Making Ethical Decisions in Software Design with Prof. Daniel Jackson & Serena Booth (S3:E6)

In the previous episode we learned about a project undertaken as part of the Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) initiative at MIT’s Schwartzman College of Computing. In this episode we hear about another SERC project, from Prof. Daniel Jackson and graduate teaching assistant Serena Booth, who have partnered to incorporate ethical considerations in Prof. Jackson and Prof. Arvind Satyanarayan’s course 6.170 Software Studio. Jackson and Booth explain that software can fail its users in three ways: First, it can simply work badly, failing to meet the purpose it was intended for. Second, it may do what the user wants it to, while simultaneously accomplishing some insidious purpose that the user is unaware of. Third, as Prof. Jackson puts it, it may “contribute to a computational environment that has subtly pernicious effects” on the individual or on society—effects unintended not only by the user but also by the software designer. In their revised syllabus for 6.170, Jackson and Booth attempt to address these second and third types of failure by introducing ethical concerns early in the course and by sharing an ethics protocol to scaffold students’ decision-making throughout the software design process.

Relevant Resources:

MIT OpenCourseWare
https://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm?utm_sou...

The OCW Educator Portal
https://ocw.mit.edu/educator?utm_sour...

Share your teaching insights
https://forms.gle/XBwUwqn35abSdjNs8

Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing (SERC) on OCW
https://ocw.mit.edu/resources/res-tll... utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=shownotes&utm_campaign=chalkradio&utm_term=s3e6

6.170 Software Studio ethics assignments
https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/res-tll-0...

SERC website
https://computing.mit.edu/cross-cutti...

Professor Jackson’s faculty page
https://www.csail.mit.edu/person/dani...

Serena Booth’s personal website
http://www.slbooth.com

Music in this episode by Blue Dot Sessions
https://www.sessions.blue


Connect with Us

If you have a suggestion for a new episode or have used OCW to change your life or those of others, tell us your story. We’d love to hear from you!

Call us @ 617-715-2517

On our site
https://ocw.mit.edu/about/contactus/

On Facebook
  / mitocw  

On Twitter
https://twitter.com/MITOCW?ref_src=tw...

On Instagram
  / login  

Stay Current

Subscribe to the free monthly "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" e-newsletter.
https://ocw.mit.edu/subscribe/index.h...

Support OCW

If you like Chalk Radio and OpenCourseWare, donate to help keep those programs going!
https://giving.mit.edu/give/to/ocw/?%...

Credits

Sarah Hansen, host and producer (  / learning_sarah  )
Brett Paci, producer (  / brett_paci  )
Dave Lishansky, producer (  / daveresonates  )
Show notes by Peter Chipman