly loses autonomy and risks slipping into subjectivism, rather than a high minded objectivism based upon the truth of what is best in any set of circumstances or context.
“Ethics for the computing professional is not another kind of ethics but it is ethical rules and judgments applied in a computing context based on professional standards and a concern for the user of the computing product.” (Responsibility). It is the patient of the doctor, defendant of the lawyer, or user of the computer professionals’ product or services that demands this ethical standard of the profession. When a computer professional works in the IT department of a corporation, hospital, or school they are working with extremely important and confidential information. As a professional, they are not only expected to do their work competently and efficiently using correct technical application, but are also expected to exercise extreme respect and discretion in regards to the information they help organize, collect, and protect. The information they work with in this example is extremely confidential and is meant to be kept so.
It is therefore the computer professionals’ responsibility to use their technical knowledge to create the strongest most secure encryptions, safe guards, and protections possible. They are expected and required to take this job extremely seriously and to act professional, and not cut corners, leaving possible security holes, or expose the information directly themselves for any means. Put simply, “being a professional involves using one’s special skills to give careful and constant consideration to the impact of the service on others.” (Responsibility).
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