Material Value Ethics in a Model Process for Values-Based Design

Over recent years, it has become increasingly apparent that engineering activities must proceed with consideration of the human values that they potentially affect. The pervasiveness of communication and information technology (CIT) systems in nearly every aspect of work and personal life gives the system providers influence over human thought, feeling, and behavior with a magnitude not widely foreseen until a few years ago. Increasingly complex software, including applications of artificial intelligence that is poorly explainable, are integrated with the physical world through sensors, actuators, control systems, and Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled products. Such systems can pose direct threats to the physical safety of human beings and can negatively impact the environment. The design, deployment, and operation of transportation systems and chemical, nuclear, and other dangerous industrial plants have always required attention to human values such as safety in addition to economic values. However, recent events such as the Boeing 737 Max crashes and data breaches of financial information impacting broad swathes of nations' populations have brought public attention to the importance of including human values such as safety and privacy in the design, test, and deployment of CIT and hybrid software/control/actuation systems. This is especially the case for autonomous systems that can operate without-or can override-human decisions and control inputs [1].