Professional Computing Practice- BITM 403

Class Group Activity

Scenario: A tech company has developed 'SafeGuard,' a predictive policing software that uses machine
learning to predict potential crime hotspots by analyzing data including past crime reports, demographic
information, and social media activity, consider the ethical implications from different perspectives:

1. From the end-user perspective (law enforcement agencies), what are the ethical concerns and
responsibilities regarding the balance between potential benefits like reduced crime rates and
risks such as privacy infringement and potential biases? How should transparency with the
public be managed?

2. From the professional perspective (software developers and data scientists), what ethical
considerations should be kept in mind during the development and training of the predictive
model, particularly concerning data sources and inherent biases? What responsibilities do they
have to ensure non-discriminatory, privacy-respecting software and to respond to potential
unethical uses?

3. From the organizational perspective (tech company management), how does the company
ensure ethical compliance and respect for civil liberties while maintaining commercial viability?
What are the responsibilities in addressing public concerns and potential software misuse, and
should an ethical review board be established for oversight?

Discuss each perspective's concerns and responsibilities, and explore how these different viewpoints
intersect and impact ethical decision-making in the development and deployment of predictive policing
software."