Ethics in Programming
Working in the computer science field allows me to explore and branch into many different fields of the topic from going to a company such as Google, to working on a video game company such as Nintendo. I would personally prefer to join a game company such as Nintendo as one of their programmers. I would always enjoy their video games when I was growing and would like to be working on classic titles such as Pokemon, Super Smash Bros, and The Legend of Zelda. People who know how to program have a lot of power now a days and could probably cross many ethical problems.
Many times when programming, the programmer would have to make the game run a certain way and run as smooth as possible. However, there has been times when bugs have occurred and slipped by the programming team. In an article composed by Nathan Grayson, he states, "If you’re a frequent player of Overwatch’s 3v3 mode, you’ve probably experienced the Mei ice wall glitch. It allows players to get outside the level, at which point they can shoot you, but you can’t shoot them. It is, in short, total bullshit." (Kotaku) The programmers of the game Overwatch accidentally overlooked a little programming problem where it caused an uproar within the Overwatch community. The problem was that this bug allows cheaters to cheat in a 3 versus 3 game mode. The ethical problem was that this game is suppose to be fun for everyone not a game where you can take advantage of an exploit and make it fun for yourself and not for anyone else. Bugs could really ruin the gaming experience for many people.
Even though programming could be used to create games where people could enjoy in there free time, there is also a different side into how programming could be used. People who know how to program have a higher advantage in today's society. Programming allows many people to create codes in order to create a new game or even hack into peoples devices. There was an incident where the CIA was taking away the privacy of the citizens of the United States. This was then leaked by Edward Snowden who saw it wrong and then would have to flee to Russia in order to avoid imprisonment. Hacking into people's cell phone and being able to see every single movement they are doing on a daily basis was a violation against the privacy of the citizen's of the United States. The CIA could keep tabs of every person and record of every single conversation where one might not feel safe with having technology. Now technology has advance to the point that it is a necessity.
https://kotaku.com/1819122721
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/08/519205172/the-cia-document-dump-isn-t-exactly-snowden-2-0-here-s-why
Many times when programming, the programmer would have to make the game run a certain way and run as smooth as possible. However, there has been times when bugs have occurred and slipped by the programming team. In an article composed by Nathan Grayson, he states, "If you’re a frequent player of Overwatch’s 3v3 mode, you’ve probably experienced the Mei ice wall glitch. It allows players to get outside the level, at which point they can shoot you, but you can’t shoot them. It is, in short, total bullshit." (Kotaku) The programmers of the game Overwatch accidentally overlooked a little programming problem where it caused an uproar within the Overwatch community. The problem was that this bug allows cheaters to cheat in a 3 versus 3 game mode. The ethical problem was that this game is suppose to be fun for everyone not a game where you can take advantage of an exploit and make it fun for yourself and not for anyone else. Bugs could really ruin the gaming experience for many people.
Even though programming could be used to create games where people could enjoy in there free time, there is also a different side into how programming could be used. People who know how to program have a higher advantage in today's society. Programming allows many people to create codes in order to create a new game or even hack into peoples devices. There was an incident where the CIA was taking away the privacy of the citizens of the United States. This was then leaked by Edward Snowden who saw it wrong and then would have to flee to Russia in order to avoid imprisonment. Hacking into people's cell phone and being able to see every single movement they are doing on a daily basis was a violation against the privacy of the citizen's of the United States. The CIA could keep tabs of every person and record of every single conversation where one might not feel safe with having technology. Now technology has advance to the point that it is a necessity.
https://kotaku.com/1819122721
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/08/519205172/the-cia-document-dump-isn-t-exactly-snowden-2-0-here-s-why
There’s no substitute for passion, and I felt this while reading your blog covering the ethics of programming, mostly related to video games. Unlike me, it seems that you know why you want to become a programmer, so keep that in mind and run with it in your blog and life. Also, don’t forget to look at any silly punctuation mistakes in your blog. The use of an outside quote was a nice touch, because it made it feel like you really knew what you were talking about. Credit ability is something that is very important when presenting information. Consider repeating some of your sentences out load, because some of them felt a bit wired reading. The additional information covering Edward Snowden was a nice touch, but try to make the transitions between topics a bit smother, because while the topic did involve similar themes, there needs to be better connections between them. Overall, I enjoyed reading your ideas on gaming and technology.
ReplyDeleteThis blog started very well, with a short introduction to the field and its connection to ethics. Then, your explanation of the issue with Overwatch 3 showed a unique connection to the unit. When you talked about the Russia investigation, it opened up some unique possibilities, but then it all ended rather abruptly. Without a conclusion, this all felt rather incomplete, and didn't touch on corporate ethics, or how game mechanics might relate to more global issues, like privacy.
ReplyDelete