Engineering Ethics: Evaluating Popular Inventions
Students analyze an assortment of popular inventions to determine whom they are intended to benefit, who has access to them, who might be harmed by them, and who is profiting by them. Then they re-imagine the devices in a way that they believe would do more good for humanity. During the first 90-minute class period, they evaluate and discuss designs in small groups and as a class, examining their decision-making criteria. Collectively, they decide upon a definition of "ethical" that they use going forward. During the second period, students apply their new point-of-view to redesign popular inventions (on paper) and persuasively present them to the class, explaining how they meet the class standards for ethical designs. Two PowerPoint® presentations, a worksheet and grading rubric are provided.
A robotic dog from a U.S. patent drawing—a luxury pet or bomb-detecting life saver?Copyright 2006 johnny_automatic, Open Clipart https://openclipart.org/detail/1667/robot-dog
In the pursuit of engineering solutions, so many factors must be considered and through this activity, students experience that process. In order to achieve the best designs, engineers must identify the needs and purposes of devices. Because engineering solutions have a vital impact on the quality of life, it is important for engineers to adhere to a code of ethics that includes the protection of public health, safety and welfare as well as respectable conduct. At all stages of the design process, the best designs take into consideration their impact on humanity and the natural environment. Engineers routinely consider trade-offs between profit and accessibility to a wider audience. Engineering students who learn how to critically evaluate their own and others' designs must consider these trade-offs. This activity demonstrates to students many key considerations engineers must keep in mind.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Evaluate designs based on their environmental and societal impacts.
- Determine the population a design is intended to benefit.
- Identify populations who are excluded from these benefits.
- Develop solutions to make designs more equitable and accessible to all.