Professional ethics in computing

Code runs the world — banking, healthcare, transport, communication. A single bug or malicious feature can affect millions. Ethics is the framework that helps us decide what we should do, not just what we can do.

As a computing professional, you have power: access to data, control over systems, influence over decisions. Ethics turns that power into responsibility.

Three reasons we need professional ethics:

1. Trust — clients, employers, and the public must trust that we act in their interest.
2. Accountability — when things go wrong, there must be standards to judge conduct.
3. Guidance — tricky situations (pressure to cut corners, data requests, AI bias) need a compass, not guesswork.

Two major bodies publish codes of conduct that Cambridge expects you to know:

BCS (British Computer Society) — The Chartered Institute for IT

• UK-focused but internationally recognised.
• Four core principles: Public Interest, Professional Competence and Integrity, Duty to Relevant Authority, Duty to the Profession.
• Members sign up to the BCS Code of Conduct — breach can mean losing chartered status.

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) — IEEE Code of Ethics

• Global, engineering-focused (hardware, software, systems).
• Ten clauses covering: public safety, conflicts of interest, honesty, rejecting bribery, improving understanding of technology, supporting colleagues, avoiding discrimination, avoiding injury, professional development, and supporting the code itself.

What they share: honesty, competence, public safety, confidentiality, no discrimination, and a duty to report wrongdoing.