There are various ways a person can see ethics. People differ on how they view ethics based on their own experiences through life. One person might believe that holding the door open for the person behind them is morale while another person might not. Ethics in any situation is usually the deciding factor of what happens next in any event. Ethics in software engineering is more about knowing before doing. You should be a person who has a knack for achieving information, which means you know what type of companies you are being hired by before even taking the job or deciding to apply for that job. You should be a person who is fully aware of what you are getting into and if you agree with what the company is doing. This also goes for checking the product you are going to produce whether or not it is beneficial or not. Once you agree with doing the project complete the project to the best of your ability, refine it and make sure that the finished product is approved and tested thoroughly so that when it is released you can be confident about its results.
There will be times where you come across blatant disregard for ethics such as the Googles Street View incident. This case has many things to be said of it, but then again it has never been done before. When Google street view first started, it was only going to be promoted in a good way not looking much at what it could cause after it had been released. Google Street View was a way to see the world in an aerial view. This aerial view basically covered just about anywhere that can be captured with the exception of a few places. This product had many repercussions because of its postings of people within its pictures it has taken. It showed all people of the moment who were coming out of questionable places and people’s private life in their backyards and more. This would of course stir up much of the world due to its results and what good and bad can be seen around a few areas. Also, while collecting pictures of areas around the world the second part of this short article stated that Google was also collecting “bits of data” from the surrounding area such as SSID’s, device identifiers, medical and financial records, passwords and email content. Which was later spilled from higher ups in the company saying that it was true “but only in small amounts”.
Google definitely is a big company with much reputation now days. They might even be strong enough to disregard just about anything bad about the company because they are so lucrative in the service that they provide. This means that Google runs a fine line on ethics and definitely crosses the line of ethics now and then intentionally for profit and gain. The Google Street View as a product is a double-edged sword. Although it gives a person full control to explore the world that person may not be able to travel due to not being rich enough it also destroys people’s privacy of what they do outside if they are a Peron who has a fence and likes to do risky things at their own comfort of their house. There are of course only two examples of many that can be said about using Google Street View. The second case however stated in this article is a total disregard to a person’s privacy and definitely be looked into more. Illegally collecting data about important information from people while covering it up in the Google Street View project is an ethics breaker. They even admitted to this use of power and breach of personal space. It is understandable that Google as a company is prohibited from some countries and that they are getting sued for many things. Although they are getting sued for and being dealt with the punishment they are being given is nothing near to what they should actually be fined and disciplined for. Google as a company at this point has enough power to cover up the amount of flaws the company has to get away with just about anything they want to which can be a scary idea.