Blowing the Whistle:
Our team has decided to investigate the scenario named as “Blowing the Whistle”. The scenario is that a design flaw was discovered in an autonomous vehicle, where it could lead to pedestrian injuries and fatalities. After it is uncovered, the responsibility falls into the design and development department, where they will analyze how the issue should be addressed. The group analyzes the IET’s Rules of conduct and whistleblowing assistance and if the team should blow the whistle or not.
Firstly, the design and development team must review and apply the IET’s Rules of Conduct with honesty and integrity. The group must pay attention to any work or behavior that could harm the workplace as well as report any corrupt practices or misconduct. Respecting the people on the workplace is essential for ensuring that the health and safety of the employees are protected.
As a group, we are committed to following the IET’s Rules of Conduct and the Statement of Ethical Principles from the Engineering Council. As a group, we will protect the health and safety of the public and will whistle-blow it if any design flaws are discovered and threaten to harm a person’s life, even if affects the team’s development in general. As members of the IET, we need to report anything wrong. If not possible to report internally due to external factors, we will address the issue outside of the company. Concluding, whistle-blowing can prevent consequences that could prevent further problems for the people and for the organization.
Blowing the Whistle
With autonomous vehicles being more and more common it is more important now more than ever to consider the ethical implications of this. The IET has also noticed this and therefore has put out a set of rules of conduct that it expects its members to adhere to which includes guidance on whistleblowing. In the scenario where an autonomous vehicle might kill a civilian it is my duty as well as my team’s duty as IET engineers to whistle-blow it and to raise our concerns about the danger that it could pose. The company should react swiftly and openly to rectify the issue and to prevent any further danger or damage to occur.
If Team Foxtrot knew that an autonomous vehicle would kill a pedestrian, then we would 100% whistle blow even to the detriment of our position within the company as keeping people safe and healthy is the most important part of being an engineer.