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Ethical Design

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Designing and Developing with Ethics

4:01 with Hope Armstrong and Michelle Zohlman

What does it mean to design and develop with ethics? We'll look at how business pressures can lead to unethical product decisions.

MICHELLE: Reflect back on the Volkswagen emissions scandal. 0:00
Some unethical products are clearly created with bad intentions. 0:03
But it's not fair to categorically cast all those involved as evil. 0:07
In reality, most of us work in a gray zone and 0:12
cannot completely revamp products to be morally sound. 0:15
There's a power dynamic between the managers in charge and 0:18
the workers who complete the tasks. 0:22
We don't always have the authority to change a product decision, and 0:24
we can encounter organizational dynamics and 0:28
stubborn leadership who are resistant to change. 0:31
Further, you may be in a situation where you do not feel safe to critique 0:34
the status quo. 0:39
Unfortunately, advocating for change can risk retaliation and 0:41
you may not have the privilege to risk losing your job. 0:45
When we do have the agency to act with integrity, let's use it. 0:49
We'll talk more about advocacy later. 0:53
It's worth noting that unethical products can also be created with good intentions. 0:57
There's no evil actor at play. 1:02
It's just a constellation of seemingly 1:05
inconsequential decisions culminating into a poor outcome. 1:08
Perhaps an engineer gets excited about solving a technical challenge, 1:12
but then the impact is detrimental to society. 1:17
Let's look at a tangible example. 1:20
Here's a typical workflow. 1:22
Your boss gives you an assignment, and after you understand the requirements, 1:24
you make the thing. 1:29
But how often do you ask why or 1:30
consider the consequences of putting it out there in the world? 1:32
Let's look at what companies task us with. 1:37
How fast can you make this? 1:41
Perhaps you're asked to create a new feature at breakneck speeds, 1:43
leading you to trim off a testing plan, 1:47
which would have prevented a significant bug from affecting millions of people. 1:50
HOPE: Facebook's longtime motto was move fast and break things. 1:55
After realizing this caused more bugs and slowed the team down, 1:59
CEO Mark Zuckerberg switched it to move fast with stable infrastructure. 2:04
I'd argue that move thoughtfully with stable infrastructure would ensure 2:10
better experiences for everyone Facebook serves. 2:15
MICHELLE: How can we grab the most market share and beat the competitors at any cost? 2:22
Perhaps you've been tasked with a similar goal. 2:28
In 2017, it was discovered that Uber had created software called Greyball, 2:30
which helped the company evade government regulators and 2:36
cities where Uber was not yet approved. 2:39
It blocked regulators from getting rides, to mask the fact, 2:42
they were operating illegally. 2:45
How can we scale and increase profits? 2:47
Of course, companies must be financially viable so 2:51
they can afford to cover expenses. 2:54
But how much is enough? 2:56
And to what extent do executives' paychecks needs to be padded at 2:58
the expense of less fortunate people? 3:03
Now, we're not going to solve all these problems ourselves. 3:05
But it is helpful to consider these questions and 3:08
your responsibility to the people you're serving. 3:11
To work ethically, measure the impact you have on people's lives. 3:14
At this point, it may feel like doom and gloom. 3:20
But let's remember, we have tremendous power to make a positive impact. 3:23
We're the gatekeepers. 3:28
Let's work to ensure that what passes the gates is as ethically sound 3:30
as we can imagine. 3:35
Unlike doctors who have a Hippocratic Oath where they promised to do no harm, 3:36
folks building software are not bound by a licence or code of ethics. 3:41
Aside from some fraud and privacy laws, there aren't standards or 3:45
regulations for software ethics. 3:49
We can make our own though, and plenty of wonderful frameworks and 3:52
tools are available for free online. 3:56
Look for all that and more coming up later in the course. 3:58