About

About the Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE)

Charge

The Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE) is responsible for promoting ethical conduct among computing professionals by publicizing the Code of Ethics and by offering interpretations of the Code; planning and reviewing activities to educate membership in ethical decision making on issues of professional conduct; and reviewing and recommending updates to the Code of Ethics and its guidelines.

Recent Activities

  • SIGCSE 2019 – Presented a workshop, “Using the ACM Code of Ethics in Technical Computing Topics,” and a special session, “ACM Code of Ethics: Looking Back and Forging Ahead”
  • ETHICOMP 2018 – Presented a panel on the ACM Code of Ethics update
  • SIGCSE 2018 – Presented a workshop, “Strategies for Integrating the Updated ACM Code of Ethics into the Computing Curriculum”
  • SIGCSE 2017 – Presented a birds-of-a-feather session, “The ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct: Teaching Strategies and the Coming Update,” and a special session, “The Code of Ethics Quiz Show”
  • IEEE ETHICS 2016 – Presented a workshop, “Improve Professional Practice by Encouraging a Moral Engineering Culture”
  • SIGCSE 2016 – Presented a pre-symposium event, “Integrating Computing Ethics and Professionalism into the Technical Curriculum”
  • ACM Learning Webinar, Jan 2014 – “Computing Professionalism: Do Good and Avoid Evil”

Getting Involved

There are several potential ways to get involved with the Committee on Professional Ethics.

  • Join SIGCAS, the ACM SIG most directly involved with the code and with ethics in the profession.
  • Submit suggestions for the Integrity Project, or Ask an Ethicist.
  • Attend one of our workshops on teaching computer ethics, commonly held at the SIGCSE and IEEE-ETHICS conferences.
  • Or, if you have something else on your mind, Contact Us.