Engineering Design Social, Ethical, & Political Considerations

Learning Outcome To develop an appreciation for how various non-technical – social, ethical and political – considerations are not only embedded in the design process but also how they positively constrain and shape the design process, technological artifacts, and human behavior.

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What is engineering design?

Engineering Design The process of developing technological artifacts, processes or systems to meet recognized social need Includes everything from the initial conceptualization of a design to the final production and implementation Many factors influence and constrain the design process: both technical and non-technical

Technological vs. Product Design Technological Design Product Design Development of “unique technically oriented solutions to specific problems” Development of artifacts, processes, or systems that not only perform specific functions but that also can be economically mass produced

Is there always or even ever one best design solution?

“Engineering design is surprisingly open- ended. A goal may be reached by many, many different paths, some of which are better than others but none of which is in all respects the best way.” E. Ferguson, Engineering and the Mind’s Eye. MIT Press, 1992: 23

Applied Science Myth Engineering is merely the application of scientific knowledge to social problems Wish to portray engineers as agents of progress; however, since science was assumed to be the cause of progress it was necessary to claim engineering was applied science Technology consists of applying the fruits of the basic sciences in a more or less mechanical manner Engineering a giant machine receiving its intellectual fruit from the supposedly more fundamental sciences

Technological Determinism Technological artifacts, systems, & processes develop as a result of some internal dynamic, unmediated by personal concerns, social forces, or other factors Social arrangements necessary for implementation of technologies are often presented as objective social necessities Technologies and related social structures are thus viewed as determined

Optimization Essential to engineering design Seeks to adapts engineering artifacts to particular goals and values through trade-offs, i.e., maximizing certain benefits and minimizing undesirable outcomes Optimization is different than efficiency which is the maximization of outputs with respect to inputs Optimal Designs are not always the most efficient

Criterion / Objective Function

d Criterion 2 Criterion 1 X Pareto Front I B A O Ideal Solution

As we look behind the scenes, we find major influences on decision-making coming from the individual’s own value system, from that of his organization, and from the culture, as well as from the technology. Thomas Woodson, Introduction to Engineering Design. McGraw-Hill, 1966: 204.

Engineering designs, i.e., the technological artifacts, processes, and systems generated by engineers, explicitly incorporate, embody, or contain non-technical values.

Do gender stereotypes infiltrate software design? “Gender, Software Design, and Occupational Equity” SIGCSE Bulletin, Vol. 34, No. 2 (June 2002): , Chuck Huff Gender stereotypes do infiltrate the software design process Educational software designed for boys looked like games while those designed for girls looked like tools for learning Performances varied if a subject used the software designed for the other gender BUT this effect only occurred when the software was used in public (socially constructed expectations of success come into play) Programmer provides one context while the social setting provides another – together these determine the users sense of success

Given all these values in the design process, should technical considerations be subordinated to the subjective decisions?

Social Determinism Technological artifacts, systems, and processes themselves are not what it important Social structures they are embedded in and circumstances out of which they develop are what is important This is better but still WRONG: It ignores the process of optimization and the inherent trade-offs between various goals

Technological Politics Technology and technological artifacts are politically important in their own right This analysis pays attention to large-scale socio- technological systems and the responses of society to certain technological imperatives Human goals and purposes are transformed as they are adapted to specific technological means Focus is on the characteristics of technological artifacts and their meanings

2 Senses of Technological Politics First: “instances in which the invention, design, or arrangement of a specific technical device or system becomes a way of settling an issue in the affairs of a particular community” Second: When technologies “appear to require, or to be strongly compatible with, particular kinds of political relationships” Landon Winner, “Do Artifacts Have Politics?”

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There is a widening recognition of the responsibility of engineers to consider the social and environmental impact of their work. In sharp contrast to the attitudes and practices that prevailed at mid-century and before, engineers today are required to design sustainable systems that consider as crucial inputs the environmental impact of their manufacture and use, their accessibility to people of diverse ethnicity and physical abilities, their safety, and their recyclability. U.S. Board on Engineering Education (1995)

IEEE Code of Ethics 1.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; 2.to avoid real or perceived conflicts of interest whenever possible, and to disclose them to affected parties when they do exist; 3.to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data; 4.to reject bribery in all its forms; 5.to improve the understanding of technology, its appropriate application, and potential consequences; 6.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; 7.to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge and correct errors, and to credit properly the contributions of others; 8.to treat fairly all persons regardless of such factors as race, religion, gender, disability, age, or national origin; 9.to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false or malicious action; 10.to assist colleagues and co-workers in their professional development and to support them in following this code of ethics 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:

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