Chapter 6: Engineering Ethics

1. Chapter 6:Engineering Ethics Motivation: • Right thing to do • ABET: “An understanding of the ethical, social, economic, and safety considerations in engineering practice is essential for a successful engineering career.” • WorldCom, Enron, etc…….

2. Engineering Ethics ‘Students Fight for the Right to Cheat’ Reuter, Dhaka, April 19. Indian Express, 19 April 1988 “Nearly 100 people were injured when the Bangladeshi students demanding the right to cheat during college final examinations fought teachers and the police on Sunday.”

3. Engineering Ethics

4. Engineering Ethics Ethics (definition) (what is your team’s consensus) Ethical (definition)

5. Engineering Ethics

6. Engineering Ethics Ethics (definition) • a discipline dealing with good and evil and with moral duty • moral principles or practice Ethical (definition) • of or relating to ethics • conforming to accepted and especially professional standards of conduct • syn: virtuous, honorable, upright

7. Engineering Ethics Roots - go way back 18th Century, BC Hammurabi, King of Babylon “If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made the work sound, and the house which he has built has fallen down and so caused the death of the householder, that builder shall be put to death. If it causes the death of the householder’s son, they shall put that builder’s son to death.” 5th Century, BC Socrates Equated virtue with knowledge of one’s true self, holding that no one knowingly does wrong. Buddhism Emphasizes a right path from which is derived a code of ethics.

8. Engineering Ethics Roots - “continued” Christianity - Matthew 7 “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you…” Code of Ethics for Professionals NSPE (National Society of Professional Engineers) Each engineering professional society has their own Code of Ethics

9. NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers PreambleEngineering is an important and learned profession. As members of this profession, engineers are expected to exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life for all people. Accordingly, the services provided by engineers require honesty, impartiality, fairness and equity, and must be dedicated to the protection of the public health, safety, and welfare. Engineers must perform under a standard of professional behavior that requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct. I. Fundamental Canons Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall: 1. Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public. 2. Perform services only in areas of their competence. 3. Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner. 4. Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees. 5. Avoid deceptive acts. 6. Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, ethically, and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession. http://www.nspe.org/ethics/eh1-code.asp

10. Engineering Ethics

11. Case Study You are a faculty member at a university that offers a class titled “Computer Security”. Your goal is to give students an opportunity to protect networks and computer systems. The method you choose is to set up a laboratory with state-of-art security software, and you give students an assignment that requires that they find security vulnerabilities in the software. You are convinced that this is a pedagogically sound method, yet some of the famous folks in the field believe that this models poor ethical standards. Further, it is becoming apparent that possession and use of “attack” tools may in fact be illegal. Here’s the dilemma: Is it ethical to teach students how to break into computer systems as a method of teaching them how to protect the same systems?

12. Case Study Robin is a senior seeking employment. In January, Robin is offered a job by company X for $4000/month, and given 10 days to accept the offer. Robin accepts this offer. Two weeks later, Robin receives an offer of $4500/month and a more exciting position from Company Y. What should Robin do?

13. Case Study You are on a team that has discovered a new “miracle” drug that will save the lives of 10,000 people a year who die from a virulent and painful form of brain cancer. Initial animal and human phase 1 testing shows there might be some side effects, but they don’t appear out of the ordinary. What does your team recommend; move forward or put future human trials on hold? Note: The FDA estimates that it takes a little over 8 years to test a drug—including early laboratory and animal testing—before the final approval for use by the general public. Unfortunately, another side effect was discovered in phase 3 clinical trials; namely that there is a 1 in 10,000 chance that the drug itself will cause the death of a patient. What is your teams recommendation? FDA Drug Approval Process PMA

14. Case Study You are a manager of a company that would like to get involved in sales of a certain pesticide marker. There is a competitors product that works better than yours, and you know that they have invested over $200 million and 15 years developing a biochemical route to manufacturing the “pest-be-gone” pesticide. Great news, your R&D folks inform you that they have isolated an organism that will produce “pest-be-gone” pesticide? You inform your manager and a development effort is approved. Over the course of the next few months, you learn that the R&D folks isolated the organism from the disposal site of your competitor. What will you do?