Is the programmer always obligated to personally confirm that all potentially-affected parties have had an opportunity to comment on the intended result? That seems like a much higher standard than just checking to make sure the spec will do what the customer intends it to do.
Is the programmer always obligated to personally confirm that all potentially-affected parties have had an opportunity to comment on the intended result
No, but the programmer is obligated to personally confirm that all relevant stakeholders have been considered in the analysis of the ethical impacts of their work.
In this particular case, it seems obvious that major changes require discussion, or at least that “I just implemented what I was instructed to do” is not a proper response.
We’re disagreeing mostly on the “personally confirm” point, I believe—I don’t believe that that’s true in all cases.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for wmoore to have assumed that Eliezer had taken care of the moral analysis of this case. (I wouldn’t disagree with you if you were suggesting that Eliezer should have checked with us.) Wmoore doesn’t obviously know how this group is structured, or what kinds of things we would expect to be consulted about; most online groups are structured in a way that relies much more on the low cost of leaving the group and finding another one to act as a balance for the group owner’s considerable power, which makes the assumption that the owner’s power should be supported a reasonable one in most cases. (Do you also object to making add-on modules for PhP forums available for forum owners to use with no oversight?)
I would agree that, in general, programmers (and anyone involved in a project) should make sure that there’s a balance of power, or that someone is considering the moral implications of the project, or both. In this class of cases (management decisions affecting free, open online groups), I believe that the presence of the former is sufficient. In many of the situations I program for, it’s not, and I do make a point of considering the implications of any spec I implement—both because it’s part of my job description, and because it’s a correct thing to do.
We’re disagreeing mostly on the “personally confirm” point, I believe—I don’t believe that that’s true in all cases.
Are we still in disagreement?
Indeed, I think that’s the sticking point. Perhaps it would be okay to sometimes offload the moral analysis of a project to a professional who explicitly is doing that (like your company’s ethicist, or a manager who has certified that he’s done some standard analysis) but it’s never okay to simply assume it’s been done.
Is the programmer always obligated to personally confirm that all potentially-affected parties have had an opportunity to comment on the intended result? That seems like a much higher standard than just checking to make sure the spec will do what the customer intends it to do.
No, but the programmer is obligated to personally confirm that all relevant stakeholders have been considered in the analysis of the ethical impacts of their work.
In this particular case, it seems obvious that major changes require discussion, or at least that “I just implemented what I was instructed to do” is not a proper response.
We’re disagreeing mostly on the “personally confirm” point, I believe—I don’t believe that that’s true in all cases.
I don’t think it’s unreasonable for wmoore to have assumed that Eliezer had taken care of the moral analysis of this case. (I wouldn’t disagree with you if you were suggesting that Eliezer should have checked with us.) Wmoore doesn’t obviously know how this group is structured, or what kinds of things we would expect to be consulted about; most online groups are structured in a way that relies much more on the low cost of leaving the group and finding another one to act as a balance for the group owner’s considerable power, which makes the assumption that the owner’s power should be supported a reasonable one in most cases. (Do you also object to making add-on modules for PhP forums available for forum owners to use with no oversight?)
I would agree that, in general, programmers (and anyone involved in a project) should make sure that there’s a balance of power, or that someone is considering the moral implications of the project, or both. In this class of cases (management decisions affecting free, open online groups), I believe that the presence of the former is sufficient. In many of the situations I program for, it’s not, and I do make a point of considering the implications of any spec I implement—both because it’s part of my job description, and because it’s a correct thing to do.
Are we still in disagreement?
Indeed, I think that’s the sticking point. Perhaps it would be okay to sometimes offload the moral analysis of a project to a professional who explicitly is doing that (like your company’s ethicist, or a manager who has certified that he’s done some standard analysis) but it’s never okay to simply assume it’s been done.