\"We need you to include some parameters in the soft- ware that slow the processing capacity of the tablet down as the battery ages. That will keep the tablets from becoming unstable and will extend the usable life of the tablets to the time frame we promised the school districts that have already signed contracts with us." He paused for a moment and then continued. \"Iust to be clear. if we don't resolve this somehow. our tablets will not function long enough to get us through the warranty. Further. we do not have the funds to replace all of these batteries once they start failing. We will develop a bad reputation for faulty products that we can't afford to x. and we won't remain viable for long." Apple Customers All Charged Up K] tried to assure Mike that no one would ever find out. but Mike still couldn't believe what he was hearing. He almost asked K] why they couldn't just buy better batteries. but he knew that margins were already too thin. It really did sound like a software fix might be the only option. But it wasn't an option he wanted to think about. Ironically. Apple was in the news for utilizing this exact same for on its phones. When the lithium-ion batteries in iPhones started to degrade andcause problems. Apple resorted to a software [ix that decreased the performance of the device. The result included apps that took longer to load and scrolling with a reduced frame rate. The changes kept the phones from becoming unstable.1 but when Apple acknowledged the prac- tice. there had been quite a customer backlash. Some custom- ers even resorted to legal action against the company.2 Critics DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. According to the denitions of the ethical principles pre- viously defined in this book: a. Do you think intentionally slowing down a device without customers knowing is ethical according to the categorical imperative (page 2 324}? I). Do you think intentionally slowing down a device without customers knowing is ethical according to the utilitarian perspective (page 4243]? 2. How would you feel if you were asked to write software that intentionally slowed down a product over time with- out customers knowing about it? Do you think other types of companies may be engaged in similar tactics? How would this benet those companies? 3. Suppose the company producing the leading oper- ating system slowly adds in more "features" that 463 ETHICS GUIDE Engineered Slowdown claimed Apple was intentionally slowing down its devices so users would buy newer devices. Mike wondered if the hardware team had come up with this idea on its own or if it was stealing a page out of Apple's playbook. Either way. Mike didn't know what to do. He wasn't happy at the company. but he certainly didn't want to lose his job right now. He didn't have anything to fall back on. He initially took this job because he liked the thought of being involved in education and developing innovative ways for kids to learn. He certainly didn't want to be complicit in duping school districts into buying a product that was intentionally flawed and would not last as long as advertised. Even worse. what if he made this fix and it subsequently came to light? Would there be a backlash similar to what Apple was going through? The thought of lawsuits being led because of some- thing he had done was dili'icult to imagine. K] could see the distress on his face. "Hey. look." he chimed in. "if Apple is doing this. all sorts of companies are doing things like it to eke out as much battery life in their devices as possible. I promise. if we can just get this rst batch of tablets out to customersand keep the customers happy long enoughthey will never know the difference. and we will be sure to spend some of our prots investing in better batter- ies for the next version of the tablet!" For a second. this sounded like a reasonable perspective. but Mike still didn't like what this meant for their customers. Mike slumped back in his chair. let out a sigh. and tried to decide what to say next. progressively increase processing power requirements {i.e.. slow down the device). This would cause users to have to purchase a new device (laptop. desktop. tablet. or phone} every couple of years. How might hardware and software companies benefit from an increasingly inefcient operating system? Can you think of any other industry where something similar might be happening? 4. How could Mike justify introducing the intentional slow- down in processing power? Would you be OK calling this intentional slowdown a "feature" that increases bat- tery life. knowing full well that it shortens the life of the device? Why? ETHICS GUIDE ENGINEERED SLOWDOWN Mike stared from his office into the conference room across the hallway. The glass panels partitioning off the con- ference room were frosted. so he couldn't determine exactly what was happening in the meeting. He could only gather that a pretty spirited discussion was taking place. Shadowy proles of the meeting participants were standing and ges- turing emphatically. The meeting had been going on for several hours. and it showed no signs of wrapping up. Mike looked at his watch and fought the urge to grimaceit was approaching 10 PM. Mike had been working at the companya tech startup developing tablet computers designed specically for class- room usefor a few years. He was developing specialized software that made the graphical user interface customizable to the teaching preferences of each instructor: When he rst took the job. he was extremely satised with the thought of innovating new tools to help teachers engage students and "cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. " However. project delays. increasing tension between the development teams. and recent growing concerns about the viability of their product among the core group of hardware engineers were creating an increasingly toxic workplace. All of these factors were begin- ._ ._ ning to make him think about seeking employment elsewhere. It had been a long week. and his eyelids began to droop. Then a sudden urry of people coming out of the conference room brought him back into focus. Assault and Battery K} exited the conference room last and headed straight to Mike's office. KI wasn't ofcially the lead hardware engineer. but for all practical purposes. he was. No doubt he was bril- liant. but sometimes his inter- actions with team members lelt something to be desired. Mike 452 secretly tried to avoid KI if at all possible. He just wasn't inter- ested in being confronted by anyone in any situation. let alone at work: the current situation. however. was unavoidable. KI abruptly entered the ofce. shut the door. and sat down. "We need you to help us solve a problem.'I K] stated slowly. while xing Mike with an intense look. \"If you can't x this problem. the company's future is bleak. and we all may be out of a job." K] then explained the situation to Mike. and with each additional detail about what was going on. the company's prospects looked more and more grim. The problem was rooted in the lithium-ion batteries the company had ordered to power the rst batch of tablets that were going out to 20 school districts. The testing team had noted a degradation in battery performance after a certain number of charges. The depleted battery integrity caused the tablets to shut off spo- radically when resource-heavy applications were run. The hardware team had tried a number of xes. but none of them had prevented the device from shutting down when under stress. As K] nished describing the problemand all of the possible hardware solutions that had been tested and had failedhe nally told Mike what he wanted him to do. Source: EmmaOlivsSmithmlamy Stock Photo