ETHICS AND SOCIETAL IMPACT

ENVIRONMENTAL AND COST AWARENESS IN DAILY CHOICES Every model call uses electricity, and large systems use a great deal of it. You can make a difference with ordinary engineering choices. Use the smallest model that does the job well, cache repeated work, stop runaway loops quickly, and avoid sending long unneeded text to the model. These choices also lower cost, so good stewardship and good engineering point in the same direction. When you report on a system, include its resource use alongside its accuracy. TEACHING OTHERS RESPONSIBLY As you gain skill, you will explain these topics to others. Use plain language, give honest examples of both successes and failures, and avoid exaggerating what agents can do. People who understand the limits of the technology make better decisions about when to use it and when to ask a human. ACCOUNTABILITY WHEN SOMETHING GOES WRONG Eventually every system makes a mistake. What matters is how the people behind it respond. Acknowledge the problem promptly and plainly, help the affected people, find the cause, and share what you changed. Avoid hiding the incident or blaming a single person. Blameless review, as described in Chapter 60, serves ethical goals as well as technical ones, because it encourages people to report problems early.