Oath and protection

Some of you might be familiar with the Hippocratic Oath taken by medical personnel. It states amongst its main lines that you shall not intentionally harm other human beings. That means use your knowledge for healing and not killing or maiming people. Not denying medical aid to whomever needs it. There are quite a few scenarios covered by this statement.

In software development there is no such real thing. However, there exists the Archimedean Oath. It states amongst its main lines you will do to the best of your capabilities to ensure your work and knowledge is not used for nefarious purposes. You will also strive to become more knowledgeable. There are more statements like this.

So why do I state that this Oath exists and why is it necessary for you to know about it. Well I declined a project on this basis. I will not say what they do because then you will figure out the company and I am under NDA. Needless to say I am against the project and therefore will not work on this.

It makes for a stronger statement knowing about this oath and your ability to reference it confidently.

#thoughts