Abstract
Many problems in software development can be traced to a narrow understanding of professional responsibility. The author examines ways in which software developers have tried to avoid accepting responsibility for their work. After cataloguing various types of responsibility avoidance, the author introduces an expanded concept of positive responsibility. It is argued that the adoption of this sense of positive responsibility will reduce many problems in software development.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Joch, A. (1995) How Software Doesn’t Work. Byte, December: 48–60
Vallee, J. (1982) The Network Revolution, And/Or Press, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Ladd, J. (1988) Computers and Moral Responsibility: A Framework for an Ethical Analysis, in: Gould, Carol (ed.) The Information Web: Ethical and Social Implications of Computer Networking, Westview Press.
Dunlop, C., et al. (1991) Ethical Perspectives and Professional Responsibility, in: King, R. (ed.) Computerization and Controversy: Value Conflicts and Social Choices, Academic Press, California, USA.
Harris, C.E., et al., eds. (1995) Engineering Ethics: Concepts and Cases, Wadsworth, USA.
Johnson, D. (1994) Computer Ethics, Prentice Hall., USA.
Davis, M. (1989) Explaining Wrongdoing, Journal of Social Philosophy, Spring/Fall: 74–90.
Laudon, K. (1995) Ethical Concepts and Information Technology, Communications of the ACM 38(12): 33–40.
Ross, W.D. (1969) Moral Duties, Macmillan, USA.
Leveson, N., et. al. (1993) An Investigation of the Therac-25 Accidents, IEEE Computer Magazine 26: 18–41.
Nissenbaum, H. (1994) Computing and Accountability, Communications of the ACM 37: 73–80.
SE “Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice”, adopted by the IEEE-CS and the ACM. (1998) http://computer.org/computer/code-of-ethics.pdf. Also republished in Science and Engineering Ethics 7(2): 231–238.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
An earlier version of this paper was written for inclusion in S. Rogerson and T. W. Bynum, eds., Computer Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Blackwell, (in press). Prepublished here with permission from the author and the editors.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gotterbarn, D. Informatics and professional responsibility. SCI ENG ETHICS 7, 221–230 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-001-0043-5
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-001-0043-5