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    Engineering As Social Experimentation

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    suganyababumba
    The document discusses engineering design as a social experiment. It states that since new technologies can present unknown dangers, engineering should be viewed as an inherently risky activity involving human subjects. The design and testing process is compared to a standard experiment, noting that engineers must work with partial knowledge and rely on information gathered both before and after products are released. Close monitoring of products after release is seen as essential, just as in scientific experimentation, to help address uncertainties and unintended consequences.

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    Engineering As Social Experimentation

    Uploaded by

    suganyababumba
    16 views30 pages
    The document discusses engineering design as a social experiment. It states that since new technologies can present unknown dangers, engineering should be viewed as an inherently risky activity involving human subjects. The design and testing process is compared to a standard experiment, noting that engineers must work with partial knowledge and rely on information gathered both before and after products are released. Close monitoring of products after release is seen as essential, just as in scientific experimentation, to help address uncertainties and unintended consequences.

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    The document discusses engineering design as a social experiment. It states that since new technologies can present unknown dangers, engineering should be viewed as an inherently risky activity involving human subjects. The design and testing process is compared to a standard experiment, noting that engineers must work with partial knowledge and rely on information gathered both before and after products are released. Close monitoring of products after release is seen as essential, just as in scientific experimentation, to help address uncertainties and unintended consequences.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    16 views30 pages

    Engineering As Social Experimentation

    Uploaded by

    suganyababumba
    The document discusses engineering design as a social experiment. It states that since new technologies can present unknown dangers, engineering should be viewed as an inherently risky activity involving human subjects. The design and testing process is compared to a standard experiment, noting that engineers must work with partial knowledge and rely on information gathered both before and after products are released. Close monitoring of products after release is seen as essential, just as in scientific experimentation, to help address uncertainties and unintended consequences.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    of 30

    Engineering as social

    experimentation
    Unit ii
    Why Ethics?
    Among the fundamental elements of the
    design process are the establishment of
    objectives and criteria, synthesis, analysis,
    construction, testing, and evaluation…
    • Further, it is essential to include a variety
    of realistic constraints, such as economic
    factors, safety, reliability, aesthetics,
    ethics, and social impact.
    Ethical Issues in Design

    bias:(examples, types: pre-existing,


    emergent,technical)
    Robustness
     competence
     manufacturing
     process: communications, testing
     communications
    Engineering as Social Experiment
    "So many products of technology present some potential
    dangers that engineering should be regarded as an
    inherently risky activity.

    In order to underscore this fact and help to explore its


    ethical implications, we suggest that engineering should be
    viewed as an experimental process.

    It is not, of course, an experiment conducted solely in a


    laboratory under controlled conditions. Rather, it is an
    experiment on a social scale involving human subjects."
    The Design Process
     Engineering product design steps:
     Concepts
     Preliminary designs, tests
     More detailed designs
     More tests (? - may cost $$)
     Production
     More tests! (? - may cost $$$)
     ------------------------------------------------------
     The public purchases/uses the product
     More tests!!! How to gather results of these tests?
     Role of profits/competition with other companies?
     Dangerous!!! Engineers are asked to do this!
    Similarities to standard experiments
    All engineering is carried out "in partial
    Ignorance”. The outcomes of any project are
    uncertain(the law of unintended consequences)
    Engineers are asked to make things work
    without all the available scientific knowledge
    Good design relies on information gathered
    before and after a product leaves the factory

    •
    Monitoring is as essential in engineering as
    it is in experimentation in general"
     Using the public to perform tests… redesign using the
    public to test products!
     • Special care is obviously needed for safety, avoiding
    loss of customers
     • Example: Software test for popular software
     (e.g., word processing programs, spreadsheets, etc.),
    computer hardware
     • Diligence helps…
    The case of air bag safety
    In 2002, motor vehicle traffic crashes
    were the leading cause of death for every
    age 3 through 33.
    • Motor vehicle accidents were the 8th
    leading cause of death overall.
    • 43,005 people died in motor vehicle
    crashes in the United States alone.
    First Driver’s Side Airbag, circa 1960
    The “Auto-Ceptor” Airbag, Popular
    Science 1968
    The Challenge of Airbag Design

    Technological Uncertainty
    The Challenge of Airbag Design

    SOCIAL UNCERTAINITY
    Report Guidelines:

    Discuss:
    The larger context (technical, social,
    economic, legal) in which your system
    might someday operate.
    Think about who will use this system,
    how, what other systems (power,
    support, maintenance) might be
    required.
    Analyze:
    Provide an analysis of ethical
    components of the system. Discuss the
    potential ethical issues, risks, possible
    harms, etc. associated with a system.
    Recommend:
    Prepare a set of recommendations for
    addressing possible ethical concerns.
    What could be done to avoid or alleviate
    them?
    These might include design changes,
    guidelines for proper use, Documentation,
    the development of
    maintenance or training programs, etc.
    Learning from the Past

    • Product history matters! Respect the past!


    • Can you always know it? Competence, openness
    to learning. Do not be afraid to ask!
    • Can you know about a competitor’s safety
    statistics?
    • Are there good communication channels in your
    own company?
    • Between different departments?
    • Across “generations” of engineers?
    • Is there a dangerous “generation gap” between
    young and old engineers?

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