Ethical Issues in Engineering Models: Personal Reflections

I start this contribution with an overview of my personal involvement—as an Operations Research consultant—in several engineering case-studies that may raise ethical questions; these case studies employ simulation models. Next, I present an overview of the recent literature on ethical issues in modeling, focusing on the validation of the model’s assumptions; the decisive role of these assumptions leads to the quest for robust models. Actually, models are meant to solve practical problems; these problems may have ethical implications for the various stakeholders; namely, modelers, clients, and the public at large. Finally, I briefly discuss whistle blowing.