Think a 1,000 year oath

[lifeisstillgood]

I think that Sir David King's Oath for Scientists is probably more appropriate to pull from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocratic_Oath_for_Scientists

I would suggest:

• Act with skill and care in all programming work. Maintain up to date skills and assist their development in others.
• Do not claim to have skills you know you have not achieved yet.
• Take steps to prevent corrupt practices and professional misconduct. Declare conflicts of interest.
• Be alert to the ways in which source code derives from and affects the work of other people, and respect the rights and reputations of others.
• Ensure that your work is lawful and justified.
• Minimize and justify publically any adverse effect your work may have on people, animals and the natural environment.
• Seek to discuss publically the issues that your work raises for society. Listen to the aspirations and concerns of others.
• Do not knowingly mislead, or allow others to be misled, about programming matters. Present and review source code honestly and accurately, using metrics to guide that review where appropriate.

[deathwish]

In the same vein, I think a treatment of AI is warranted :)

[lifeisstillgood]

No need, once AI is achieved our overlords will not need ethical oaths - it will be part of the the Three Laws :-)

[lifeisstillgood]

this is now pull request #7

[deathwish]

Ah, but someone needs to put the Three Laws there in the first place... Additionally, the Three Laws only speak of robot-kind's obligations to humanity and itself. Given our potentially godlike position relative to a hypothetical AI, I'm more interested in speaking to the responsibility of the programmer to the AI.

[mixinmax]

I like these

[supersam654]

I support the idea of basing this oath off of an older (and much larger) one.