The Code of Ethics our group wrote was based off of the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. We used the weaknesses we found in this document to mould our own code, and create the best set of ethical rules we could to guide the Notre Dame CSE students.
The first highlight of our code that differs from the ACM Code is rule 1.2: “Take action to avoid harm to other.” This is similar to ACM Code 1.2: “Avoid harm to others,” with the distinction that we added “take action” rather than just “avoid.” We believe it is not sufficient to just passively avoid harm. A truly ethical programmer will do everything in his/her ability to avoid harm, by means of taking the proper actions and precautions.
Another highlight of our code is rule 2.1: “Strive for academic success.” This rule is an important addition in our code because it speaks directly to the Notre Dame CSE students. By encouraging academic success in the classroom, this rule will train students to strive for success after their time in school as well. Being at this University is a blessing and an opportunity. To not strive for excellence does a disservice to yourself and everyone who helped you along the way to get you here. The same thing applies to life. Life is a blessing, so it is only right to strive for success in every aspect of your life. Otherwise, you are wasting the life and opportunity God has blessed you with.
Our code is not perfect. Although we strived to be as clear as possible, loopholes exists, and certain rules may be interpreted differently than we expected. The only cure for this is to make the code dynamic. It should be allowed to change as problems are found with it. Also, since technology is such a rapidly evolving field, it is inevitable that code will have to advance and evolve with it.
Creating this code was definitely a useful exercise as a Notre Dame CSE student. Having to actually think about and write down the ethical codes I believe I should follow made me more active in following them moving forward. If I hadn’t had to create a tangible code of ethics, I may have taken my actions for granted, not actively thinking whether or not the decisions I was making were ethical.
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