Ethics in Engineering: Volkswagen's Diesel Fiasco
http://hackaday.com/2015/09/23/ethics-in-engineering-volkswagens-diesel-fiasco/
Like the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, like the
Johnstown flood, and like that one scene at the beginning of
Fight Club, this will be one for the engineering ethics text
books. If this does turn into a criminal investigation - and
chances of that are good - we will eventually learn how this
complete abdication of law and social responsibility came to be.
Until then, we're left to guess how one of the biggest blunders
of automotive history came to be, and where Volkswagen and the
diesel car will be in the years to come.
- - -
I have for many years publicly asserted that ethics are a *fundamental*
aspect of engineering -- including software engineering. I have
frequently faced arguments from persons claiming that I'm wrong -- that
engineers should just write the code as they're told to do, and that
their role is not to independently apply any ethical considerations
whatsoever. I cannot even really begin to explain how strongly I
disagree with that view, or how devastating to consumer and user trust
that view can be.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein ([email protected]): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://google.com/+LaurenWeinstein
Twitter: http://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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