Hi there! Welcome to my blog for CSE 40175 Ethical and Professional Issues. My name is Chau-Nhi, and I am a senior majoring in Computer Science. I’m from Minnesota, but I currently live in Farley Hall, home of the Finest. In my free time, you’ll probably find me playing the guitar and singing in my room or trying to do something artsy with hand lettering. Other things I’m involved in on campus are World Hunger Coalition, tutoring at the Robinson Center, and liturgical life in Farley. Faith is very important to me, so I’m excited to be taking a class that fosters discussion around how values shape our work as engineers, and I hope to gain a better understanding of how my faith can inform my studies and work when some people believe these two should be kept separate. I chose to study computer science because of two reasons: (1) I didn’t like any other engineering disciplines, and (2) I thought it would be the best way for me to use my skills to help other people. In order to actually use my knowledge and skills in computer science to help people, I need to take the time to consider the ethical implications of what I’m doing, which can be tricky because any time humans are involved, things get a lot more complicated.
I hope this class will force me to think about and take a stand on some issues that I may have been avoiding because I don’t like conflict. I’m not very familiar with current ethical and moral issues that computer scientists and engineers are dealing with. Since I didn’t follow politics growing up, it would be interesting to discuss how politics and technology influence each other, and how other people/disciplines are affected by choices that computer scientists and engineers make.
Please keep in mind that these posts are my initial reaction to readings for this course, and that my opinions and stances may change after discussing these issues in class or with other people.