Nobody has a problem in being a Law-abiding person. But when it comes to areas where a definite Law or policy has not been enacted, the discretion is at the mercy of ethical values the person holds.
How it looks now?
Today’s media is rife with cases where work ethics have been or seems like have been compromised. We come across Silicon Valley Companies appearing in front of US Senate inquiry into misinformation & meddling 2016 elections, data scandal of Facebook – Cambridge Analytica, Google employees resigning in protest over a contract to develop AI for Project Maven and subsequently Google taking an ethical decision to not renew contract with the inventor of the Internet.All these drags us to the significance of ethical values the employees of the Organization hold against aligning one’s goal with that of the Organization.
My Personal experience was also not assuaging when the interviewee didn’t find it unethical to read the cookies to push targeted ads without customer’s consent. One’s competitive edge is preferred above his ethical values and sometimes above the Organization goals.
How it is taking shape?
All these have led to Governments bringing in regulations to ensure customer protection. The EU’s GDPR Act came into effect in May 2018 which reversed the ownership of the Customer data that the company holds. This means, the Customer is the ultimate owner of his data regardless of whoever holding it. For an Organization, this translates to additional procedures in adhering to guidelines which naturally increases the cost of Product Development.
Product Development Cost + Ethical Values is greater than Product Development Cost + Regulation adherence Cost
We are left with two options either the Product Creator / Technologist follow ethics during inception or follow ethics after Regulation with additional cost.How should we proceed?
Ethical values should be imbibed in the product life cycle & Software Development Life Cycle. New roles like Ethical Architects, Ethical Testers etc. who specialize particularly on ethical matters will be the new normal tomorrow. To start with, the following can be practiced.- 1. Evaluate candidate’s Ethical Quotient during interview along with IQ & technical skills.
- 2. Mid-career training programs to align the understanding of ethics.
- 3. Form a committee, evaluate every Business Case & Use Case against Ethics Checklist.
Let us build a better tomorrow.
