Essay 1 – Applying the Code Pick one of the following topics, and write a report of approximately 1,000 words (excluding thebibliography) in response to the question posed for your chosen topic. Further instructions follow; pleaseensure you review them before beginning to write.Topic A – Boeing 737 MAX ScandalThe Boeing 737 MAX is one of the best-selling commercial airliners of all time. One of its major sellingpoints was a new, more fuel-efficient engine design.
At the same time, when the plane was put intoservice in 2017, Boeing claimed there was no need to retrain pilots familiar with earlier Boeing 737models to fly it. But it soon became clear that the plane had significant safety problems. In October 2018and March 2019, two 737 MAX planes crashed, killing nearly 350 people. Governments around the worldresponded by banning the 737 MAX from flying in their airspace.The problem was with a piece of software installed on the planes’ computer systems, called theManeuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS)
This software is designed to automaticallycompensate for a design flaw: the new engines on the 737 MAX have a tendency to make the plane tiltup, potentially causing a stall. MCAS compensates by automatically tilting the nose of the plane down;this was determined to be one of the major causes of the crashes.Did Boeing act unethically? Use the sociotechnical systems perspective to analyse the details of theBoeing scandal, and apply the ACM Code to determine whether the company acted unethically. Makerecommendations for how the company could have handled the problem better.
SecurityBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, Zoom was an obscure video calling platform mostly used in thebusiness world. But when the virus began to force people across the world to work from home inFebruary–March 2020, its ease of use and surprisingly high-quality connection made it the app of choicefor everything from lecturing to church groups to games of Dungeons&Dragons. “Zooming in” to workor school has become a regular feature of pandemic life.In the midst of Zoom’s newfound success, however, several security flaws came to light.
At first, mediareports focused on the phenomenon of “Zoombombing,” where strangers would invade unsecured Zoommeetings to cause a disruption, often through lewd or abusive behaviour. It also emerged that thecompany had falsely claimed that all of its connections were end-to-end encrypted, when that feature wasstill in development. Other security flaws included installing code that remained after the software wasPHIL 2490 & CSCI 3101Essay 1 Instructions
uninstalled from Macs, and bugs that could leave the user’s microphone and camera vulnerable tohackers.
Did Zoom act unethically? Use the sociotechnical systems perspective to analyse the details of Zoom’ssecurity problems, and apply the ACM Code to determine whether the company acted unethically. Makerecommendations for how the company could have handled the problem better.
