I've been wanting to talk to numerous people in this and related fields (eg @lizthegrey, @LeaKissner, @avflox, @anildash, and @amac just to name a handful out of dozens) about this question: Is it time for enforceable ethics in CS?
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Replying to @yonatanzunger @lizthegrey and
could a union be part of the answer?
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Replying to @stubbornella @yonatanzunger and
I think something more akin to professional organization a la engineering / science / medicine is required. Unions don't have enough teeth when it comes to ensuring people are held accountable when they overstep ethical boundaries.
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Replying to @mor10 @stubbornella and
How familiar are you with nurses' unions?
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Replying to @dalehenrygeist @mor10 and
Not enough, perhaps. I'm mostly aware that they push for enough time to ensure adequate patient care. Is that what you're referring to?
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Replying to @LeaKissner @mor10 and
OK, my wife just got home and I got a little clarification on the nurses' union. The most salient ethical enforcement comes when the nurse is at odds with a company (hospital, etc.) that's not acting ethically. Protecting whistleblower status, etc.
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Replying to @dalehenrygeist @LeaKissner and
This is, of course, pertinent to the discussion. Designers and engineers at Google, Facebook, and Twitter (to name the most obvious ethically challenged behemoths) could have recourse for challenging unethical directives if protected by a union.
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Replying to @dalehenrygeist @LeaKissner and
I should say that, at least at Google, there has been very solid recourse for challenging such directives — and at least two people who have done so repeatedly are on this thread. ;)
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Replying to @yonatanzunger @LeaKissner and
That's a relief to know, truly. At the same time, I wonder whether there are ethical questions at the root of the enterprise, analagous to the pursuit of nuclear fission. When the mission is to know what's in each of our brains...
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Replying to @dalehenrygeist @yonatanzunger and
To quote a research psychologist I know: "The stuff you computer people do with data would never be allowed in my profession. I would lose my job."
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I've said similar things. It took me months to get IRB reviews and arrivals for small sample, non-invasive human psychology research, and it's just as difficult for animal research. Psychologists have ethics requirements for licensing, too.
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Replying to @DaveHogue @dalehenrygeist and
Just rebrand as "UX" and you're clear for launch!pic.twitter.com/eFMal6cYqM
0 replies 0 retweets 1 likeThanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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