At some point I'll edit and repost my note to our group on engineering ethics and the use of AI. This was prompted by an global email from our IT group admonishing us to only use IT-approved AI tools (currenrly an internal search(?) tool and Copilot (of course)).

That in and of itself is reasonable. However they further went on to say that these tools could be used for engineering work like drawings, procedures, and other design information.

That is not my understand of acceptable engineering work practices and appears to me that IT is attempting to dictate Engineering policy.

So this is where I draft a polite but pointed message to my management chain asking for clarification as to whether policy on engineering work practice has changed, if this policy was set by Engineering, and if IT is or should be setting engineering work policy.

My engineering work policy and expectations are that as a preparer, all work bearing my signature will have been performed by myself or will be performed by a co-author or other party, reviewed by myself and with author attribution provided. As a reviewer, all work bearing my signature will have been reviewed by myself with editorial and technical review comments written by me.

My expectation is that all work I send out for review will be reviewed in this manner and similarly all work that I am sent to review will be prepared as above.

This should not be considered controversial; this is likely straight out of our internal training and guidance and has been my work practice and expectation for 35 years. Our work directly affects human and environmental health and safety and we are bound by a professional code of ethics to consider health and safety to be paramount. That ethical code is what gives the profession of engineering the social license to put others at risk with the knowledge that we can be trusted as a profession to not abuse that privilege. It's not blind or unlimited trust but rather bound by self- and external regulation, transparency, and an ethical code that sets a clear standard of behavior and practice.

I have grave doubts that agentic tools or "AI" can be used in a manner consistent with our stated code of professional ethics. On a personal level, if you don't want to do engineering work, you should not be allowed to do engineering work on this project, at this company, or anywhere really. If you don't accept the responsibility of doing your own work, get out. There are other jobs you could do which don't carry the same responsibility and expectations - go find one.

No statement from IT is going to change that. I don't work for IT, and unless explicitly stated by my management IT does not set Engineering policy. IT is in absolutely no position to talk to me about professional engineering ethics or work practices.

The events of this week have made me very angry and have forced me to stop being nice to bullshit. The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.

B R E A T H E

I N

C A L M

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B R E A T H E

O U T

B U L L S H I T

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#Breathe