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Ethics: Are we misusing the terms "master-slave". Do we even have a community / forum in which we can discuss this?

Philip Oakley
The recent world wide considerations of the diversity challenges in our society has highlighted that we in Engineering can be perpetuating some of the derogatory terms implicit within our use of "Master-Slave" for purely inanimate technical control scenarios. [1 - N]


We have policies on slavery that every volunteer, staff member and Trustee must read and abide to, but it appears we haven't noticed, to any significant extent, our own continued use of "slave" in our writings.


Do we even have a community or forum in which we can discuss this ethical, and publishing issue?


Philip Oakley

[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53273923

[2] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3243656.stm

[3] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53050955

[4 ] http://www.jstor.com/stable/40061475   "Broken Metaphor: The Master-Slave Analogy in Technical Literature"

[5] https://www.theiet.org/involved/volunteering-for-the-iet/volunteer-hub/our-policies/anti-slavery-policy/


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    Philip Oakley:

    Who said anything about eradicating the word used to describe a person who is "the legal property of another and who is bound to absolute obedience".


    We outlawed that nearly two hundred years ago, though promoted and profited from it for even longer before that. Now we engineers have been saying a slave is just another bit of secondary kit. Let's stop that false association.




    You are suggesting that we avoid this word, aren't you?

    I do agree that this is a false association. Referring to the behaviour of an inanimate object has no connection to the exploitation of people.


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    Philip Oakley:

    Who said anything about eradicating the word used to describe a person who is "the legal property of another and who is bound to absolute obedience".


    We outlawed that nearly two hundred years ago, though promoted and profited from it for even longer before that. Now we engineers have been saying a slave is just another bit of secondary kit. Let's stop that false association.




    You are suggesting that we avoid this word, aren't you?

    I do agree that this is a false association. Referring to the behaviour of an inanimate object has no connection to the exploitation of people.


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