Is it ethical to develop this?

#discuss #ethics #help

I am preparing a talk that focuses on the ethical dilemmas software developers face and I am looking for some help.

In today's interconnected world, developers hold great power in shaping the technologies and systems that influence our daily lives. With this power comes the responsibility to navigate ethical challenges and make the right choices.

I would like to focus on exploring and discussing real-world examples and as a part of that, I would love to ask for your opinions on a few questions to back my thoughts.

So without further ado, would you say no to these business requirements if you look at them solely from an ethical point of view? (Please state your answer one by one, without reading the next one)

Develop a platform where people can upload and host their files.
Develop a platform where people can upload and host their files and make them available to any subscriber to download.
Develop a platform where people can buy tickets to participate in a monthly raffle to win cars or even houses.
Develop a platform where people can buy tickets to participate in a state-backed monthly raffle to win cars or even houses.
Develop a webshop engine.
Develop a webshop engine for a webshop that sells counterfeit products.
Change the default sort order to prefer the most recommended options on the booking platform.
Change the default sort order to prefer the most recommended options on the booking platform if you know that most recommendations are fake and generated reviews.

I would also love to know your whys in each case. What examples came to your mind when you read these?

Thanks a lot! :)

Cover image by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash

Top comments (10)

Ben Halpern • Jun 10 '23

I think some of these are “it depends”, but actively changing the sort order to favor known fake reviews, and actively developing software that encourages counterfeit goods stick out to me as rife with ethical problems.

Brad • Jun 12 '23

make the right choices.

Often times "ethically right" is too subjective to make a broad statement about.

Legally right is more defined, down to possibly making some of these ideas illegal, or at least potentially illegal.

Practically, building something illegal would carry legal risks. Building something unethical is more down to your personal internal feelings about it. Most ethical challenges are subjective, so it's hard to make a broad statement on it.

What is ethical or unethical could change depending on the situation. For example, writing code to harm others might initially seem unethical, but what if your writing code to subdue home intruders?

Most of the examples id consider unethical, but then lots of businesses have unethical elements. Take for example, is it ethical for the CEO to make a million times more than their lowest employee? Doubtful, but that's how the world is built.

Emin Durak • Jun 15 '23 • Edited

The author is asking what is subjectively ethical (not legall) for the responder of the questions; not asking them to state what they believe is a universally valid, objectively ethical fact.

Todd Pressley • Jun 12 '23

Soliciting opinions online for research is like creating your own story from uncredited sources. Not ethically troubling since reading and responding to this post are opt-in processes - just my opinion on this matter. i don’t feel we’re being bamboozled for the malevolent gain of the author.

anyway, all no’s, even the last.

however, i do feel that knowing that many of the reviews are generated and deliberately choosing not to implement better vetting logic for recommendations is ethically questionable in that case.

Breno da Mata • Jun 12 '23

Yes, if a user is just hosting files for themselves I see no problem.
Depends. If the files are now made public there should at least be a policy on content.
I don't think gambling or enable gambling is ethical, so no.
Again, I don't think gambling is ethical so it being state-owned changes nothing.
Yes.
Depends, again. If these counterfeits are products that are unaccessible to the masses then I don't see it as unethical. Otherwise, it's a no.
Depends, if it's a dark pattern that provides a disservice to the user, then no.
Definitely no, explained above.

Lesson here is that a lot of things (products or just features) can be unethical.

cricCode • Jun 14 '23

Ok
Ok
No
Maybe, In some cases in my country, the government builds a lot of cheap and affordable houses and you basically have to enter a lottery to be eligible to buy one of them. I also believe that it being state backed means it won't just be a scam.
Ok
No
Ok
No

Megan Monique • Mar 3 • Edited

I think that developing platforms for file hosting and online commerce covers the ethical principles of freedom of expression and business opportunities. I worked a lot qith the gambling platforms that are technological as they use unqiue algorithms and push innovation features like virtual reality and blockchain. Websites like online casino Manitoba show this trend as you can see the reviews of top platforms there which provide entertainment and excitement for millions of users worldwide. The gambling industry develops fast, so we should do that too.