I completely agree with the loaded-gun metaphor, but doctors are a very different kettle of fish.
Doctors are healers. The Hippocratic oath - "do no harm" - is the logical conclusion of the practice of medicine. Medicine heals, which is the opposite of causing harm. Avoiding harm is the only consistent metric of success, which explains the oath's persistence for millennia.
Can you think of a consistent, concrete set of ethics that would draw unanimous support among programmers?
Doctors are healers. The Hippocratic oath - "do no harm" - is the logical conclusion of the practice of medicine. Medicine heals, which is the opposite of causing harm. Avoiding harm is the only consistent metric of success, which explains the oath's persistence for millennia.
Can you think of a consistent, concrete set of ethics that would draw unanimous support among programmers?