For this assignment I chose the article titled “Google code of ethics on military contracts could hinder Pentagon work,” written in 2018 by Lea B. D in 2018. The article highlights concerns by Google employees on the contract that the company signed with the U.S Military with regard to implementation of Project Maven. The main concern of the employees is whether all ethical standards were adhered to in the signing of the contract (Lea, 2018). This paper brings to light the parameters in terms of ideals, effects as well as consequences of the project. Moral rights and recommendations with respect to Utilitarian and Kantian approaches will also be discussed.
The Ideals, Effects, and Consequences at Stake
Lea states that the fact that there is an opposition from some of the employees of Google is problematic to the operational and implementation of the contract. The main reason for the opposition of the contract is the fact that there are some ethical issues surrounding the arrangement (Lea, 2018). The main objective of the contract known as Joint Enterprise Defence Infrastructure (JEDI) is to hold information which is regarded as sensitive and classified. Concerns about the project was raised by over 3000 Google employees which was a figure that clearly raised substantial concerns. The employees were concerned that with the involvement of google, it was clear that the company was subscribing to the business of war. The employees wanted the company to develop a clear policy that spelt out the stand that the Google would not involve itself in matters of war of technology surrounding the same. The technology in this case involved the use of drones to collect data. Driven by artificial intelligence, the government would detect and identify objects through footage surveillance. With Google providing that infrastructure, it was a concern to the employees that Google was aimed at integrating military services through JEDI.
The employees felt that it was unethical for google to involve itself in warfare technology. With the technology under the control of the US military, they were concerned that the US government would use it as a weapon. The employees felt that the company was going against its ethical and moral standards by involving itself in a contract that would use its products as a weapon (Schwartz, 2016). This is something that was a wakeup call to Google. Apart from project Maven, Google was forced to come up with a policy that would ensure that there was a code of conduct to be followed. The cancellation of the JEDI contract led to the company losing a lucrative contract with the US government.
Violation of Moral Rights
Moral rights is basically the personal rights that connect employees to their workplace. As far as the discerning employees are concerned, Project Maven did not represent the moral rights of the employees. The employees reasoned that the technology in the hands of the military would be used as a weapon, and as a result human life could be lost. It is a challenge for Google to work with the employees given that they are opposed to loss of human life as a result of technology they have developed. For this reason it was immoral for Google to ask employees to work on something they considered violated their moral standing.
Recommendations from a Utilitarian
According to utilitarian theory, a moral action can define as one that maximizes on the happiness or utility to the largest number of people. The reasoning behind the theory is enshrined in the effects that justifies an action (Cohen, 2016). The main objective of morality is to make life better by making good use of the resources available and at the same reducing the pain or reduce factors might make people suffer in the society. In the case of Project Maven, according to the theory, the recommendation would be implementation of the contract. The main reason for implementation is the fact that there will be enhanced security and therefore many Americans will be happy. According to this theory, the main focus would be the benefits that the technology would bring to the larger American population and therefore ignore the concerns of the few 3000 google employees.
Recommendation from a Kantian
According to Kant’s theory, it does not matter whether duties were fulfilled or not, the bottom-line is whether the actions were moral. In this case it is obvious that the theorists that believing in this theory would recommend that the theory be not implemented. According to the employees the technology would lead to loss of life, especially given the fact that it would be made available to the military (Bowie, 2017). It did not matter whether the technology and the contract would being Google massive revenues, they did not want it implemented on moral grounds. There was no policy in place that outlined how the military was going to use the technology, which raised eyebrows.
In conclusion, “Google code of ethics on military contracts could hinder Pentagon work” is about project Maven which is a contract between Google and the military to come up with a technology to be used in warfare. Employees are concerned about its moral standing citing that the technology could be used for warfare purposes. The employees against the signing of JEDI because the technology would lead to loss of lives. As much as much a utilitarian would recommend its implementation, Kantian’s would recommend that it is not implemented based on the fact that the end does not justify the means (Mill, 2016).
References
Bowie, N. E. (2017). Business ethics: A Kantian perspective. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/business-ethics-a-kantian perspective/E114144BFE0A271F1B12C8178C7D1C97
Cohen, D. J., & Ahn, M. (2016). A subjective utilitarian theory of moral judgment. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145(10), 1359. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2016-39041-001
Lea, B. D. (2018, April 13). Google code of ethics on military contracts could hinder Pentagon work. https://www.foxbusiness.com/features/google-code-of-ethics-on military-contracts-could-hinder-pentagon-work.
Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven masterpieces of philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge. https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315508818/chapters/10.4324/9781315508818-12
Schwartz, M. S. (2016). Ethical decision-making theory: An integrated approach. Journal of Business Ethics, 139(4), 755-776. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-015-2886-8
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