Andrew Jacobson

EE 394

12/8/2018

Ethics essay

Within the last class of EE 394, we discussed the IEEE code of ethics. The IEEE code of

ethics is a document that not just members of IEEE should abide to, but every engineer in every

profession. The purpose of following a code of ethics is to ensure quality and safety of the

product being produced along with social acceptance. From 7.8 IEEE Code of Ethics “to treat

fairly all persons and to not engage in acts of discrimination based on race, religion, gender,

disability, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression”. This

obligation from the code of ethics makes sure that all members of IEEE do not discriminate

people based on skin color, gender, race and age. This obligation is important because we live in

a world where everyone should be treated as an equal and something such as skin color does not

make their work lesser then someone of a different skin color. An example of this would be a

company only hiring white males, this would be considered unethical. At the same time, a

different company hires based on the quality of work, leadership and does not base their hiring

process on race and gender, this company would be considered ethical. By following the IEEE

code of ethics, firms and members of IEEE can benefit by keeping discrimination out of the

work place, discrimination is just one of many other issues discussed in the IEEE code of ethics.

When I am faced with an ethical situation, I try and follow what is called the golden rule,

“treating others as one's self would wish to be treated”. I think this way because I know that I do

not want to be in a situation where I am injured, Harassed or discriminated. I use this as my

baseline of decision making in an ethical situation because I know that I do not want to be treated

in such a way and if I feel that way, then who ever is on the other side would not either.

During class we discussed the issue of using an Amazon Echo to solve a murder case and if it

was ethical for Amazon to not provide information from the Echo to authorities. As we were

discussing, someone brought up a similar case that happened with Apple, where the authorities

wanted Apple to provide a loop-hole in their system for authorities to access IMessage data.

Apple refused because such a loop-hole would allow hackers to access their system leading to

many more issues. One can assume that Amazon was in a similar situation where they wanted to

keep their system safe and protect the general userbase, this makes the issue with the Echo an

ethical issue. My group in class decided that the best course of action for this issue would to be

establishing new laws on who has ownership of the data stored in the device in question. This

will help determine if the authorities have the right to use that data since they will be able to use

the data if the user owns that data, but right now Amazon owns the data to target advertisements

based on the collected data. I agree that the data stored on the device should be owned by the

individual for cases like this, but when I look at the Apple case, I believe the data should be held

by the company to ensure safety in the systems network. That leads me to want to agree with

amazon because withholding the data would keep hacking down and would protect them from

stealing personal info such as credit card numbers and addresses.

Along with the IEEE code of ethics, there is the Virtue of ethics being, integrity, honesty,

fidelity, charity, responsibility, self-discipline. For the Amazon case study, I believe that

integrity, honesty, and responsibility are important virtues that need to be discussed with this

issue. Integrity because Amazon needs to decide what they want the data to go to the authorities.

Honesty because Amazon needs to be honest with its users before buying the product if such a
case were to happen. Lastly, responsibility because Amazon is responsible for the data that could

solve the murder case. As for the other virtues bring fidelity, charity and self-discipline. I do not

see them relating to this case because they are about bettering one’s self rather than the three I

stated before which are about being honesty and true to others.

Overall, the IEEE code of ethics and the Virtue of ethics are very important within the

engineering community as a whole and will be something that I will incorporate into my future

career.