Professional Ethics: Engineering in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

In Professional Ethics: Engineering in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, you'll learn ...

• The role of artificial intelligence as an engineering tool and its impact on professional engineering practice
• The relationship between engineering judgment, professional responsibility, and AI-assisted decision-making
• The evaluation of AI-generated information using engineering principles, verification methods, and authoritative references
• How to responsibly integrate artificial intelligence into engineering workflows while protecting public health, safety, and welfare

Overview

Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.

Credit: 1 PDH

Length: 20 pages

Engineering has always been a profession defined by progress, and artificial intelligence represents the latest chapter in a long history of technological advancement. Like the slide rule, the computer, and computer-aided design before it, AI enables engineers to organize information, summarize literature, assist with software development, and accomplish routine tasks more efficiently than ever—improving productivity and freeing engineers to focus on evaluation, collaboration, and complex problem solving.

This course examines how artificial intelligence is transforming engineering practice while reinforcing the enduring principle that licensed engineers remain solely responsible for professional judgment and the protection of public health, safety, and welfare. Participants explore the historical evolution of engineering tools leading to modern AI, the operation and limitations of large language models, and the distinction between automation and engineering judgment. The course explains why AI-generated information must always be independently verified, discusses the risks of hallucinations, automation bias, knowledge degradation, and data integrity, and presents methods for critically evaluating AI-generated technical content.

Participants also learn the characteristics of engineering-grade AI, best practices for using general AI chatbots in professional engineering, and organizational approaches for integrating AI into established quality assurance processes. The course concludes with practical guidance and a comprehensive engineering checklist for responsibly incorporating AI into engineering workflows while maintaining professional accountability, technical competence, ethical obligations, and regulatory compliance. Throughout the course, AI is presented as a powerful productivity tool that enhances—but never replaces—the engineer's independent judgment and professional responsibility. These responsibilities remain exclusively human—and as AI becomes more capable, they become more, not less, important.

Specific Knowledge or Skill Obtained

This course teaches the following specific knowledge and skills:

• The historical evolution of engineering tools leading to modern artificial intelligence
• The capabilities, limitations, and operating principles of large language models used in engineering applications
• The distinction between automation, computational assistance, and engineering judgment
• The identification of AI hallucinations, automation bias, fluency heuristic, and other sources of AI-related error
• The verification of AI-generated technical information using authoritative engineering references, codes, and standards
• The characteristics of engineering-grade AI, including traceability, transparency, consistency, and human oversight
• The protection of confidential information and maintenance of data integrity when using AI systems
• The application of quality assurance, peer review, and independent engineering evaluation to AI-assisted work products
• How to develop effective prompting techniques that improve the quality and usefulness of AI-generated engineering assistance
• The preservation of professional responsibility, ethical obligations, and engineering competence when incorporating AI into practice

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.