Technology and Societal Impacts

The technologies developed by engineers affect how we live and work, bringing both benefits and harms. For example, the Internet provides access to knowledge, but it also enables the spread of misinformation. When engineers build artificial intelligence for decision-making into self-driving cars and patient-monitoring medical devices, the quality and reliability of those decisions makes the difference between saving lives and injuring people. Since different people can experience different benefits and harms, technologies raise questions of ethics and social justice. As a consequence, engineers need to understand the ethics of technological development and research, including engineers’ specific professional obligations and their broader social responsibilities. Engineering leaders should promote cultures of ethics in their organizations.