The Valley Manifesto
2 min readDec 22, 2020
- I swear to fulfill, to the best of my knowledge, this premise:
- I swear that I will respect the hard-won technical foundation of those engineers in whose steps I tread,
- And gladly share knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.
- I will apply, for the benefit of the users, all measures that are required, avoiding those shortcuts that improve my performance or my employees’ at the users’ cost.
- I will remember that there is art to engineering, and that experience, design, and empathy may outweigh performance, cost, or time to deliver.
- I will not be ashamed to say ‘I know not’, nor will I fail to call in my fellow engineers when the skills of another are required for the task at hand.
- I will respect the privacy of the users, for their data is not disclosed to me for the world to know.
- I will respect the competence of the users, for their decisions are not handed to me for the artificial intelligence to take over.
- Most especially I must tread carefully in matters of life and death.
- I will remember that I do not write a story, build a machine, or run a system, but handle the digital concerns of the user as a fellow human being.
- My responsibility includes the economic and personal safety, as well as the freedoms ensured to the user by his constitutional rights.
- I will remember to remain a member of society, with special obligations to my fellow human beings, as my actions affect not one but many at once.
- Those matters include care for the mind and body, as well as the disabled.
- If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered well thereafter.
- May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and my I long experience the joy of engineering technology that helps.
