Engineering Graduates of University of the West Indies - St. Augustine Campus

Esteemed faculty, professional colleagues, proud parents, family, friends, and of course the graduating class of 2024.  It is indeed my privilege to address you today as we celebrate not only the end of this phase of your academic journey, but the beginning of your professional careers as engineers.

No doubt, you have confronted challenges, persevered through rigorous coursework, adapted to new learning environments and emerged stronger and more equipped to boldly step into the reality of engaging in your chosen profession. Today, as you contemplate the possibilities of the working world, I was invited to emphasize the importance of professionalism and ethics in engineering.  My preference would have been to present a view on the rapid advancements in technology, especially the transformative and potentially disruptive advent of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). 

Maybe I can attempt to do both.  Certainly there must be a confluence of the two ideas, ethics and AGI, if not a clear intersection to be explored.  Both Chat GPT and Perplexity AI had something to say when appropriately prompted.  So maybe, the first take away from this discourse can be, that one can find a way to include your views, while complying with the externally driven requirements of any task.  The second lesson is to use all tools at your disposal for optimal results.  The latter however, in this new age of rapid technological innovation, requires one to be a perpetual student.  In 2020 the World Economic Forum reported that 35% of the skills deemed essential for jobs will change by 2025.  The fact that, that this is just next year, can be either frightening or inspiring depending on your personal perspective.  

Professionalism in engineering transcends technical skills; it encompasses a commitment to ethical standards and public welfare.  While your foremost duty is to ensure that your designs and built projects prioritize human life and well-being, you are required you to act with integrity, honesty, and transparency in all your dealings.  While this may sound simple at the surface, there can be greyish areas and circumstances that require careful consideration.    To put this in perspective, it is useful to understand the legal landscape as it relates to Engineering practise, similar to other professions like lawyers and doctors.  The Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago (BOETT) is the licensing authority for engineers in T&T. It regulates the practice of engineering by registering engineers who meet the recognized academic and professional standards and a legislated Code of Ethics, which is included as a Schedule in the Engineering Profession Act, No. 34 of 1985. There are similar bodies in Jamaica and Barbados and some of the other Caribbean States.

BOETT addresses all of the aforementioned (public welfare, integrity, honesty, and transparency) in its Code of Ethics, but it also underscores the importance of fairness and loyalty to our associates, employers, clients, subordinates and employees.  Additionally, it requires the registered engineer to ensure, to the best of his/her ability, that the statements on engineering matters attributed to him/her are not misleading and properly reflect his professional opinion.  Or consider this more nuanced mandate:  “A registered engineer shall not give opinions or make statements on professional engineering projects connected with public policy where such statements are inspired or paid for by private interests unless he clearly discloses on whose behalf he is giving the opinions or making the statements.”  That statement should give you a sense of how convoluted this can become as it demands an unwavering integrity when faced with private gains versus public interests.  Take for example a professional engineer promoting a patented flood protection solution for a government housing project while, either he or his company has beneficial ownership in the company that sells this product.  The above stated clause from the code of ethics, is in my opinion, lenient, in that it allows the engineer to ‘clearly disclose his interests.’   My advice would be to completely recuse oneself in such situations as there still can be a temptation to advocate for the said product.  Or more seriously, the process can run afoul of the newly minted procurement legislation.   

The above serves here, only to demonstrate that professional and ethical behaviour may not be purely intuitive.  This is one of the reasons that one has to have at least four years of post-graduate experience to become a registered engineer in T&T or regionally.  Your post-graduate technical training, therefore needs to be augmented with professional and ethical lessons.   During this four year period you can become an associate member of APETT, which is the learned organisation (for mentorship etc).  Some of you would have already registered as student members. Now your degrees qualify you, to automatically transfer to associate member status, making your degrees immediately good for something.  Please visit the APETT and BOETT Websites for more information.

It is imperative to consider the environmental impact of your work and strive for sustainable practices that protect our planet for future generations. Sustainable engineering has been a buzz word for over two decades now, with the increased attention on the negative impacts of climate change via the annual IPCC Publications that paints an increasingly bleak outlook.  I urge all of you here today to embrace wholeheartedly, the science of global warming, so that you may dispel, the fast-growing religion of climate change that is stoked by the misinformed ubiquitous media and some politicians.  Again we can see the value and imperative to be the perpetual student, if only so that you can sift through the ever-increasing information overload to recognize truth and facts. 

Don’t get me wrong.  Climate change is real. Sea level rise is real but IPCC predications need to be studied carefully for pragmatic solutions. Nevertheless consider that we, small island developing states; 80 % of our population live along the coasts remaining vulnerable during hurricanes. We do not have nearly enough coastal engineers in the region. The UWI has an excellent master’s degree coastal engineering program. Please consider Coastal Engineering as an alternative to an MSc in Construction Management and also please work at least 2 years before enrolling in any master’s program.  Many of the smaller islands in the OECS suffer from desertification, which is worsened by the impacts of climate change and this affects our agricultural enterprises.  There are opportunities for or graduate Engineers alongside agricultural scientists with our knowledge expertise and practice in hydrology and hydraulics; pump systems and solar PV soultions to improve irrigation systems for instance as required by climate smart agriculture principles.

Getting back to transformative power of AI. The ultimate disruption that will continue to disrupt.  I have no doubt that you have all used Artificial Intelligence to various degrees in addressing your assignments and projects over the last few years.  Universities and schools all over the world continue to wrestle with the real issues that have very recently arrived like a bullet train, without brakes.  I do not envy the academic administrators in this regard, but I share this quote by Salman Khan of the Khan Academy (no relation) who pointed out in May 2024 in his YouTube podcasts titled “How AI will Revolutionize Education” that, “All Technology is an AMPLIFICATION of human intent”. The advent of the technology of fire, the wheel and the industrial revolution all amplified Homo sapiens’ ability as we progressed from the Stone Age to post-modernity. The difference between those technologies and AI is in both time and scale.  AGI is impacting in a very short time on a worldwide scale.   Our education systems and facilities urgently need to find ways to leverage this pervasive technology. 

Graduates, you will find however, that as you step into the professional world, you will more than likely encounter a greater acceptance of AI technology, especially in agile private companies that are driven by for-profit bottom lines that naturally make them seek efficiency and effectiveness in their operations.   While AI offers incredible opportunities for innovation and efficiency, it also presents significant ethical challenges that we must navigate.  I suggest without hesitancy, that the first rule you need to apply is that of full transparency. If you use AI in your work, you must declare this to your supervisor and find a way to document it, maybe like you would a reference in a technical paper.  This would allow your senior engineer or project manager, the opportunity to ask questions and/or critically review.  After all, your supervising engineer is ultimately responsible for your work outputs. 

Secondly, AI algorithms are only as good as the data they are trained on. If that data reflects biases—whether societal or personal—those biases can be perpetuated and even amplified by AI. As engineers, you must be vigilant in recognizing and addressing these biases in your work and assessing the AI tools that you are using. This includes understanding how your own assumptions and interpretations can influence AI models and decision-making processes.

The ability of AI to collect and analyse vast amounts of data raises serious ethical questions about privacy. For example, while we cannot escape social impact assessments in our engineering projects, we have a responsibility to ensure that the data we use is handled ethically and that individuals’ rights are respected even as we aspire, for example, to build smarter cities.  

Keep in mind that AI can scale solutions, but it can also scale problems. An erroneous AI-driven design could lead to catastrophic failures, affecting countless lives. This potential for harm underscores the need for a strong ethical framework to guide your decisions.  The latter speaks to the need to review and re-vamp our current Professional Codes of Ethics to capture AGI use in engineering and project management. For those paying attention, you would notice that I have circled back to professional ethics, albeit at a confluential point where it meets AI.

Graduates when delivering a speech on professionalism and ethics it is difficult to escape a tone of admonition, but I would like to end with a message of, excitement and optimism for your respective futures.   You are all educated to a level that is probably the top ninetieth percentile in the world. You live in a western democracy that reasonably promotes equality of opportunity and you live in a time where technological advancement is unprecedented. I guarantee that if you believe in yourself and believe in perpetually educating yourself you can become a formidable force for good and for the truth.   Strive for a wholesome discipline and balance in your work life with ample time for self-care, spirituality, family and friends.  Use all of your skills and talent to make a positive impact on your communities and the environment. 

Remember that as engineers, you hold the keys to shaping the future—one project, one decision, and one innovation at a time.

Congratulations, Class of 2024!

  Definitions

1. Artificial general intelligence (AGI) refers to the hypothetical intelligence of a machine that possesses the ability to understand or learn any intellectual task that a human being can.
2. Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is a theoretical concept for AI systems that can learn, understand, and apply knowledge to a wide range of tasks, similar to human intelligence. AGI is different from narrow AI, which is designed to perform specific tasks.

Citations:

[1] https://jpt.spe.org/ethics-of-artificial-intelligence-plays-a-role-in-engineering

[2] https://anandice.ac.in/blogs/importance-of-ethical-considerations-in-civil-engineering/

[3] https://pdh-pro.com/pe-resources/professionalism-and-engineering/

[4] https://theconversation.com/are-tomorrows-engineers-ready-to-face-ais-ethical-challenges-213826

[5] https://engineering.unl.edu/complete-engineer/professionalism-ethics/

[6] https://towardsdatascience.com/ai-ethics-in-engineering-65ab23af3f76?gi=cba376045f26

[7] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-prepared-engineering-profession-ai-ethical-issues-matt-bishop

[1] https://digitaldefynd.com/IQ/ai-in-civil-engineering/

[2] https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/56767/artificial-intelligence-in-environmental-engineering-and-ecology-towards-smart-and-sustainable-cities

[3] https://nebulai.com/navigating-ai-job-market-2024/

[4] https://eyowhite.com/how-ai-is-transforming-sustainable-civil-engineering/

[5] https://www.wctmgurgaon.com/blog/wctm-gurgaon-unveils-civil-engineering-evolution-exploring-impact-artificial-intelligence-on-it/

[6] https://blog.getaura.ai/ai-job-market-trends-for-september-2024

[7] https://www.ml-jobs.ai/blog/top-5-artificial-intelligence-jobs-to-pursue-in-2024

[8] https://www.linqto.com/blog/how-is-artificial-intelligence-impacting-the-job-market/

[9] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/engineers-day-2023-speech-ideas-for-students-in-english/articleshow/103678622.cms