Ethics between the lines (of code)

摘要

All technical systems influence humans, therefore developing and using them has always ethical aspects. This influence may be strong or weak, direct or indirect. Nowadays, especially with the advent of smart medical devices, systems analyzing big data about us and taking decisions related to our lives, or other forms of pervasive computing, this interaction of technical systems with humans is becoming more intensive and more complex. The growing number of such system, lack of experienced developers, limited budgets and the rush to market may cause important, unpredictable risks. This paper discusses the problem of the ethical decisions taken by the developers inadvertently - just by coding - and proposes some measures to contain this problem and to reduce its impact.