Safety and Its Ethical Challenges for the Christian Engineer in a Technological Society

In every major corporation safety is a high priority and corporate policy statements stress the company’s commitment to keep people and the environment safe. However, safety comes at a cost. Corporations are in business to make profits by providing quality products and services for consumers at affordable prices. Engineers play a critical role in the design, construction, and operation of corporations across the globe and are constantly challenged to find new ways of doing things in order to reduce operating expenses in a competitive global economy. Companies must keep pace with the latest technological innovation or face the prospects of going out of business. Constant economic pressures put engineers in positions to make tough decisions about where to cut costs. When safety is compromised for economic reasons or any other reason, people and the environment are at risk. For the Christian engineer, these ethical decisions may be different and rise to a higher standard than that required by a corporation’s code of ethics[1]. A Christian engineer motivated by faith in God and acting on biblical principles will often reach different conclusions from those operating strictly from a corporate business model based on maximizing profits. Philosophical ethical systems fall short of the Biblical ideal[2]. In facing ethical challenges related to safety, the Christian engineer should propose strategies and standards that follow from the command, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” [1] Martin, M., & Schinzinger, R. (1996). Ethics in Engineering. New York: McGraw-Hill. [2] Holmes, A. F. (2007). Ethics: Approaching Moral Decisions. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press

Developing Responsible Research and Innovation for Robots

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.This paper develops a framework for responsible research and innovation (RRI) in robot design for roboticists from a study of the processes involved in the design and engineering of a range of robots including standard manufacturing robots, humanoid robots, environmental scanning robots and robot swarms. The importance of an iterative approach to design, the nature of transitions between design phases, and issues of uncertainty and complexity are examined for their ethical content. A cycle of RRI thinking based on reconnoitre, realisation, reflection, response and review is described which aligns with the general characterisation of robot engineering processes. Additionally the importance of supporting communities, knowledge bases and tools for assessment and analysis is noted

The Ethics of Software Engineering should be an Ethics for the Client

The developing nature of software engineering requires not a revision of an ailing code but a revolution in ethical thinking that acknowledges the purpose and practice of software engineering. Computer systems are designed and implemented to support human purposeful activity. Whether the software is concerned with student enrollment, customer relationship management, or hospital administration, its success lies in the extent to which it enables others to engage in activities directed toward a goal.