Writing 00: What does it mean to be ethically responsible?

For me, it is rather difficult to define an ethically responsible person. I think the most important quality of being ethically responsible person is considering the effect of our actions upon others. However, in my opinion, there is an important caveat to this that one must not ruin one's livelihood in order to promote the common good. In this sense, I believe my primary ethical framework would be a mix between Utilitarianism and Egoism.

In the context of Computer Science, this framework entails that it is morally permissible for a ethically ambiguous employer such as Facebook or the NSA provided that you work within your capacity to do the right thing. For Facebook and the NSA, that would mean speaking out against abusing user data for company gain in as many opportunities as you can without overdoing it and losing your job because of it. Of course, an act such as whistleblowing would certainly be ethically supererogatory in my eyes. However, I don't think it is write to claim that whistleblowing is ethically required if you know of wrongdoing within your company. As mentioned in class, I believe that we should do what good we can within our means. In other words, we shouldn't necessarily sacrifice our livelihoods and careers in order to do the right thing.

One of the reasons I stress acting ethically within our means is my experiences abroad in Japan. In Japan, there is this idea that one must always put the general community over oneself. While in theory this mindset is intended to encourage people to act with kindness and proper manners, I found that in reality this thinking encouraged the brutal cycle of overwork and lack of self-care. This idea also encouraged a culture of shaming in which people would be criticized for not giving back enough to their community. For example, there is a notorious problem in Japan in which elderly people are neglected by their families since they are seen as dead weight and a burden to society. For these reasons, I strongly believe that some sense of self-care and self-interest is a necessary component of a good ethical framework.

How can we do the right thing "within our means?" I believe as programmers acting ethically within our means entails being responsible for the code we write and the code we review as much as possible. When we create programs, we have to take ownership over the user experience and the effects that our programs have over others. For example, if you write a program that accesses and stores user data, then you should strive to the best of your ability to protect that data and limit access only to the most critical systems that require it. In the case of code review, you should push back against malicious or incompetent use of the data. In this way, you can still achieve good in your everyday life without having to destroy your life in the process.

Another way in which we can achieve good within our means as computer scientists is by giving back to the community through open source. Open source software is a great avenue for spreading our talents far and wide to the global community. It is also an opportunity to do volunteer work while achieving personal growth and satisfaction. For me, I have found a lot of value in sharing my work through open source and receiving help in return from the community. It really is a great positive feedback loop that benefits everyone.

In conclusion, I think that you should strive to be an ethically responsible person. As humans, we are nothing without community. In order to maintain and improve our community, ethical responsibility is a requirement. However, I don't believe that we should sacrifice our livelihoods in order to achieve the greatest amount of good possible. Thus, like with many things, we should strive to find a balance between ethical responsibility and our personal obligations.