Download ENGINEERING ETHICS in 3D

ENGINEERING
ETHICS
in 3D
Gene Moriarty
Department of Electrical Engineering
San Jose State University
The Subject Matter of Ethics: Moral Dilemmas
 “A
moral dilemma may be
defined as a conflict a person
experiences between two or
more moral obligations in a
particular circumstance.”
Joe Herkert
List of Typical Engineering Ethics Issues
Involving Conflicts of Obligation
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conflict of interest
public safety and welfare
integrity of data & representation of it
whistle-blowing
choice of a job
accountability to clients and customers
plagiarism
trade secrets & industrial espionage
gift giving & bribes
fair treatment
To these as well as other highprofile ethics cases we apply:
 De-ontology
 Utilitarianism
 Virtue
 Etc.
Ethics
IEEE Code of Ethics
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We, the members of the IEEE, in recognition of the importance of our technologies in
affecting the quality of life throughout the world, and in accepting a personal
obligation to our profession, its members and the communities we serve, do hereby
commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree:
to accept responsibility in making engineering decisions consistent with the safety,
health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might
endanger the public or the environment;
to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose
them to affected parties when they do exist;
to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data;
to reject bribery in all its forms;
to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential
consequences;
to maintain and improve our technical competence and to undertake technological
tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of
pertinent limitations;
to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and
correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others;
to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability,
age, or national origin;
to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or
malicious action;
to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support
them in following this code of ethics.
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Approved by the IEEE Board of Directors
August 1990
HISTORY OF CODES OF ETHICS
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1803
First code of professional ethics
(medical ethics)
(Thomas Percival)
1852
ASCE (Civil Engineering)
1880
ASME (Mechanical Engineering)
1884
AIEE (Electrical Engineering)
All these Professional Engineering Societies had CODES
OF ETHICS
Engineering is
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an art
a science
design
a profession
a business
“Engineering is the practice of making good
on the promise of technology.”
the project, the endeavor, the enterprise, the venture…
Contexts of the engineering project:
Ethical Assessment of the Engineering Project
must ultimately take place within the Human
Lifeworld.
The Human Lifeworld
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Wherein we pursue GOALS, enact ROLES, and
take up with THINGS of all sorts…
Wherein we talk to each other rather than
about each other.
Characterized by a human communication called
THE CONVERSATION OF THE LIFEWORLD
which is IDEALLY: Mutual / Interdependent /
Genuine / Open / Honest / Non-Coercive
The Micro-view of the Engineering Project
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The Engineered
The Engineer
Engineering
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person / process / product
The Engineer
Engineers the
Engineered.
Three Types of Ethics
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VIRTUE ETHICS
Care/Objectivity/Honesty
CONCEPTUAL ETHICS
Social Justice/Environmental
Sustainability/Health & Safety
MATERIAL ETHICS
Engagement/Enlivenment/Resonance
ORIGINS
VE ---- Stems from
being-toward/being-with/being-for
CE ---- Stems from “health, safety, welfare” phrase in
CODES of ethics
ME ---- Stems from interactions of product/enduser/world
MATERIAL ETHICS
Within the Conversation of
the Lifeworld the values of
resonance / engagement /
enlivenment are
discussed. For example,
“can such and such a
product be engaging to the
end-user”? “If so, how so”?
“If not, why not”?
THREE LEVELS OF
ADJUDICATION
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VIRTUE ETHICS – corporate level
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CONCEPTUAL ETHICS – professional level
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MATERIAL ETHICS – social level
THE ETHICS ENGINE
Over-all Ethical Assessment of
the Engineering Project
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Integrates all three kinds of ethics.
Can use as point of departure the over-all
value function:
J = α Jv + β Jc + γ Jm
where α + β + γ = 1
and we assume all J’s range from -3 to +3.
Sub-Value-Functions
J = α Jv + β Jc + γ Jm
α + β + γ = 1
where
and the sub-value-functions are
Jv = αv Jv1 + βv Jv2 + γv Jv3
αv + βv + γv = 1
Jc = αc Jc1 + βc Jc2 + γc Jc3
αc + βc + γc = 1
Jm = αm Jm1 + βm Jm2 + γm Jm3
αm + βm + γm = 1
EXAMPLE: RFID Design
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Virtue Ethics: company ombudsman assesses
the team effort as caring/honest/fair so we set
Jv = +3.
Conceptual Ethics: professional ethics committee
decides that environment is not compromised
but social justice can be and health & safety is
fine so we set Jc = +1.
Material Ethics: conversation of the lifeworld
decides there is no resonance of product with
world, end-user in her world is not enlivened,
and end-user not engaged with product so we
set Jm = -3 ---- with equal weightings we get
over-all J = 0.333 (not so good, etc…)
“What would be the major consequence of
complementing theoretical and practical ethics with
real ethics? It would be the realization that we
make our crucial decisions not as individuals, as
consumers, taxpayers, and voters who navigate
their course in preestablished and rigid channels,
but as citizens, and not just citizens who pass on
matters of civil rights and social welfare, but as
citizens who take responsibility for the large design
of our culture and either make it hospitable to
commanding reality or continue to thicken its
suffocating overlay of disposable reality.”
--Albert Borgmann