Did Intel do anything unethical?
Professionalism and Codes of Ethics 2 After reading this chapter, you will be able to • Determine whether
engineering is a profession
• Understand what codes of ethics are, and
• Examine some codes of ethics of professional engineering societies.
Objectives
Late in 1994, reports began to appear in the news media that the latest generation of Pentium ® microprocessors, the heart and soul of personal computers, was fl awed. These reports appeared not only in trade journals and magazines aimed at computer specialists, but also in The New York Times and other daily newspapers. The stories reported that computers equipped with these chips were unable to correctly perform some relatively simple multiplication and division operations.
At fi rst, Intel, the manufacturer of the Pentium microprocessor, denied that there was a problem. Later, it argued that although there was a problem, the error would be signifi cant only in sophisticated applications, and most people wouldn’t even notice that an error had occurred. It was also reported that Intel had been aware of the problem and already was working to fi x it. As a result of this publicity, many people who had purchased Pentium-based computers asked to have the defec- tive chip replaced. Until the public outcry had reached huge proportions, Intel refused to replace the chips. Finally, when it was clear that this situation was a public- relations disaster for them, Intel agreed to replace the defective chips when custom- ers requested it.
Did Intel do anything unethical? To answer this question, we will need to develop a framework for understanding ethical problems. One part of this frame- work will be the codes of ethics that have been established by professional engi- neering organizations. These codes help guide engineers in the course of their
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