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Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Viterbi Conversations in Ethics
Viterbi Conversations in Ethics
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  • Volume 6 Issue 3
    • Letter from the Editor
    • The Grand Challenges: Authorial Particularism and a Lost Opportunity for an Equitable Society
    • Technological Determinism in the Grand Challenges
    • The Lies We Tell to Inspire: Responding to the Engineering Double Standard
    • How the Technical Sciences and the Social Sciences Should Go Hand-in-Hand
    • Redefining Societal Progress for Engineers
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Category: Summer 2020

Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

When COVID-19 Forces Ugly Decisions

Tyler Amano-Smerling August 10, 2020 COVID-19Ethics PanelHospitals

8/10/2020 As morgues in Arizona and Texas begin to overflow into refrigeration trucks and the number of Americans hospitalized nears a record high, COVID-19’s toll on Americans–– and American…

View More When COVID-19 Forces Ugly Decisions
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

The Time and Place for Conspiracy

Isabel Brieler August 3, 2020 COVID-19HydroxychloroquineMisinformationSocial Media

8/3/2020 In VCE’s weekly news profile from February 10, 2020, one of my fellow editors explored the world of misinformation in the health industry – an…

View More The Time and Place for Conspiracy
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

Explaining Artificially Intelligent Decisions

Teagan Ampe July 27, 2020 Artificial IntelligenceBiasMachine LearningRight to an Explanation

7/27/2020 AI decision-making is everywhere these days. Getting a loan, getting an apartment, getting bail: in all three of these cases, there could be analgorithm taking…

View More Explaining Artificially Intelligent Decisions
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

Is Reopening Schools Targeting Specific Groups?

Isabel Yarwood Perez July 20, 2020 COVID-19School Reopening

7/20/2020 As the summer comes to a close and Coronavirus cases remain at an all-time high, school districts across the nation are having to make…

View More Is Reopening Schools Targeting Specific Groups?
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

The Reality Behind TikTok’s Privacy Frenzy

Tyler Amano-Smerling July 13, 2020 ChinaData PrivacyTikTok

7/13/2020 Two weeks ago, the Indian government announced a ban on TikTok over concerns for “the sovereignty and security of India” due to its “stealing and… transmitting…

View More The Reality Behind TikTok’s Privacy Frenzy
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

Prioritizing Profit in a Pandemic

Isabel Brieler July 6, 2020 COVID-19PharmaceuticalRemdesivir

7/6/2020 The race to develop a legitimate medication or vaccine for COVID-19 has dominated the pharmaceutical industry for the past several months as the virus…

View More Prioritizing Profit in a Pandemic
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

The Difficulties of Distanced Learning

Teagan Ampe July 2, 2020 COVID-19EducationRemote Learning

7/2/2020 Remote learning just isn’t the same. Ask any college student, or really any student who’s old enough to articulate their thoughts and has in…

View More The Difficulties of Distanced Learning
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

Revisiting Body Cams: Holding Police More Accountable

Tyler Amano-Smerling June 29, 2020 Black Lives MatterBody CamerasPoliceSurveillance

6/29/2020 As the surge in calls for police reform around the country grows, local government boards in Los Angeles, Fort Wayne, and other major cities have taken…

View More Revisiting Body Cams: Holding Police More Accountable
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

The Ethical Cost of COVID-19 Contact Tracing

Isabel Yarwood Perez June 22, 2020 Contact TracingCOVID-19

6/22/2020 As states open up while COVID-19 cases continue to rise, many are looking for an effective solution to minimize the spread of the virus.…

View More The Ethical Cost of COVID-19 Contact Tracing
Summer 2020 Weekly News Profile

Do Black Lives Really Matter To Tech Companies?

Isabel Brieler June 8, 2020 Black Lives MatterSocial MediaTech

6/8/2020 An article published in The Guardian in 2016 explored how tech companies (particularly but not exclusively social media companies) were exploiting the Black Lives…

View More Do Black Lives Really Matter To Tech Companies?

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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

Featured Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

Redefining Societal Progress for Engineers

Natasha Singh 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.

Featured Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

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

Charles Liu 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.

Featured Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

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

Shub Gaur 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.

Featured Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

Technological Determinism in the Grand Challenges

Thomas Peters March 29, 2023

Technological determinism is denounced by Dr. Erin Cech in her critique of the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenges report. This discussion focuses on the strengths of Cech’s argument surrounding the engineering double standard in social media, virtual reality, and reverse-engineering the brain. Though she makes many strong arguments, pieces of Cech’s argument fall short. Pointing fingers at the entirety of the engineering community and holding the Grand Challenges to a standard for which they were not intended weaken Cech’s overall discussion. However, her argument is ultimately a valid discussion of a profession that would benefit from wider perspectives in a world full of complex issues.

Featured Spring 2023 Volume 6 Issue 3

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

Huzaifa Aslam 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 2023 Weekly News Profile

The Importance of Inclusivity in Medicine in the Cast of Maternal Mortality

Jennah Saqib March 27, 2023

Despite advancements in medical technology over the past 30 years, an ethnic and racial disparity still exists in healthcare. In particular, maternal mortality rates show high regional dependencies, and in the United States, Black women are more likely to die from a pregnancy-related complication than white women. Engineering students are working on solutions to combat this problem and provide more support for mothers.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

Historic Bank Collapse May Have a Lasting Effect on the Tech Industry

Jackie Finnemeyer March 20, 2023

In just two days, the 16th largest bank in the United States collapsed. Following the bank’s failure, many tech startup CEOs and financial analysts have more questions than answers. As Washington disagrees over what caused the collapse, several technology startups are left wondering what place, if any, their companies have in the technology landscape of the future.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

Advancements in Superconductors: New Hopes or False Promises?

Kaylee Tseng March 15, 2023

A new publication in Nature reported the development of a near-ambient superconductor, a material without electrical resistance. Traditionally, materials only display superconductivity at low temperatures (-123 °C) or high pressure (>990,000 atm). The introduction of a superconductive material that operates at ambient temperatures and lower pressure could introduce faster and more energy-efficient technologies. However, a lack of rare resources and scrutiny of initial data may prevent this technology from reaching its full potential.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

Using A.I. to Detect Breast Cancer

Sabrina Sy March 7, 2023

Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) have begun to deliver breakthroughs in breast cancer screening and detection, especially for signs that doctors miss in their examinations. Nevertheless, the use of cancer detection technology still faces many obstacles before it can be used ubiquitously in healthcare.

Spring 2023 Weekly News Profile

Why Educational Game Design Matters

Jennah Saqib February 26, 2023

Kerbal Space Program 2 has just been released, and the scientific community is beyond thrilled. The original Kerbal Space Program is a beloved video game that encourages players to learn rocket science through a complex and realistic physics engine. It tackles a unique design challenge of being educational and fun and has suggested the value of enjoyment as the most necessary aspect of learning.

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Aerospace Engineering Algorithms Apps Artificial Intelligence Autonomous Vehicles Biomedical Engineering Black Lives Matter Chemical Engineering Civil Engineering Climate Change Computer Science COVID-19 CRISPR Data Privacy Education Energy Environment Environmental Engineering Environmental Ethics Facebook Fossil Fuels Genetic Engineering Health Hospitals Machine Learning Mars Mechanical Engineering Medicine Mental Health Military Misinformation NASA Pharmaceutical Privacy Racial Bias Social Media Space Surveillance Sustainability Tech Vaccinations Video Games Virtual Reality Volume 6 Issue 3 War
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