When I think about an ethically responsible person, I think of someone who uses his or her power in the right way. The point of controversy is, however, what defines the right course of action. Many agree on the fundamental rules in ethics, but there are situations in which the right decision is ambiguous. Among the many ethical, moral, and religious frameworks, I would say Kantian ethics is the best set of guidelines to determine the morality of an action. I believe this framework is best suited to determining whether an action is right or wrong because the maxims that we should follow are universally agreed upon as being morally correct, so there should theoretically be no ambiguity in judging an action. Nevertheless, there are some circumstances in which following universal laws violates other laws. For instance, being honest and telling the truth is generally seen as moral conduct, but if it’s on someone’s private information, then it becomes controversial. I would say in these kinds of situations, the right choice would be the one that causes the least harm to people, similar to the utilitarian framework but only when following a certain law inevitably violates another. In my future career in technology, these kinds of ethical frameworks will guide me to be an ethically responsible software engineer. Whenever I am confronted with difficult choices, I will look to my set of ethical frameworks to help me make the moral decision, ensuring that I continue to adhere to my moral standards.
Throughout my experience at the University of Notre Dame, I have developed a talent to create powerful programs. Although I switched majors from Science Pre-Professional Studies to Computer Science, I have learned to become a good software engineer by assimilating the fundamental concepts in my classes and exploring new technologies outside of school. With this new and powerful talent, I realized that I had the potential to do good or bad things. I knew that I had to be responsible with the knowledge that I had obtained over the past few years. This kind of power is escalated in the technology industry. Big tech companies hold great power to accomplish great things, but at the same time, they are prone to violating core ethical values. The most prevalent issue in the technology industry is privacy. With the resources available today, it is easy for companies to collect data on our personal information. While I do believe it is permissible for them to collect data when absolutely necessary to make our experience with software more convenient, they must be extremely responsible in doing so. Insecurely handling valuable, personal data and distributing private information to third parties are just a few examples of unethical actions that tech companies must absolutely avoid in order to maintain the people’s trust. With only few months left before I enter into the technology industry, I will definitely strive to become an ethically responsible person. Knowing that I will be constantly dealing with sensitive data and the ramifications of mishandling such information, I will be doing my utmost best to follow my ethical values in hopes that others will do the same to minimize the frequency of unjust decisions in the technology industry.
Recent Comments