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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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  • 0
    Alex Barrett:
    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.




    True, the use of a false association allows inaccuracies and misunderstandings to creep in, sometimes with undesired consequences. We remove wrong words in many scenarios. E.g. in aviation they don't say "climb to 4,000ft" because "to" could be "2".


    At the time that the first Engineering uses of Master-Slave began we were a much more racist society, and it's showing down through history.


    Hopefully a reasonable set of guidelines can be framed.


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  • 0
    Alex Barrett:
    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.




    True, the use of a false association allows inaccuracies and misunderstandings to creep in, sometimes with undesired consequences. We remove wrong words in many scenarios. E.g. in aviation they don't say "climb to 4,000ft" because "to" could be "2".


    At the time that the first Engineering uses of Master-Slave began we were a much more racist society, and it's showing down through history.


    Hopefully a reasonable set of guidelines can be framed.


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