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What are two outcomes of adherence to a professional code of ethics for individuals, their profession, and society as a whole? Choose 2 answers.
Answer : A, B
Adherence to a professional code of ethics ensures that individuals, their profession, and society benefit from ethical consistency and industry best practices.
1. Standardized Business Practices:
Ethical codes establish clear guidelines for professional conduct.
They promote fairness, transparency, and accountability in business.
2. Consistent Decision-Making:
A well-defined ethical framework helps professionals make fair and ethical choices in various situations.
Ensures uniform application of ethical principles across different cases.
Why Not the Other Options?
C . Assured Employer Integrity: Ethics applies to individual conduct rather than guaranteeing an employer's behavior.
A software company continues to refine and update the predictive algorithm that makes its product the market leader. Although the company announces some changes, most are unannounced so that people and businesses remain unaware.
What is this company protecting?
Answer : B
A trade secret refers to confidential business information that provides a company with a competitive advantage. In this scenario, the software company continuously refines and updates its predictive algorithm but does not fully disclose these changes, ensuring that competitors and customers remain unaware of its proprietary methods.
Unlike trademarks (which protect branding), trade dress (which protects product appearance), or tradecraft (which refers to espionage techniques), trade secrets involve valuable, undisclosed business methods or formulas.
Relevant Ethical Reference in Technology:
Trade Secret Protection (Defend Trade Secrets Act, DTSA, 2016) -- Protects companies from misappropriation of confidential information.
Intellectual Property Ethics -- Companies must balance secrecy with ethical transparency in product updates.
Utilitarian vs. Deontological Perspectives -- Keeping trade secrets protects business interests but may impact consumer trust.
ACM Code of Ethics (Intellectual Property & Transparency) -- Encourages responsible innovation without misleading consumers.
Thus, the correct answer is B. Trade secret, as the company protects its undisclosed algorithm updates.
An insurance company develops an artificial intelligence (Al) system to manage claims automatically. Although this technology benefits most customers, people from neighborhoods associated with a low socioeconomic status find it harder to get their claims approved. The company decides to keep using the system.
Which ethical theory justifies the company to come to this decision?
Answer : B
The decision made by the insurance company aligns with utilitarianism, an ethical theory that evaluates actions based on their overall consequences and aims to maximize happiness or well-being for the greatest number of people.
Why Utilitarianism?
The company continues using the AI system because it benefits the majority of customers, even though it negatively affects a marginalized group.
Utilitarianism, as defined by Jeremy Bentham and later refined by John Stuart Mill, prioritizes actions that generate the most favorable outcomes for the largest number of individuals.
Since the AI system increases efficiency and improves claim processing for most customers, the company may justify its use under 'the greatest happiness principle.'
However, utilitarianism can be criticized for neglecting minority groups if their suffering is outweighed by the benefits to the majority, as seen in this case.
Why Not the Other Theories?
A . Pluralism: Pluralism acknowledges multiple moral values but does not necessarily justify sacrificing fairness for efficiency. The company's decision does not reflect a commitment to balancing competing moral principles.
C . Virtue Ethics: Virtue ethics, based on Aristotle's philosophy, emphasizes moral character and virtues such as justice and fairness. A company operating under virtue ethics would likely strive to ensure fairness for all customers rather than prioritizing overall utility.
D . Deontology: Deontology, rooted in Immanuel Kant's philosophy, focuses on duty, rights, and moral rules. A deontologist would argue that it is unethical to use a system that discriminates against certain groups, even if it benefits the majority.
Thus, the correct ethical framework that justifies the company's decision is utilitarianism because it prioritizes the greater good, even at the expense of fairness for a smaller group.
Reference in Ethics in Technology:
Mill, J. S. (1863). Utilitarianism. London: Parker, Son, and Bourn.
Bentham, J. (1789). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Floridi, L. (2013). The Ethics of Information. Oxford University Press.
Binns, R. (2018). 'Fairness in Machine Learning: Lessons from Political Philosophy.' Proceedings of the 2018 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAT).
What is the unintended source of bias in artificial intelligence (Al) algorithms?
Answer : C
The unintended source of bias in AI algorithms comes from human developers, who bring their own unconscious biases into data selection, feature engineering, and model training.
Even when AI is designed to be neutral, developers may:
Select biased training data
Define biased decision-making rules
Fail to recognize discriminatory outcomes
Relevant Ethical Reference in Technology:
Algorithmic Bias & Human Influence -- AI reflects the biases of those who design it, making human oversight crucial.
ACM & IEEE AI Ethics Guidelines -- Encourage bias audits and ethical AI development.
Historical Bias & Discrimination in AI (Amazon Hiring AI Case) -- AI replicated gender biases because of biased developer input.
Deontological Ethics & AI Responsibility -- Developers must take responsibility for preventing bias in AI systems.
Thus, the correct answer is C. Human developers, as they introduce unintentional bias into AI systems through their decisions.
A hacker attacked an organization's server to obtain the health records of a specific employee. The hacker posts the information online as an act of revenge. Which attack did the hacker perform?
Answer : B
Doxing (or doxxing) refers to maliciously gathering and publishing personal information online without consent, often to harass, threaten, or retaliate against someone. In this scenario, the hacker stole an employee's health records and posted them online as revenge, which clearly constitutes doxing.
Relevant Ethical Reference in Technology:
Privacy Rights & Data Protection (HIPAA, GDPR, CCPA) -- Unauthorized disclosure of health records violates legal and ethical privacy standards.
Cyber Ethics & Harassment (ACM & IEEE Codes of Ethics) -- Doxing is considered a cybercrime and an unethical digital practice.
Cybersecurity & Retaliatory Attacks -- Ethical hacking principles condemn doxing as a form of online harassment.
Deontological & Virtue Ethics -- Publishing private information violates personal dignity and trust, making it ethically unacceptable.
Thus, the correct answer is B. Doxing, as the hacker exposed private health records online for revenge.
