An oath is a solemn promise. While somewhat old-school, oaths exist in many professions. Wikipedia describes such an oath for the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer:
The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer has been instituted with the simple end of directing the young engineer towards a consciousness of his profession and its significance, and indicating to the older engineer his responsibilities in receiving, welcoming and supporting the young engineers in their beginnings.
This ritual, instituted in the 1920’s in Canada, was written by author Rudyard Kipling as a statement of ethical practice. (Kipling is not himself without ethical controversies and criticisms.)
Other famous oaths include the Hippocratic Oath, shown above, was part of Greek medical texts, dating back to circa AD 275. The Hippocratic Oath has been broadly avowed by physicians. Key principles of the medical Hippocratic Oath (also relevant for data science) include ethical concepts of confidentiality and non-maleficence.
Hippocratic Oath for Data Science
The committee that drafted the Data Science for Undergraduates (NASEM 2018) report proposed a Data Science Oath in their interim report in hopes that it could foster efforts to establish a code of ethics for data scientists.
They noted:
The potential consequences of the ethical implications of data science cannot be overstated. Previously, data were small and specialized, but now data are pervasive. The fact that all humans are in this together (e.g., generating data and economic activity) means that they all have a responsibility to each other.
Below we provide a line-by-line comparison of the original Hippocratic Oath and the proposed Data Science Oath:
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: | I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: |
| I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow. | I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those data scientists in whose steps I walk and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who follow. |
COMMENTARY: The first two lines are almost identical.
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism. | I will apply, for the benefit of society, all measures which are required, avoiding misrepresentations of data and analysis results. |
COMMENTARY: Doctors treat the sick. Data scientists act for the benefit of all members of society. What is the equivalent of therapeutic nihilism in the context of data science (misrepresentation seems to only capture part of this concept)?
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug. | I will remember that there is art to data science as well as science, and that consistency, candor, and compassion should outweigh the algorithm’s precision or the interventionist’s influence. |
COMMENTARY: Both medicine and data science are humanistic approaches (bedside manner applies to both professions).
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery. | I will not be ashamed to say, “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for solving a problem. |
COMMENTARY: Doctors and data scientists are not expected to know everything. It’s important to be able to be able to observe when expert referrals are needed.
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God. | I will respect the privacy of my data subjects, for their data are not disclosed to me that the world may know, so I will tread with care in matters of privacy and security. If it is given to me to do good with my analyses, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to do harm and this responsibility must be faced with humbleness and awareness of my own limitations. |
COMMENTARY: Privacy and data ethics are of great importance for both professions. The aspects of saving and taking lives seem to be central to the physician’s responsibilities that of the data scientist.
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. | I will remember that my data are not just numbers without meaning or context, but represent real people and situations, and that my work may lead to unintended societal consequences, such as inequality, poverty, and disparities due to algorithmic bias. My responsibility must consider potential consequences of my extraction of meaning from data and ensure my analyses help make better decisions. |
COMMENTARY: It’s obvious that no one “treats a fever chart”. Here the broader impact of data science on larger societal issues distinguish the two oaths.
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. | I will perform personalization where appropriate, but I will always look for a path to fair treatment and nondiscrimination. |
COMMENTARY: Prevention doesn’t have a direct analogue to data science. The proposed Data Science Oath here seems to miss the mark.
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm. | I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those who need help and those who don’t. |
COMMENTARY: Both professions exist in broader society, with attendant ethical responsibilities.
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help. | If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy vitality and virtuosity, respected for my contributions and remembered for my leadership thereafter. May I always act to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of helping those who can benefit from my work |
COMMENTARY: Both oaths close with a similar call as to the Canadian Engineers highlighted earlier.
The NASEM (2018) report noted many commonalities between the the Hippocratic Oath and the proposed Data Science Oath. An important takeaway is that both provide necessary but not sufficient guidance about addressing current and future ethical considerations. The need for more comprehensive ethical standards may be one reason why the Hippocratic Oath is thought of as a historical oath. While these oath(s) are insufficient, they play an important role in framing ethical questions in medicine and data science, respectfully. Ideally, they help new professionals reflect on ideas of ethics.
The NASEM report draft oath was just that: a preliminary attempt to craft an ethical statement that data scientists could adopt. It was not included in the consensus report (only included as an appendix). Other efforts (see for example this and that) have been suggested. It will be important for the community to discuss and debate what principles should guide data science practice and how students can develop a sophisticated understanding of those principles.
Learn more
- NASEM (2018) Data Science for Undergraduates (Opportunities and Options): https://nas.edu/envisioningds
- Source for original Hippocratic Oath (Lasagna, 1964): https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath_modern.html
- Hippocratic Oath: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/greek/greek_oath.html
- Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual_of_the_Calling_of_an_Engineer
- Proposal for data science ethics: https://thedataist.com/a-proposal-for-data-science-ethics/
- Accenture universal principles of data ethics: https://www.accenture.com/t20160629T012639Z__w__/us-en/_acnmedia/PDF-24/Accenture-Universal-Principles-Data-Ethics.pdf
- A Hippocratic Oath for Data Science: https://virginia-eubanks.com/2018/02/21/a-hippocratic-oath-for-data-science/ and https://medium.com/@dpatil/a-code-of-ethics-for-data-science-cda27d1fac1
Full text of both oaths
| Original Hippocratic Oath | Proposed Data Science Oath |
|---|---|
| I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: | I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: |
| I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow. | I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those data scientists in whose steps I walk and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who follow. |
| I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism. | I will apply, for the benefit of society, all measures which are required, avoiding misrepresentations of data and analysis results. |
| I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon’s knife or the chemist’s drug. | I will remember that there is art to data science as well as science, and that consistency, candor, and compassion should outweigh the algorithm’s precision or the interventionist’s influence. |
| I will not be ashamed to say “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient’s recovery. | I will not be ashamed to say, “I know not,” nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for solving a problem. |
| I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know. Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death. If it is given me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty. Above all, I must not play at God. | I will respect the privacy of my data subjects, for their data are not disclosed to me that the world may know, so I will tread with care in matters of privacy and security. If it is given to me to do good with my analyses, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to do harm and this responsibility must be faced with humbleness and awareness of my own limitations. |
| I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person’s family and economic stability. My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. | I will remember that my data are not just numbers without meaning or context, but represent real people and situations, and that my work may lead to unintended societal consequences, such as inequality, poverty, and disparities due to algorithmic bias. My responsibility must consider potential consequences of my extraction of meaning from data and ensure my analyses help make better decisions. |
| I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure. | I will perform personalization where appropriate, but I will always look for a path to fair treatment and nondiscrimination. |
| I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm. | I will remember that I remain a member of society, with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those who need help and those who don’t. |
| If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter. May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help. | If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy vitality and virtuosity, respected for my contributions and remembered for my leadership thereafter. May I always act to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of helping those who can benefit from my work |
More info on the blog
Last summer we wrote a series of blog entries designed to start conversations around teaching data science, Teach Data Science. We covered topics such as data science software, data ingestation, data technologies, data wrangling, visualization & exploration, communication, and key reports and findings on data science.
One key element that was lacking on our 2019 blog was a discussion about and a commitment to teaching the ethical aspects of data science. We have now found ourselves in the summer of 2020, overwhelmed by the state of the world and re-committed to the ethical challenges which can help data science be a positive force for change.
Although none of us are experts in ethics, we have all included ethics discussions in our classrooms for many years. In the weeks to come, we will share some of the ways we engage our students in these important topics. We will provide resources for readings, examples, datasets, and exercises. We believe that data ethics are part of every data science analysis and classroom experience, and we hope that this summer’s blog will entice you into presenting ethical dilemmas and related conversations to your students early and often.
During the summer of 2020, we plan to write a dozen blog entries. We hope that you bookmark the site and check in regularly. Want a reminder? Sign up for emails at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/teach-data-science (you must be logged into Google to sign up).