Blind visionaries: A case for broadening engineers’ ethical duties

In this paper the author argues that there is an ethical requirement for engineers to broaden their professional ethical duties to account for the social impacts of their technologies. By arguing that technology impacts social values and, once adopted, resists subsequent objections from legitimate social forces, he proposes that engineers currently function as de facto policymakers. This suggests the need for a broadening of engineerspsila ethical duties in both the educational and professional spheres. A broader ethical perspective will allow engineers to more fully understand the social dimensions of technologies they design, while developing the professional knowledge required to fulfill the duties of a more robust public role.