VCE, Author at Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Case Study: Macroethics in Engineering: Avian Flue and Dual-Use Research

VCE October 26, 2018

The Case From Michael J. Selgelid, “Governance of dual-use research”: In 2002, researchers used published DNA sequences to engineer a protein—known as SPICE—produced by the…

Fall 2018 Weekly News Profile

Open Source Genomic Data in Cold Cases

10/19/2018 Profiled article E. Waltz, “How Genealogy Websites Make It Easier to Catch Killers”, IEEE Spectrum, Oct. 11, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-os/biomedical/ethics/criminals-getting-easier-to-find-thanks-to-genealogy-websites [Accessed: Oct. 16, 2018]. About the…

Fall 2018 Weekly News Profile

Training Gender Bias into Resumé Readers

VCE October 12, 2018 Artificial Intelligence Computer Science Machine Learning Sex-Based Differences

10/12/2018 Profiled article J. Dastin, “Amazon scraps secret AI recruiting tool that showed bias against women”, reuters.com, Oct. 09, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amazon-com-jobs-automation-insight/amazon-scraps-secret-ai-recruiting-tool-that-showed-bias-against-women-idUSKCN1MK08G?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social Profile This week we’ll…

Spring 2018 Volume 2 Issue 1

An Investigation into the Ethical Implications of Deep Sea Mining

VCE May 21, 2018 Artificial Intelligence Computer Science Substrate-Based Intelligence

While many still associate deep sea mining with science fiction, recent developments have proven that ocean mining could be a very profitable reality in just…

Spring 2018 Volume 2 Issue 1

Ethics of Transference of Human Intelligence to Non-Biological Substrates

VCE May 21, 2018 Biomedical Engineering Drug Dosage FDA Pharmacokinetics Sex-Based Differences

For many of us, the inevitability of our deaths seems certain. We are given limited time to inhabit our biological bodies, and then we are…

Spring 2018 Volume 2 Issue 1

A Three Institution Approach to Address the Drug Dose Gap

VCE May 21, 2018 Deep Sea Mining Mechanical Engineering Ocean Ecosystems

For the past several years, the generic recommended drug dosage as presented by pharmaceutical companies has undergone renewed scrutiny with highly publicized accounts of patient…

Spring 2018 Volume 2 Issue 1

The Debate Over Dams

VCE May 21, 2018 Civil Engineering Hydroelectric Energy

Dams, the most ancient of inventions, simple in design and efficient in operation, have allowed men to capture drinking water, control floods and practice agriculture…

Spring 2018 Volume 2 Issue 1

Fighting the Feverish Flyers

VCE May 21, 2018 Dengue Fever Genetic Engineering Genetically Modified Organisms

It has been estimated that 50 million to 100 million people are infected by dengue fever each year, a number that is larger than the…

Spring 2018 Volume 2 Issue 1

Genetic Engineering in Farmed Animals: Solving or Prolonging Cruelty in Animal Agriculture?

VCE May 21, 2018 Animal Agriculture Environmental Effects Genetic Engineering

Introduction In the United States, meat consumption has more than doubled in the last 50 years, from 15.8 million tons total in 1960 to 34.0…

Case Studies Ethical Dilemmas

Case Study: Dakota Access Pipeline

VCE April 18, 2018

In 2014, Energy Transfer Partners began a pipeline construction project that would transport 470,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the Bakken oil fields…

Podcast

Featured Spring 2023 VCE Podcast

Electric Vehicles: Climate Saver?

VCE January 31, 2023

Hosts Maya and Josh discuss the ethics of lithium battery mining and electric vehicle use with a panel of engineering essayists.

Fall 2022 VCE Podcast

Predictive Policing

VCE October 31, 2022

In this episode, the Viterbi Conversations in Ethics team explores the ethics behind predictive policing.

Fall 2022 VCE Podcast

Clean Energy

VCE October 31, 2022

In this episode, the Viterbi Conversations in Ethics team explores the ethics behind clean energy.

Fall 2022 VCE Podcast

Cryptocurrency

VCE October 24, 2022

In this episode, the Viterbi Conversations in Ethics team explores the ethics behind cryptocurrency.

Fall 2022 VCE Podcast

Autonomous Vehicles

VCE October 24, 2022

In this episode, the Viterbi Conversations in Ethics team explores the ethics behind autonomous vehicles.

Grand Challenges Special Issue

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

Redefining Societal Progress for Engineers

VCE March 29, 2023

Dr. Erin Cech’s critique of the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges focuses heavily on the pitfalls of technological determinism. This paper supports Cech’s argument through a discussion of current examples of the consequences of technological determinism, such as the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements, medication accessibility, and facial recognition technology. Though the consequences of a zealous engineering mentality are commonplace in our society, there are also current examples of tech companies neglecting to develop technology due to its possible negative consequences.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

How the Technical Sciences and the Social Sciences Should Go Hand-in-Hand

VCE March 29, 2023

The fourteen Grand Challenges presented by the National Academy of Engineers (NAE) fail to involve ethics as a part of the solution to these issues. Traditionally, engineers have kept their work separate from its societal implications. Engineers and their non-technical counterparts have an obligation to view all technical solutions under the moral lens of ethicists and futurists. Going forward, engineers must be aware of their limits and work with experts outside of their fields to develop solutions that will be cognizant of society as a whole.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

The Lies We Tell to Inspire: Responding to the Engineering Double Standard

VCE March 29, 2023

The National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges are critiqued by Dr. Erin Cech for what she describes as a double standard in engineering. Though Cech rightly discusses a lack of accountability and acknowledgement within the profession, her argument lacks nuance. The Grand Challenges were ultimately a promotional tool meant to inspire the next generation of engineers, yet Cech holds them to a standard of being professional rules and guidelines. This paper will discuss the distinctions that Cech’s argument lacks, including placing an unreasonable amount of responsibility on engineers and overstating their influence.

Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

The Grand Challenges: Authorial Particularism and a Lost Opportunity for an Equitable Society

VCE March 29, 2023

The fourteen Grand Challenges were developed by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) in an effort to expose future generations to the wide range of innovation and technology that they could one day take part in. As detailed by the Challenges’ creators, the list includes challenges that are most significant to our current world. Dr. Erin Cech’s critique of the Grand Challenges is that a lack of diversity in the panel of engineering experts led to a lack of oversight into issues that are actually pertinent to developing nations. Cech’s argument that the Grand Challenges are a missed opportunity for social justice holds validity, but her mischaracterization of the lack of diversity requires further consideration.

Weekly News Profile

Featured Spring 2024 Weekly News Profile

Houston, We Have a Problem

Janessi Diaz May 1, 2024

Starliner’s long-awaited Crew Flight Test will finally happen on May 6. Starliner is the Boeing-produced capsule that will hold the astronauts on their journey to the International Space Station. Although the launch date is set in stone, the constant malfunctions that have plagued Starliner and Boeing’s declining credibility indicate that a further delay would be the safest thing to do to ensure the crew’s safety.

Featured Spring 2024 Weekly News Profile

Fighting for our Latino Migrant Workers after Baltimore’s Bridge Collapse

Janessi Diaz April 10, 2024

Tragedy struck on the night of March 26 when the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore came tumbling down. The collapse occurred after a large container ship, the Dali, collided with the bridge. However, the collapse was far from the most heartbreaking news of the event; Six men who had been working on the bridge when it fell lost their lives. The six men, Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Miguel Luna, Maynor Yassir Suazo Sandoval, Carlos Hernandez, Dorlian Castillo Cabrera, and Jose Mynor Lopez, were all migrant workers from Central America. As we remember and honor their lives, their deaths highlight the lack of care in the construction industry when it comes to protecting Latino migrant workers.

Spring 2024 Weekly News Profile

AI’s Impact on Tomorrow’s Jobs

Mary Karapetyan April 2, 2024

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the workforce, with thousands of companies developing advanced systems to streamline productivity. Despite its promise to enhance efficiency, there is a growing concern over its potential to displace millions of jobs across various industries over the next five years. As AI models become more sophisticated, there is a need for a deeper understanding of their capabilities and implications for the future of work and society.