Question 1

A technician named Fritz Hager revealed that

Accepted Answer

A)   he had not received extensive training by the manufacturer.
B)   the error occurred only when the technician typed the commands in quickly.
C)   the error was simple to fix but expensive.
D)   All of the above B

Question 2

What was the take-home message of the Therac 25 case?

Accepted Answer

A)   Software engineers are never responsible for their actions.
B)   Analogue technologies are always safer than digital ones.
C)   Bad software can kill people.
D)   All of the above C

Question 3

An investigation into the code revealed

Accepted Answer

A)   all the code was written by a single programmer.
B)   much of the code was in the form of modules lifted from previous version of Therac.
C)   the faulty code did not cause harm in previous versions because of mechanical interlocks.
D)   All of the above D

Question 4

After a patient died of massive radiation overdose in a Therac-25 machine, the manufacturer

Accepted Answer

A)   required all technicians to be retrained.
B)   tested the code but could not reproduce the error.
C)   found the error but did not fix it after a cost-benefit analysis.
D)   All of the above

Question 5

The explanation for the structural failure that led to Hyatt Regency walkway collapse is a

Accepted Answer

A)   change in design by the builder to bolt instead of weld joints holding the walkway.
B)   change in design which tripled the load on a nut holding the walkway.
C)   decision to opt for two steel rods instead of one holding the walkway.
D)   All of the above

Question 6

Can an engineer be1morally responsible for something he or she is not causally responsible for? Explain.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Can an engineer be1morally responsible for something...

Question 7

If we believe that a group is nothing over and above its members, and we believe that claims about guilt and blame should depend on claims about moral responsibility, then

Accepted Answer

A)   we have the moral concepts necessary to coherently take on global warming.
B)   one can be guilty as a member of a group, but not guilty as an individual.
C)   collective outcomes are susceptible to fragmentation of responsibility.
D)   None of the above

Question 8

What is the problem of many hands, and why is the Titanic disaster a good illustration of this?
5 Discuss the idea that there is sometimes be a gap between the responsibility we assign to the group and to its individual members.

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is the problem of many hands,...

Question 9

The problem of many hands occurs when

Accepted Answer

A)   there is a gap in the distribution of responsibility within a group of agents.
B)   engineers collaborating on a project do not communicate and a disaster occurs because of joint activity.
C)   no single individual is responsible, yet we have reason to believe that someone did something he or she should be held responsible for.
D)   All of the above

Question 10

The design change that led to the structural failure

Accepted Answer

A)   was proposed by the builder Havens Steel Company.
B)   was officially approved by the designer Jack D. Gillum.
C)   can be traced to a single responsible individual who approved it.
D)   None of the above

Question 11

Havens Steel's claim that they received verbal approval for the design change from an engineer at Jack D. Gillum with the understanding that a written request would be submitted is irrelevant because

Accepted Answer

A)   no written request was ever submitted.
B)   the engineer who gave verbal approval was not qualified to make the decision.
C)   the change that was approved by Gillum was not followed by Haven Steel.
D)   None of the above

Question 12

The main change in the Therac-25 over previous versions like the Therac-6 and Therac-20 is that the Therac-25

Accepted Answer

A)   used a different source of radiation that is more dangerous to human health.
B)   had no mechanical interlocks to set the amount of radiation; radiation amount was controlled by software.
C)   was much more difficult to operate properly.
D)   None of the above

Question 13

The fact that not all of Braham and van Hees's three conditions can be satisfied simultaneously does not mean it is impossible to coherently allocate moral responsibility for collective outcomes because we

Accepted Answer

A)   can accept fragmentations in responsibility allocations.
B)   can still make an assignment of responsibility after making a theoretical choice.
C)   could deny that at least one individual is responsible for every state of affairs.
D)   All of the above

Question 14

The common-sense notion of being morally responsible for an act assumes situations in which the

Accepted Answer

A)   agent has causal responsibility.
B)   agent has liability-responsibility.
C)   act is voluntary.
D)   All of the above

Question 15

Who was responsible for the deaths caused by the Therac-25? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Who was responsible for the deaths caused...

Question 16

In the case of the Titanic, the lookout and first officer had what sort of responsibility?

Accepted Answer

A)   Causal responsibility
B)   Liability responsibility
C)   Backward-looking responsibility
D)   All of the above

Question 17

Which of the following has been proposed as a technical solution to smartphone addiction?

Accepted Answer

A)   Phones that shame users for how much time they spend on them
B)   More advanced notification settings
C)   Phones that give users a weekly report on their activity
D)   All of the above

Question 18

Who was responsible for the Hyatt Regency walkway collapse? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Who was responsible for the Hyatt Regency...

Question 19

RMS Titanic sank on its maiden voyage on April 14, 1912. This a good illustration of the problem of many hands because

Accepted Answer

A)   the captain did not keep both his hands on the steering wheel.
B)   the captain was solely responsible for the sinking of the ship.
C)   a group of people were jointly responsible for the negative outcome and it was difficult (or impossible)  to assign responsibility to each individual member of the group.
D)   All of the above

Question 20

The Therac-25 case primarily raises ethical questions about the

Accepted Answer

A)   lack of adequate training and oversight of programmers and technicians.
B)   moral permissibility of using radiation for medical treatments.
C)   internal coherence of the NSPE Code of Ethics.
D)   None of the above

Exam 12: The Problem of Many Hands: Who Is Responsible and Should Anyone Be Blamed