Computer professionals: Moral autonomy and a code of ethics
Computer professionals, like all people, sometimes face difficult choices. All of us must at times decide whether to follow our instincts or our reason; whether to do what we want to do or what we believe we should do; whether to do what would benefit only ourselves or to take others into account; whether to do the convenient thing or take a more difficult course of action; whether to follow externally prescribed rules or act on our own beliefs. When we consider these issues we engage in moral reflection about our actions and demonstrate our awareness of the moral dimension of our existence. Most of us have made a commitment to “do the right thing,” and we are aided in that quest by our past experiences, upbringing, education, and the awareness that our actions may harm or benefit others. Therefore, we believe that we generally make reasonable moral decisions. For professionals as a whole and computer professionals in particular, the evaluative process can be more complicated. Because of the special role of professionals in society, their actions encompass factual and normative issues not present in the lives of most other people. It has been claimed that professionals have a special responsibility to consider the long-term effects of their actions on public health and safety, and their responsibility in this respect is greater than that of the ordinary citizen [ 11. If this point is to be sustained for those who work with computers, it must be shown that they are professionals, why they have special responsibilities, what these are, how they relate to their responsibilities as private individuals, and how they are to be implemented. One of the major ways in which the professions have sought to address these issues, both