Ethical Issues in Software [Research Wiki]

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====== Ethical Issues in Software ======

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We define ethical issues in software (EIS) [[glossary:eis|here]]. It is based on the definitions given below.

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[[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/issue|"A matter that is in dispute between two or more parties"]] because of misalignments in [[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethics|"the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group"]] about [[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/software|"something used or associated with and usually contrasted with hardware"]].
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[[glossary:ethics|Ethics]] is different from morals in that it is the //accumulation of a specific set of moral principles// of a person or a group of people.\\
When people ethically take issue with an aspect of software, we speak of [[glossary:ec|ethical concerns in software]].

<wrap lo>Software is manifold and ubiquitous. Despite our current focus on apps on mobile [[wp>app stores]], we point at the fact that most apps are not restricted to the user's mobile phone. Many operations require servers to take the computational load, such as [[wp>ChatGPT]], making the phone an interface to a much larger piece of hardware. Furthermore, the execution of an app relies on many dependencies, starting from the operating system. Some issues therefore do not only relate to how specific features are implemented, but also to the overarching design of a system and how certain systems interact with each other. We consider both software-internal and software-external issues.</wrap>

[[eis:resources:annotation_report|Follow this link]] to read about the annotation strategy and our reporting of the process and outcomes.
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<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:privacy|{{privacy.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:transparency|{{transparency.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:manipulation|{{manipulation.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:safety|{{safety.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:inappropriate_content|{{icontent.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:harmful_advertising|{{hadvertizing.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:addiction|{{addiction.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:censorship|{{censorship.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:discrimination|{{discrimination.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap noframe>[[eis:types:scam|{{scam.png?150}}]]</wrap>
<wrap box 10%>[[eis:types:accountability|Accountability ]]</wrap>
<wrap box 10%>[[eis:types:false_information|False information]]</wrap>
<wrap box 10%>[[eis:types:identity_theft|Identity theft]]</wrap>
<wrap box 10%>[[eis:types:sustainability|Sustainability]]</wrap>
<wrap box 10%>[[eis:types:accessibility|Accessibility]]</wrap>
<wrap box 10%>[[eis:types:content_theft|Content theft]]</wrap>
<wrap box 10%>[[eis:types:cyberbullying|Cyberbullying]]</wrap>

Past work shows that concerns about ethics in software are not always isolated. One issue may relate to another at various levels of granularity. The figure above shows how a Dutch cohort of diverse participants related types and subtypes of EIS to another.
You can find definitions, explanations and examples of the types (and subtypes) on their respective pages on the left in the sidebar.

<wrap figure>{{ :eis:ec_themes2.png?800px |}}
**Fig.1.** Ethical concerns and relationships among them.
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