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Unit 7.1 Ethics & Ownership
Aims
Understand what is meant by the term ethics and be able to give examples of ethical and unethical behaviour.
Understand what is meant by the term professional body, give examples of specific professional bodies and know the benefits and drawbacks of being a member of a professional body.
Understand why copyright is needed and rights that are given to authors under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act.
Understand what is meant by the term software licence and the different types of software licenses available.
Understand what is meant by the term artificial intelligence, its uses and how it impacts society, the economy and the environment.
Ethics in CS refers to what is considered to be good practice & guidelines that demonstrate the behaviour, decisions and actions that people within the sector make.
Ethical issues include anything that impacts: privacy, security, data protection, fairness and society.
Ethical Behaviour | Unethical Behaviour |
Developing algorithms & systems that avoid biases & treat everyone fairly | Gaining unauthorised access to systems/data whether intentional or due to negligence. |
Considering environmental impact of tech & minimising negative environmental effects associated with computing systems & practises. | Creating/distributing malware or other malicious software with intent to disrupt, steal or cause harm. |
Designing programs with accessibility in mind, making it useable by individuals that have disabilities & ensuring equal access to resources & opportunities. | Developing algorithms that inherit biases against any demographic groups, leading to unfair discrimination in areas such as hiring, lending or criminal justice. |
Professional Bodies
Organisation responsible for establishing & promoting good ethical practices & guidelines for its members
Pro’s | Con’s |
Provide network opportunities | Membership fee, are benefits worth it? |
Provide resources & opportunities for L&D | May need significant time investing in for meetings, volunteering & committee participation |
Validate expertise & competence, increasing career & marketability prospects | Some guidelines may be restrictive & burdensome |
Provide career progression opportunities e.g. job programs, events & mentorships |
British Computer Society (BCS)
Public Interest
Have due regard for public health, privacy, security & wellbeing of others and environment
Conduct professional activities without discrimination.
Promote equal access to IT benefits & seek to promote inclusion in all societies sectors.
Professional Competence & Integrity
Only do work within your professional competence & don’t claim above your current level.
Continuously develop professional knowledge, skills & competence
Ensure you know, understand & comply with legislation.
Respect & value other viewpoints & seek, accept & offer honest criticisms on work.
Avoid injuring others, their property/reputation/employment by false/malicious/negligent action or inaction.
Duty to Relevant Authority
Carry out professional responsibilities with due care in accordance with relevant authorities requirements
Seek to avoid any conflict of interest between you & your relevant authority
Accept professional responsibility for your work & colleagues who work under your supervision.
Don’t misrepresent/withhold info on products/systems/services performance.
Duty to the Profession
Accept personal duty to uphold profession reputation & don’t do the opposite.
Improve professional standards through development participation, use and enforcement.
Act with integrity and respect in professionals relationships with all BCS members & other profession members.
Encourage & support fellow members in their professional development.
Institute of Electrical & electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Global professional association for electrical & electronics engineer.
Section | Description |
Product | Ensure products meet highest quality/safety & reliability standards. Products created should contribute positively and minimise harm. |
Public | Prioritise safety/health/welfare of public and consider potential impact of actions on society |
Judgement | Exercise professional judgement & integrity in professional activities. Act honestly, impartially, ethically & avoid conflict of interest/bias. |
Client & Employer | Fulfil client & employer obligations with integrity & competence. Act in their best interest providing accurate advice & confidentiality |
Management | Management/leadership will promote ethical behaviour & professionalism. Create an environment that fosters integrity, fairness & respect for all |
Profession | Uphold profession reputation & integrity. Support & promote ethical standards/best practices/ prof dev initiatives within profession. |
Colleagues | Treat colleagues with respect, fairness & professionalism, collaborate effectively, share knowledge/expertise and support peers prof dev. |
Self | Maintain high standards of professionalism in their practice & continuously try to enhance skills, knowledge & competence. |
The Need for Copyright
Copyright, Design & Patents Act protects owners of creative work by giving them exclusive rights over their own work they’ve produced.
Copyright is rights creator have over own work whereas Patents is exclusively granted for rights over an invention.
*Rights include:
Reproduction - right to make copies of work in any format.
Distribution - right to distribute copies of work to public by selling/leasing etc.
Public Performance & Display - right to publicly perform & display work on internet/theatres etc.
Derivative Works - right to create derivative works based off original, like adaptations, translations & modifications etc.*
Don’t need to apply for it as its automatically protected & depending on offence - unlimited fine - up to 10 years prison.
Software Licences
New software created is released to public for use - often comes with licence indicating legal T’s & C’s under which it can used/distributed/managed.
Freeware Licence
Software copyrighted but is freely available.
Keeping hold of the copyright allows authors to retain control & ownership
They can charge/develop it in future
Doesn’t allow software to be modified.
Open Source Licence
Software that allows anyone to copy/distribute/amend/develop for own purpose
Often developed collaboratively for anyone with interest.
Commercial Licence
Software developed & distributed for profit.
Copyright that is paid for.
Copying/developing/selling is restricted to those that hold licence to the software.
Shareware Licence
Initially given away on free basis for a limited time after which a licence must be obtained.
Often made available as shareware allows users to test it & encourages distribution
Doesn’t allow software to be modified.
Free Software Foundation (FSF)
Promotes & encourages the right to copy, distribute and modify software freely
Aims to allow users to develop software together that’s free and anyone can use.
FSF developed GNU Public licence - collection of free software that can be used to build Op/Sys similar to Unix
GNU means no-one can copyright the software
Open Source Initiative (OSI)
Promotes software to be open source & encourages it to meet certain licence requirements:
e.g. free distribution,
e.g. original source code being supplied,
e.g. original licence applicable to any derivatives of the original/subsequent works
Available for anyone to use with no exceptions
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Computers that simulate human intelligence & problem solving capabilities (info correct at time)
Many potential uses:
Healthcare - algorithms to analyse medical images like X-Rays, MRI’s to assist in diagnosis & abnormality detection.
Finance - analyse transactions to detect patterns that could be fraudulent.
Retail - algorithms to analyse customer data & behaviour to tailor shopping experience
Transport - self driving transportation make safe decisions by environmental analysis
Education - provide personalised feedback, guidance and assistance.
Entertainment - recommend movies, tv shows etc. based on previous things watched e.g. netflix
Social Impact
Replace low skilled jobs leading to unemployment
Privacy concerns as data is collected & analysed
Learns from historical data so outdated biases & prejudices could be learnt.
Reshaping skill requirements in labor market, inc demand for programming, machine learning, data analysis etc.
Economic Impact
Automate repetitive tasks = productivity inc.
High skilled may benefit from inc demand and low skilled suffer
Predictive analytics & demand forecasting can improve supply chains, delivery efficiency & lower overhead
Environmental Impacts
Possible high energy consumption due to high computational power required for training & operations
High energy consumption can lead to inc CO2 emissions which contribute to climate change.
Cooling systems required for optimal operating temperatures- requiring significant energy & water consumption
Unit 7.1 Ethics & Ownership
Aims
Understand what is meant by the term ethics and be able to give examples of ethical and unethical behaviour.
Understand what is meant by the term professional body, give examples of specific professional bodies and know the benefits and drawbacks of being a member of a professional body.
Understand why copyright is needed and rights that are given to authors under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act.
Understand what is meant by the term software licence and the different types of software licenses available.
Understand what is meant by the term artificial intelligence, its uses and how it impacts society, the economy and the environment.
Ethics in CS refers to what is considered to be good practice & guidelines that demonstrate the behaviour, decisions and actions that people within the sector make.
Ethical issues include anything that impacts: privacy, security, data protection, fairness and society.
Ethical Behaviour | Unethical Behaviour |
Developing algorithms & systems that avoid biases & treat everyone fairly | Gaining unauthorised access to systems/data whether intentional or due to negligence. |
Considering environmental impact of tech & minimising negative environmental effects associated with computing systems & practises. | Creating/distributing malware or other malicious software with intent to disrupt, steal or cause harm. |
Designing programs with accessibility in mind, making it useable by individuals that have disabilities & ensuring equal access to resources & opportunities. | Developing algorithms that inherit biases against any demographic groups, leading to unfair discrimination in areas such as hiring, lending or criminal justice. |
Professional Bodies
Organisation responsible for establishing & promoting good ethical practices & guidelines for its members
Pro’s | Con’s |
Provide network opportunities | Membership fee, are benefits worth it? |
Provide resources & opportunities for L&D | May need significant time investing in for meetings, volunteering & committee participation |
Validate expertise & competence, increasing career & marketability prospects | Some guidelines may be restrictive & burdensome |
Provide career progression opportunities e.g. job programs, events & mentorships |
British Computer Society (BCS)
Public Interest
Have due regard for public health, privacy, security & wellbeing of others and environment
Conduct professional activities without discrimination.
Promote equal access to IT benefits & seek to promote inclusion in all societies sectors.
Professional Competence & Integrity
Only do work within your professional competence & don’t claim above your current level.
Continuously develop professional knowledge, skills & competence
Ensure you know, understand & comply with legislation.
Respect & value other viewpoints & seek, accept & offer honest criticisms on work.
Avoid injuring others, their property/reputation/employment by false/malicious/negligent action or inaction.
Duty to Relevant Authority
Carry out professional responsibilities with due care in accordance with relevant authorities requirements
Seek to avoid any conflict of interest between you & your relevant authority
Accept professional responsibility for your work & colleagues who work under your supervision.
Don’t misrepresent/withhold info on products/systems/services performance.
Duty to the Profession
Accept personal duty to uphold profession reputation & don’t do the opposite.
Improve professional standards through development participation, use and enforcement.
Act with integrity and respect in professionals relationships with all BCS members & other profession members.
Encourage & support fellow members in their professional development.
Institute of Electrical & electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Global professional association for electrical & electronics engineer.
Section | Description |
Product | Ensure products meet highest quality/safety & reliability standards. Products created should contribute positively and minimise harm. |
Public | Prioritise safety/health/welfare of public and consider potential impact of actions on society |
Judgement | Exercise professional judgement & integrity in professional activities. Act honestly, impartially, ethically & avoid conflict of interest/bias. |
Client & Employer | Fulfil client & employer obligations with integrity & competence. Act in their best interest providing accurate advice & confidentiality |
Management | Management/leadership will promote ethical behaviour & professionalism. Create an environment that fosters integrity, fairness & respect for all |
Profession | Uphold profession reputation & integrity. Support & promote ethical standards/best practices/ prof dev initiatives within profession. |
Colleagues | Treat colleagues with respect, fairness & professionalism, collaborate effectively, share knowledge/expertise and support peers prof dev. |
Self | Maintain high standards of professionalism in their practice & continuously try to enhance skills, knowledge & competence. |
The Need for Copyright
Copyright, Design & Patents Act protects owners of creative work by giving them exclusive rights over their own work they’ve produced.
Copyright is rights creator have over own work whereas Patents is exclusively granted for rights over an invention.
*Rights include:
Reproduction - right to make copies of work in any format.
Distribution - right to distribute copies of work to public by selling/leasing etc.
Public Performance & Display - right to publicly perform & display work on internet/theatres etc.
Derivative Works - right to create derivative works based off original, like adaptations, translations & modifications etc.*
Don’t need to apply for it as its automatically protected & depending on offence - unlimited fine - up to 10 years prison.
Software Licences
New software created is released to public for use - often comes with licence indicating legal T’s & C’s under which it can used/distributed/managed.
Freeware Licence
Software copyrighted but is freely available.
Keeping hold of the copyright allows authors to retain control & ownership
They can charge/develop it in future
Doesn’t allow software to be modified.
Open Source Licence
Software that allows anyone to copy/distribute/amend/develop for own purpose
Often developed collaboratively for anyone with interest.
Commercial Licence
Software developed & distributed for profit.
Copyright that is paid for.
Copying/developing/selling is restricted to those that hold licence to the software.
Shareware Licence
Initially given away on free basis for a limited time after which a licence must be obtained.
Often made available as shareware allows users to test it & encourages distribution
Doesn’t allow software to be modified.
Free Software Foundation (FSF)
Promotes & encourages the right to copy, distribute and modify software freely
Aims to allow users to develop software together that’s free and anyone can use.
FSF developed GNU Public licence - collection of free software that can be used to build Op/Sys similar to Unix
GNU means no-one can copyright the software
Open Source Initiative (OSI)
Promotes software to be open source & encourages it to meet certain licence requirements:
e.g. free distribution,
e.g. original source code being supplied,
e.g. original licence applicable to any derivatives of the original/subsequent works
Available for anyone to use with no exceptions
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Computers that simulate human intelligence & problem solving capabilities (info correct at time)
Many potential uses:
Healthcare - algorithms to analyse medical images like X-Rays, MRI’s to assist in diagnosis & abnormality detection.
Finance - analyse transactions to detect patterns that could be fraudulent.
Retail - algorithms to analyse customer data & behaviour to tailor shopping experience
Transport - self driving transportation make safe decisions by environmental analysis
Education - provide personalised feedback, guidance and assistance.
Entertainment - recommend movies, tv shows etc. based on previous things watched e.g. netflix
Social Impact
Replace low skilled jobs leading to unemployment
Privacy concerns as data is collected & analysed
Learns from historical data so outdated biases & prejudices could be learnt.
Reshaping skill requirements in labor market, inc demand for programming, machine learning, data analysis etc.
Economic Impact
Automate repetitive tasks = productivity inc.
High skilled may benefit from inc demand and low skilled suffer
Predictive analytics & demand forecasting can improve supply chains, delivery efficiency & lower overhead
Environmental Impacts
Possible high energy consumption due to high computational power required for training & operations
High energy consumption can lead to inc CO2 emissions which contribute to climate change.
Cooling systems required for optimal operating temperatures- requiring significant energy & water consumption
