3 ms·
You sound like you're not sure that what you implemented was good for anyone.
by verisimi 4y ago
You sound like you're not sure that what you implemented was good for anyone.
- bob1029 4y agoIf you are implying there is some sort of ethical harm in undertaking this kind of work, I can assure you the thought was crossing my mind the entire time. My choices were ultimately: 1. Implement this product as specified, doing everything in my power to ensure rules are being followed throughout. 2. Quit my job in protest, bringing down my tiny startup company. 10 people are immediately out of work. Our client finds someone else to implement chex for them anyways.
- verisimi 4y agoI do consider the ethical implications, of which there are many. I think we are coding ourselves into dystopia - where technology will not be serving us, but we will be serving it. We might be there already. Which 'governance structure'/'rule creating structure' is going to ensure that the moral elements are considered? Or do they simple wave through the legislation big corporations' lobbyists have written? Will big corporations' so-called the 'ethics committees' give us the moral outlook we need? (I don't think so - they are about justifying the unjustifiable, it seems to me.) What is better - that 10 people you are out of work, or that - as you say - someone else will implement this? These questions are very hard to answer. There are lots of coders who will do whatever-it-is without hesitation. Ultimately, I guess we will have to do as we each see fit. What I say: morality is a question for the individual, so how do you judge yourself? That is one way to guide oneself through the mire.
- verisimi 4y agoFWIW, I just submitted a link on morality with regards to software: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31517222 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31517222