97 Things About Ethics Everyone in Data Science Should Know

Chapter 80. Ethical Data Science: Both Art and Science

Polly Mitchell-Guthrie

VP, Industry Outreach and Thought Leadership, Kinaxis

I will remember that there is art to data science medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the area under the curve surgeon’s knife or R-squared the chemist’s drug.

excerpt from the Hippocratic oath (edits mine)

The Hippocratic oath is considered one of the earliest examples of a professional code of ethics, dating back to approximately 500 BCE. The world of medicine at the time was experiencing rapid changes, with many physicians selling their services primarily to profit from their skills and capture the growing interest in what we now think of as Western medicine. The oath was a radical reorientation toward prioritizing the interests of patients instead of profit.

Since the creation of the Hippocratic oath, many other professions employing highly specialized skills have adopted codes of ethics, recognizing that there’s a responsibility that comes with their expertise. In addition to medicine, there are codes of ethics for professions ranging from dieticians and accountants to stockbrokers and lawyers. If the factors contributing to the creation of the Hippocratic oath sound familiar (big changes in the field, growing interest, proliferation of those seeking to profit from new demand), then you may ...