Database Reference
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corner and associated with misbehavior, it becomes an object for punishment. If equipped with
restraining straps and voltage high enough to take someone's life, it becomes a politicized object of
controversy. If picked up and used to strike another person it becomes a weapon; and yet, it is still
a chair. So it is with essentially all technologies—all tools invented by mankind to do work. It is
not the tool, but the choices we make in how to use it, that create and answer the questions of
ethics.
This is not a simple proposition. Every one of us have a different moral compass. Each is guided
by a different set of values and influenced by a unique set of backgrounds, experiences and forces.
No one set of ethical guidelines is completely right or completely wrong. However, there are ways
for each of us to reflectively evaluate, at least for our own, and hopefully for our organizations'
purposes, what our ethical parameters will be for each data mining activity we undertake. In order
to aid in this process, we offer here a series of…
ETHICAL FRAMEWORKS AND SUGGESTIONS
The brilliant legal scholar Lawrence Lessig has offered four mechanisms whereby we can
frame and contain computing activities within reasonable bounds. These are:
Laws
: These are statutes, enacted by a government and enforced by the same. If
these are violated, they carry with them a prescribed punishment, adjudicated by a
judge or a jury. Adherence to laws as a mechanism for right behavior represents
the basest form of ethical decision making, because at this level, a person is merely
doing what they have to do to stay out of trouble. Lessig suggests that while we
often look to laws first as a method to enforce good behavior, there are other more
reasonable and perhaps more effective methods.
Markets
: Here Lessig suggests an economic solution to guiding behavior. If bad
behavior is not profitable or would not enable an organization to stay in business,
then bad behavior will not be prevalent. There are many ways that market forces,
such as a good reputation for high quality products, excellent customer service,
reliability, etc., can help guide good actions.
Code
: In computing disciplines, code is a powerful guide of behavior, because it can
be written to allow some actions while stopping others. If we feel that although it
would not be illegal for members of a web site to access one another's accounts,
