Great need for ethical software engineering

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29 April 2024

Complicating ethics in software engineering is a complicated challenge. Especially in decision-making software architecture designs. With her research, computer scientist Razieh Alidoosti has proven that there is an urgent need to do better in software engineering that takes ethical values into account from the start.

Privacy violation and discrimination
By doing this, software systems can be designed that better take into account the well-being of individuals and society. For example, privacy violations and discrimination are two pillars that are carefully examined. A social media platform that unintentionally exposes user data could lead to identity theft, financial fraud, or reputational damage for individuals. But algorithms used for decision-making can also perpetuate biases present in the data used to train them. This discriminates against demographic groups, leading to unfair employment opportunities and perpetuating social inequality.

Safety violations with fatal consequences
There is an expectation from society that medical devices give priority to patient safety. There is also a standard of trust in medical professionals and technology to provide safe and effective treatment for serious diseases such as cancer. A good example of this is Therac-25, a computer-controlled radiation therapy system. Therac-25 was created to provide patients with radiotherapy, an essential treatment for cancer. However, it failed due to safety violations. The system caused a massive overdose of six people in the late 1980s and led to several deaths and serious injuries.

Complexity
It illustrates the complexity of ethical issues in technology development, especially in areas where human lives are at stake. The designers and manufacturers of the Therac-25 were particularly interested in meeting the needs of system users, such as machine operators and medical physicists. They likely prioritised usability to ensure the system could be used efficiently and effectively.

Training future professionals
Using ethical design frameworks and guidelines, future professionals are better helped to integrate ethical considerations into the design phase. By taking ethical values into account from the start in software development, this ultimately leads to more responsible and impactful technology. Future software professionals can also be better educated in ethical awareness, making them better able to deal effectively with dilemmas.