Ethical Challenges in the Engineering Professions

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Ethical Challenges in the Engineering Professions

• Gerald Engel
• University of Connecticut, Stamford

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• My colleagues on the IEEE Ethics Committee and
  especially
• Ray Larsen
• Steve Unger

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DISCLAIMER

• The following views represent my personal ideas
  and opinions and not necessarily those of the
  IEEE Ethics Committee, or my university

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Defining Engineering Ethics

• Engineering Ethics for purposes of this
  discussion is the identification, study and
  resolution of ethical problems occurring in the
  practice of the profession of Engineering
• Engineering Ethics is a branch of a broader
  ethical concern involving the impact of
  technology on society

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What is Unique to Engineering?

• Some of the ethical questions facing engineers
  are unique to engineering while others are common
  to other learned professions as well
• The uniqueness is related to the specialized
  knowledge inherent in the various branches of
  engineering

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A Basic Responsibility

• To assure that not only ones corporate
  superiors, but also the public are informed of
  both the intended benefits as well as the
  potential harmful side effects of any engineering
  technology or consumer product.

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Example Problems

• The problem of storing uranium and plutonium
  waste products from power reactors and weapons
• The problem of air pollution caused by
  automobiles and coal burning power plants
• The problem of anti-personnel mines from old wars
  that today kill or main civilians on average of
  every twenty-two minutes

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Scope of Engineering Ethics

• Ethics of the workplacecoworkers, employer,
  employee
• Ethics related to product of workend product
  safety, etc, end uses

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Public Perception of Engineers

• Subservient
• Afraid of offending employers over ethical
  concerns
• Low public profile
• Little or no corporate voice

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Engineering Codes of Ethics

• EARLY CODES
• Codes of personal behavior
• Codes for honesty in business dealings and fair
  business practices
• NEWER CODES
• Responsibility to public interest
• Personal ethics in workplace

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Are Engineering Codes Needed?

• NO
• Engineers are capable of fending for themselves
• Common law is available to defend in ethical
  disputes
• Offended public can seek redress through courts

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Are Engineering Codes Needed? (cont)

• YES
• Engineers have few or no resources to defend
  themselves in an ethical dispute
• Common law is available in reality only with
  great difficulty
• Conversely, the public has similar problems in
  seeking redress through legal channels

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What Can A Code Accomplish?

• Clearly define expected behavior for the
  profession
• Sets high standards for the workplace and public
  dealings
• Forms a basis for discipline of violators
• Forms a basis for support for adherents

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The IEEE Code of Ethics

• The Code stems from the IEEE constitution the
  IEEE shall strive to enhance the quality of life
  for all people throughout the world through the
  constructive application of technology in its
  fields of competence. It shall endeavor to
  promote understanding of the influence of such
  technology on the public welfare.

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The IEEE Addresses The Following Areas

• Public health, safety, the environment
• Personal conflicts of interests
• Honesty in cost estimating
• Rejection of bribery, in all forms
• Improving public understanding of technology and
  its consequences

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The IEEE Addresses The Following Areas (cont)

• Maintaining engineering competence and disclosing
  professional limitations
• Seeking advice, correcting errors, crediting
  others
• Equal treatment of all persons
• Avoiding injury to others property, reputation
  and employment
• Assisting colleagues in professional development
  and in following the Code

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What Is Missing?

• No mention of relations to workers other than
  fellow engineers and management
• No mention of engineers as employers
• BOTH ARE IMPORTANT AREAS OF CONCERN

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Global Engineering Ethics

• IEEE is increasingly aware of its role as a
  Transnational organization
• The need to include its worldwide membership in
  the Ethics dialogues
• The need to consider responsibility of the
  Society to a globally defined public interest
• Global Ethics issues include a global
  consideration of
• Dissemination/Interpretation, Enforcement, Support

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Global Ethics Issues

• Business ethics in other countries (bribery
  commonplace in some countries)
• Personal professional ethics in view of above
• Is a global Code of Ethics adopted by engineers
  practicable?
• Could a commonly supported Code foster long term
  change?

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Example Offshore Business

• Relocating businesses offshore
• Taking advantage of lax environmental laws
• Taking advantage of lax worker safety laws
• Improves local worker conditions and
  opportunities
• Dislocates workers in former host country
• Should engineers be concerned about workers
  affected by business decisions in their ethics
  calculations?

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Appropriate Technology

• Technologies that work well for us may be wrong
  for a developing economy (e.g. promoting energy
  intensive lifestyles in densely populated nations
  could be highly detrimental)
• Should an Engineering Society encourage its
  members to study and discuss these issues? Should
  it take a corporate stance on Energy and other
  technology issues?

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Sustainable Technology

• Recognition of limits to fossil fuel energy
• Understanding complexities of unintended side
  effects of usage
• Acid rain and Ozone depletion can new
  technologies develop cleaner processes while
  sustaining economic growth rates?
• Should Engineers lobby for more funding for
  non-fossil energy development (e.g. fusion,
  solar, tidal)?

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Weapons Technology

• Problems of 108 unexploded land mines lurking
  in former war-torn countries Vietnam, Cambodia,
  Afghanistan, Cambodia, etc.
• One casualty every 22 minutes. Are Smart Mines
  the answer?
• Unsolved problems of nuclear wastes from
  dismantling only a small percentage of nuclear
  weapons
• Security against nuclear terrorists

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Weapons Technology (cont)

• Should engineers, who ultimately drive weapons
  technologies, be discussing
• The unintended side effects on innocents?
• The humanity of the intended side effects?
• Where do engineers turn to participate in such a
  discussion, often relating directly to their
  technological specialties?
• What is our responsibility in these cases to the
  global public?

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A Role For Engineering Societies

• Engineering Societies have a strong contribution
  to make two fronts
• Personal In all countries, engineers should be
  challenged to follow the Code of Ethics
• Corollary Societies must not only enforce, but
  lend real support
• Global Engineering Societies should encourage
  and lead a dialogue on transnational ethics
  involving cross fertilization with other
  professional disciplines (I.e. economics,
  politics, medicine, law, social sciences,
  religion)

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A Role for IEEE

• IEEE has made a bold start and much has been
  accomplished
• The Code of Ethics defines the engineers ethical
  responsibilities. It should be expanded to better
  define the engineering societys responsibility
  to provide meaningful support back to the ethical
  engineer, as well as the engineers
  responsibilities as emplyers

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A Role for IEEE (cont)

• IEEEs struggle with its Transnational identity
  should lead to increasingly creative
  contributions to Global Ethics
• This effort should be expanded to interface with
  other professional disciplines
• A Global Engineering Ethic would enrich both the
  profession of engineering and the global public
  it serves

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• Gerald L. Engel
• Computer Science and Engineering
• University of Connecticut, Stamford
• 1 University Place
• Stamford, CT 06901-2315
• 203-251-8431
• g.engel_at_computer.org