Post Office, ICL, Fujitsu and ethics – more checking – car back

It used to be International Computers Limited (ICL), which was a British computer hardware, computer software and computer services company that operated from 1968 until 2002. Fujitsu became its sole shareholder in 1998, and the company was rebranded Fujitsu in 2002. Horizon, the software at the centre of the Post Office scandal, saw many subpostmasters reporting problems with the new software, and Fujitsu was aware that Horizon contained software bugs as early as 1999. However the Post Office insisted that Horizon was robust and failed to disclose knowledge of the faults in the system during criminal and civil cases. That’s the background.

And today we have ex-Fujitsu executive Richard Christou saying he feels ‘aggrieved’ by damage done to Horizon’s reputation and tells the public inquiry that real failure in Post Office scandal was the way prosecutions had been handled. In addition Christou said in his witness statement that he had had no knowledge of the prosecution of post office operators and said he had always regarded the rollout of the Horizon IT system as one of Fujitsu’s “major successes” and the Post Office as a “satisfied customer”.

Source.

Having been in a major company where software was supplied, and we had bugs and acknowledged them, this seems like two companies burying their heads on the sand and denying the obvious. Morally this is reprehensible. We’re going to find more and more questionable practices as this enquiry continues. Well done to Sir Alan Bates for persevering. And why did it take a TV programme to propel this to the fore?

As part if our teaching we teach ethics, and I use this Perceptual Edge blog by Stephen Few as part of it. I have to ask why other people have not ended anything similar?

Today has been more data checking and trying to get student both to realise the necessity of doing the work. I’m not going to tell them the answers. But I am going to say that if their assessments are not good enough then they are not up to getting a degree. We’re not giving things away. 

That may be extremely unpopular, but they’re aiming to be employees of companies which will come to rely on them, but if they themselves are not good enough, should we award them a degree?

Now that opens up a whole different minefield …

The car is back on the road, having had the necessary wok completed, a new fuel level transponder and a new set of cooling fans. That also found out that a rear spring had broken, so that’s done as well. Thanks, potholes.

Tomorrow I’m in – wonder if any students will be?

Music

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Goldberg Variations BWV 988: Variatio 1, Seldom Sene