Welcome! If you are an engineer or scientist, and are interested in how to pursue your work or studies according to high standards of ethics, this site is designed for you! Much of what you already know about ethics has come from childhood training. In professional life, however, that training may need some additions and refinement to deal with the complex situations you start to encounter. This site seeks to help you think more clearly and professionally about ethics.
When dealing with ethics, it is important to have a clear sense of what a web site can and cannot do. It can increase sensitivity about where ethical questions arise, and can also improve skill in moral reasoning. Yet moral action requires more than sensitivity and thought; it also requires commitment and perseverance. These latter human qualities are more deeply rooted in character. Surprisingly, however, the simple and time-honored of virtues is discussed relatively little in presentations of engineering ethics. Engineering, science, and the study of virtues share a common cradle with the ancient Greeks, and involve very similar ways of thinking. This site attempts to use that similarity to fill the character-oriented gap that is often found elsewhere.
This site is broken down into four areas; Basics, Ethical Reasoning, Applications, and Advanced Applications. Each provides principles with accompanying real-life case studies.
Timely Links for 2024: Ethics in AI
