Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability
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Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability Marion Hersh Editor Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability Editor Marion Hersh School of Engineering University of Glasgow Glasgow, UK ISBN 978-1-4471-6617-7 ISBN 978-1-4471-6618-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4471-6618-4 Library of Congress Control Number: xxxxxxxxxx Springer London Heidelberg New York Dordrecht © Springer-Verlag London 2015 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover picture credits: © Eléonore_H /fotolia.com Printed on acid-free paper Springer-Verlag London Ltd. is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) To my mother. We do not always agree, but she showed me the importance of standing up for what you believe in. Contents Part I Introduction 1 A Hitman’s Approach to Ethics: Temptations and Challenges and Book Overview.................................................................................. 3 Marion Hersh, Alan Cottey, David Elliot, Wiebina Heesterman, Anita Kealy, Józef Bohdan Lewoc, William D. Tucker, and David Webb 2 Engineering Ethics: Definitions, Theories and Techniques.................. 15 Marion Hersh Part II Ethical Impacts of Advanced Applications of Technology 3 Roboethics................................................................................................. 65 Peter Kopacek and Marion Hersh 4 The Ethical Use of Outer Space.............................................................. 103 Dave Webb Part III Engineering Ethics and Sustainable Development 5 Green Jobs and the Ethics of Energy..................................................... 141 David Elliott 6 Disparagement of Climate Change Research: A Double Wrong....................................................................................... 165 Wiebina Heesterman 7 Environmental and Social Aspects of Domestic Bathing...................... 195 Alan Cottey vii viii Contents Part IV Engineering Ethics and Development and International Security 8 Engineering Ethics Problems in a Developing Country....................... 229 Jozef Bohdan Lewoc, Antoni Izworski, Slawomir Feliks Skowronski, Antonina Kieleczawa, Marion Hersh, and Iwona Chomiak-Orsa 9 Rebuilding Hope in Post-conflict Regions: Telemedicine in Kosovo........................................................................... 275 Anita Kealy and Larry Stapleton 10 Beyond Traditional Ethics when Developing Assistive Technology for and with Deaf People in Developing Regions.............. 293 William D. Tucker 11 Ethics, Scientists, Engineers and the Military....................................... 325 Marion Hersh Part V Looking to the Future 12 Conclusions and Looking to the Future................................................. 363 David Elliott and Marion Hersh Biographies and Contact Details.................................................................... 369 Resources: Addresses of Organisations of Engineers and Scientists Working for Change.................................. 375 Additional Reading.......................................................................................... 379 Index.................................................................................................................. 383 Part I Introduction Chapter 1 A Hitman’s Approach to Ethics: Temptations and Challenges and Book Overview Marion Hersh, Alan Cottey, David Elliot, Wiebina Heesterman, Anita Kealy, Józef Bohdan Lewoc, William D. Tucker, and David Webb 1 A Hitman’s Approach to Ethics Editing a contributed book is often not an easy process, and chapters are often delayed. One of the authors sent me a couple of emails with the subject heading ‘almost hitman time’ and told me that if he did not make the promised deadline, I had his permission to hire an assassin. I replied that unfortunately institutional budget cuts meant that there were no longer funds available for hiring assassins and that this might also be counter to institutional ethics policies. M. Hersh (*) [AU1] School of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, University of Glasgow, James Watt South Building, Glasgow, UK e-mail: [email protected] A. Cottey School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norfolk, UK D. Elliot Open University, Milton Keynes, UK W. Heesterman School of Law, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK A. Kealy Centre for Information Systems and Technoculture, Waterford Institute of Technology, Waterford, Republic of Ireland J.B. Lewoc BPBIT Leader LLC, Newark, DE, USA W.D. Tucker Department of Computer Science, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa D. Webb Peace and Conflict Studies, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK © Springer-Verlag London 2015 3 M. Hersh (ed.), Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4471-6618-4_1 4 M. Hersh et al. We then had a slightly flippant discussion about the ethics of hitmen (it is probably not an equal opportunities profession) and the ethics of using them to threaten or inflict retribution on authors who do not deliver chapters. This started me thinking about the ethics of hired killers. I will admit to having no first-hand knowledge of hitmen. While I rarely talk about subjects of which I have little or no knowledge, the purpose of this discussion will be made clear later. I presume successful hitmen, like other successful ‘professionals’, must have a code of professional ethics. It might cover issues such as charging a fair price, confidentiality, refusing bribes, meeting deadlines, rejecting commissions which cannot be fulfilled and behaving discretely and professionally. Looking at this list, it would seem equally appropriate for an engineer (in private practice). However, there is still the issue of whether it is in any sense meaningful for a hitman to behave in accordance with professional ethics. For instance, not accepting bribes may mean killing (murdering) a person or group of people according to con- tract rather than accepting money not to do so. Meeting deadlines means killing (murdering) one or more people to an agreed deadline rather than at some later unspecified time. Rejecting commissions which cannot be fulfilled means not taking money to kill (murder) one or more people and then not killing (murdering) them (and disappearing with the money). The problem is that killing (murdering) people in return for an agreed sum is not ethical. Not overcharging, not accepting bribes and meeting deadlines do not make it so. So what relevance does this discussion have for engineers? There has been a tendency for discussion of engineering ethics to focus on the ethics of professional practice. This is clearly very important. However, it is not sufficient. As the discus- sion of the professional ethics of contract killers illustrates, it is also essential for engineers to consider the ethics of what they are doing. For instance, are they involved in activities that benefit humanity and the environment, or are they the engineering equivalent of hitmen? It should also be noted that hired killers who use state-of-the-art weapons to carry out their professional activities (murdering people for pay) are using technology designed by engineers. Engineers who are involved in weapons’ design and development cannot be sure that these weapons will not end up being used by con- tract killers. Highly professional and highly paid hitmen will want the best modern technology in order to carry out their profession (murdering people for pay) as effectively and professionally as possible. Naturally, the best modern weapons technology is designed and developed by engineers. At the first international academic conference I attended, there was what was supposed to be a light humorous talk in the afternoon. All I remember of it was the presenter talking about producing substandard cement and selling to majority world (developing) countries. The buildings built with this substandard cement fell down after a short period, providing more opportunities to sell cement. I made a protest against this, dressed up in slightly technical terms, as it was an academic conference. Now, I would probably be blunter, but I was a research student attending my first conference. Unfortunately, no-one else said anything. 1 A Hitman’s Approach to Ethics: Temptations and Challenges and Book Overview 5 Producing substandard cement is not quite the same as being a professional killer. However, if buildings collapse as a