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Introduction
Software engineering correlates with certain ethical dilemmas that need to be addressed. However, as this particular field is becoming more prominent worldwide, the need for confronting such issues increases. Moreover, the fact that such ethical concerns are relatively new due to the rapid development of the technology industry creates an environment in which specialists are not fully aware of all the possible challenges. As a result of this domain being widespread, unethical engineering may cause significant damage. While it may be challenging to differentiate the aspects that should be considered in this field, relevant examples suggest that attention to stakeholders and contribution to societal good are essential.
Volkswagen Ethical Dilemma
A recent dilemma that has compromised the reputation and reliability of one of the most prominent global car manufacturers was the emission scandal. Like every other car company, Volkswagen has to follow national guidelines for the corporation to be able to sell vehicles legally. Thus, one of the policies is passing the emissions test to ensure that the cars are not too harmful to the environment. In order for the company to fit the regulatory criteria, the engineers used software to deceive the inspectors, which occurred during 2006 and 2015 (BBC, 2017). The lie was discovered during research showing that VW diesel cars emit much more pollutants than initially stated, which caused the major scandal. The Volkswagen controversy is an excellent example of unethical software engineering, which has harmful effects on multiple levels. First, customers were thinking they drive relatively harmless vehicles without knowing about the high level of pollutants that are linked to lung cancer (Cohen et al., 2018). Moreover, as the guidelines for the emission test were implemented by environmentalists, it is inevitable that the actions of the engineers lead to environmental damage. Volkswagen has been selling cars using this technique of avoiding legal regulations for almost ten years. The damage to the environment, while not measured, is significant due to the longevity of the fraud. Last but not least, the scandal was an overall harmful experience for the economy and the car manufacturing industry.
A Lack of Ethics
The Volkswagen scandal is definitely linked to a lack of ethics. There are several reasons why the controversy is caused by unethical corporate behavior. First, the whole situation is based on deceit. There is a clear differentiation between ethical behavior and unethical one. The software engineers who contributed to the lie were willing to be dishonest with their customers, regulatory organizations, and other stakeholders. Dishonesty is an ambiguous ethical dilemma since not all lies are unethical. For example, some may think that lying can be beneficial if it is intended to avoid harm. However, in this situation, the engineers opted for this way of operating for the sake of financial gain. The corporation did not have to invest in minimizing environmental harm since the cars were able to pass the regulatory system. Thus, in this particular situation, the deceit was unethical.
Another reason why it is fair to say that this scandal is an ethical one is the lack of responsibility that the company has shown. Every car manufacturer is obligated to make certain changes and pay attention to environmental causes. This is the responsibility that all the corporations operating within the automotive industry have. In this case, Volkswagen, as one of the primary diesel car retailers, has a responsibility to minimize the environmental damage. Based on the outcome and the controversy that became public, the engineers appear to avoid responsibility and focus on economic benefits instead. Thus, this is another factor that highlights the ethical issues within this particular case.
Individuals Facing the Dilemma
It is essential to point out the entities which had to face the dilemma and chose to dismiss ethics during the decision-making process. The CEO and the corporations top management were indeed the initial perpetrators since, without their consent, engineers had no interest in going against the law. Every corporation aims to increase the profit for the shareholders. In this case, the decision of the superiors can be explained. However, the software engineers who had to alter the system manually do not have the same goal. Instead, these individuals do not have a direct interest since their profit is based on the salary rather than on the price of the stock market shares. Thus, the dilemma was choosing between the corporation and fundamental ethical principles of benefiting the society and the environment.
Ethical Frameworks
The three main ethical frameworks (consequentialist, deontological, and virtue) could have helped engineers make the right decisions. Moreover, applying the consequentialist model and the framework based on duty illustrate one outcome while the virtue one is more ambiguous and relatively unreliable. In the case of consequentialism, the idea is to create beneficial outcomes for the greatest number of people. This particular model is based on the objective assessment of the situation and an aim to achieve consensus. It is usually challenging to predict an outcome of a decision, but in the case of Volkswagen, it is easy. An engineer who has to choose between corporate benefits and the health and well-being of the general population will easily pick the second choice based on the deontological framework. More people benefit from this decision, and the risk for conflicts drastically decreases.
The deontological model is based on the duty to do the right thing. In this case, consequences are irrelevant, and only the intentions have to be considered. This particular model is highlighted by the use of maximization to understand whether a decision is ethical or not. In the case of the software engineers at Volkswagen, they have used deceit to benefit the corporation. In this case, the maximizing statement would be lying is always good . It is certain that if everyone lied all the time, speech would be useless. On the other hand, telling the truth is always good is a reasonable statement, which is why the engineers should have used it during the thought process. Such a concept would give them an understanding that contributing to a corporate lie is unethical.
As mentioned prior, the virtue framework gives an ambiguous outcome under these particular circumstances. It is certain that every single engineer that worked on manually compromising the software has a different virtue system. One may base their decisions on humanistic values, while the other one thinks that being a helpful employee and acting for the organizations interests is a sign of virtue. In this case, it is uncertain whether the employees would have made the most ethical decision and avoided breaking the law using this model. The virtue framework is based on the persons life, role models, intrinsic values, and personal traits. Since all these factors are rarely manageable, choosing the virtue system is not always beneficial.
Consequences
Using the deontological and consequentialist framework would significantly benefit the perpetrators, the company, and the world as a whole. As mentioned before, applying these two models would end up with engineers choosing not to be a part of the lie that Volkswagen was involved in for almost ten years. Moreover, at least one of the employees is facing jail time because of the scandal. Thus, making a different choice would positively affect the mental well-being of the participants and create an environment in which facing jail time would not be one of the outcomes. Moreover, Volkswagen as a company would not be confronted with all the criticism and suffer from reputational damages. Last but not least, the customers would not be unhappy with trusting Volkswagen as a reliable manufacturer, and there would be less substantial environmental damage.
The Most Efficient Frameworks
Based on this situation, the most practical frameworks appear to be consequentialist and deontological. The first is exceptionally efficient for those working in large corporations since the objective is to benefit the most significant number of people possible. Software engineers have to consider the populations interest as the main factor. Moreover, the duty-based model highlights the importance of operating based on good intentions. Thus, software engineers who base their actions on this particular ethical guideline are less likely to focus on material goods and career advancement but rather think about the morality of the decisions.
The Code of Ethics
The Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) has illustrated a set of guidelines in regards to ethics for computing professionals. The Code of Ethics refers to policies such as contributing to societal well-being, avoiding harm, and maintaining high standards in terms of honesty and trustworthiness (ACM, 2021). The first ethical statement which highlights the importance of considering societal well-being aligns with the consequential framework. Since the model suggests benefiting the majority of people, societal good is a similar formulation. However, honesty, trustworthiness, and avoiding harm are included in the duty-based framework. The duty of each person is not to mistreat, lie, and break trust. This relates to the profession of software engineering, when damage may be caused as a result of unethical aims and intentions.
Addressing the Problem
An ethical way of addressing the dilemma of choosing between the corporate good and societal/environmental well-being is choosing the second option. Thus, the software engineers would not have lied and compromised the software, which has caused multiple issues. These include pollution, economic problems, and a decrease in customer satisfaction after the scandal occurred. There are several benefits and adverse effects that correlate with this solution. The company would have a better reputation, customers would not distrust the car manufacturer, the environment would suffer less, and there would be no legal issues as an outcome. On the other hand, there is a possibility that engineers would have been fired, Volkswagen would have to invest in optimizing gas emissions, and customers would have to pay more for their automobiles as a result of an increase in corporate expenses.
Conclusion
Ethics is essential in software engineering due to the possible harmful implications of not following a guideline based on honesty, societal good, and other ethical concepts. The Volkswagen controversy is a portrayal of how engineers have compromised the company, stakeholder satisfaction, and regulatory norms by engaging in unethical behavior. In case dilemmas occur, several frameworks may be utilized during the decision-making process. Based on the circumstances of the case study, consequences and duty have to be considered, especially when societal well-being is at stake. Thus, ethical dilemmas may be resolved if software engineering, benefiting people, and having good intentions are not separated.
References
Cohen, G., Levy, I., Yuval, Kark, J. D., Levin, N., Witberg, G., Iakobishvili, Z., Bental, T., Broday, D. M., Steinberg, D. M., Kornowski, R., & Gerber, Y. (2018). Chronic exposure to traffic-related air pollution and cancer incidence among 10,000 patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions: A historical prospective study. European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, 25(6), 659670. Web.
ACM (2021). ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. Web.
BBC (2017). VW engineer jailed for emissions scandal. BBC News. Web.
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