Andrew Holman

Vicky Thorland

CprE 394

November 12, 2019

Ethics in Engineering

In engineering, ethics are a constant point of discussion because of how impactful our

profession has on the world around us. This was well exemplified in the article we covered about

Alexa’s recording of conversations and the ethical implications. It shows why an engineering

code of ethics is so important, we need ubiquitous goals to strive for so we can change the world

for the better through our work. Before going over this article I had never considered the ethical

implications of my decision. Now I will be more deliberate when making choices so as to follow

the engineering code of ethics. One of the primary factors when making these decisions will be

how it benefits the greatest number of people. I will avoid actions that make a few people very

happy but disadvantages many because that damages the world overall.

The Alexa issue that we went over was if the police should have access to Alexa’s

recordings if it could bring a murder to justice. The recording in question was potentially with

two guests at a party who were not necessarily aware of the Alexa. Initially I was in favor of

allowing the police access to Alexa’s data. However, then we discussed the legality of recording

unsuspecting people and how it can be used as evidence. We discovered that it is illegal to record

two party’s conversation without either of their knowledge in all 50 states. Since the

conversation that Alexa recorded did not have the consent of either participant it can not be

considered admissible evidence. So, Amazon should not give over the evidence because it would

not be admissible and it would compromise the privacy of the individuals. However, I still felt
like there should be a compromise between unlimited access and no access at all. I came to the

conclusion that the meta data of the conversation should be handed over, assuming the police

have a warrant for the information. This meta data gives almost no private information away but

could be crucial evidence to police officers. After proposing this most people agreed with me but

still some thought any information was too much information because they believed that privacy

is one of the most important rights that someone can possess. However, this could result in a

killer walking free, in my opinion, the compromise solution would benefit society the most

overall.

This issue also relates to the six Engineering Virtue Ethics. It relates to integrity because

Amazon refused to hand over the information because they had to make a decision to protect the

welfare and privacy of the public. However, there is an argument to be made that catching a

killer outweighs the privacy benefits. This kind of consideration requires integrity to make the

best decision for the greatest number of people. It also relates to honesty because if the

participants of the conversation were better informed about how the technology behind Alexa

worked, they may have acted differently. Without a technical knowledge they can’t make an

informed decision about what to say around it. That is why companies like Amazon need to be

forthright and open with their practices so people can make informed decisions. Finally, this

article relates to responsibility. This is because Amazon is responsible for the data. It would be

very easy to analyze people’s conversations to target advertisements to them. However, this

would be unethical so Amazon must avoid these kinds of practices for the good of all people.

The other virtues, while important, don’t necessarily pertain well to this example. This is

primarily because the other virtues deal more heavily with the individual whereas this example is

more concerned about the company’s actions as a whole.

 Often issues like this initially seem extremely black and white, however, by analyzing it

deeper you can see how gray it can become. It is a constant struggle in the engineering

community to act in a moral way, and the explosion in invasive technology, like Alexa, show

that it will only become more relevant in the future. That is why it is so essential to maintain a

uniform code of ethics so that we can all work towards making the world a better place for all of

mankind.