Ethics and the IT Professional

• Companies might retaliate against whistle-blowers, therefore whistle-blower protection exists
• Trade secrets


  Information, generally unknown to the public that a company has taken strong measures to keep confidential
• Typical items included in a software development contract

  • Pricing and billing
  • Intellectual property transfer
  • Privacy and confidentiality
  • Warranties and liabilities
  • Project time and cost
  • Services description and scope
• Misrepresentation


  False statements of truth that affect another party's decision related to a contract
• Types of misrepresentation


  • Innocent misrepresentation
  • Negligent misrepresentation
  • Fraudulent misrepresentation
• Breach of contract


  Occurs when one party fails to meet the terms of a contract
• Conflict of interest


  A situation in which a person can derive personal benefit from actions or decisions made in their official capacity
• Types of software licensing

  • Perpetual licensing
  • Subscription-based licensing
  • Feature-based licensing
• Insider trading


  Purchasing or selling stocks on the stock exchange using confidential information
• Popular social media sites

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • TikTok
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
• Employers can and do look at the social networking profiles of job candidates when making hiring decisions
• Cyberbullying


  The harassment, torment, humiliation, or threatening of one person by another person or group of people via the Internet
• Excessive use of social media sites and apps are positively correlated to a decrease in self-esteem under certain circumstances, but also linked to an increase in overall mental health in other contexts
• The overall impact of social media on chronic disease was variable, with 48% of studies indicating benefit, 45% neutral or undefined, and 7% suggesting harm
• Among studies that showed benefit, 85% used either Facebook or blogs, and 40% were based within the domain of support
• The prevalence of health misinformation was the highest on Twitter and on issues related to smoking products and drugs
• The use of certain social media and photo editing applications may be associated with increased acceptance of cosmetic surgery
• This can be attributed to passive use of social media generally being more likely to provoke social comparisons and envy, among other things
• Procter and Gamble (P&G) used to be an early sponsor and producer of daytime radio and TV dramas—for which the term soap opera was coined
• In 2010, after 53 years, they pulled the plug on their soap opera, mostly due to the success of their internet-based advertising
• Their Old Spice adverts were a huge success
• Some ethical issues concerning AI

  • Lack of transparency
  • AI tools are complex
  • Neutrality - AI bias prevents true objectivity
  • Privacy - What/whose data is used as the AI learns?
  • Autonomy - Sufficiently advanced AI might go rogue
  • Employment - Many occupations are at risk
  • Weaponization - AI can be devastatingly effective