Engineers’ Perspectives on Ethical Challenges in Emerging Multidisciplinary Technologies: A Qualitative Study
Keywords:
Engineering ethics, emerging technologies, multidisciplinary innovation, responsible innovation, qualitative research, ethical governance, TehranAbstract
This study aimed to explore engineers’ perspectives on the ethical challenges encountered in the design, development, and implementation of emerging multidisciplinary technologies. This qualitative study was conducted using a conventional thematic analysis approach. Participants were 24 engineers working in technology-driven, research-based, and multidisciplinary organizations in Tehran, Iran. Participants were selected through purposive sampling to include engineers with direct experience in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, biomedical engineering, nanotechnology, smart infrastructure, renewable energy systems, and data-driven industrial systems. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews lasting 45–75 minutes. Interviews continued until theoretical saturation was reached after the twenty-first interview, followed by three additional interviews to confirm saturation. All interviews were audio-recorded with informed consent, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using NVivo software. Coding proceeded through open coding, category development, constant comparison, and theme refinement. Credibility was strengthened through member checking, peer review, and maintaining an audit trail. Thematic analysis generated five main categories: ethical uncertainty and anticipatory responsibility; distributed accountability in multidisciplinary collaboration; privacy, data justice, and algorithmic opacity; tension between public welfare and commercial or institutional pressure; and the need for embedded ethical governance. Participants emphasized that ethical challenges often emerged before technical consequences were fully visible and were intensified by fragmented responsibility across disciplines. Engineers also reported difficulty translating abstract ethical principles into practical design decisions under time, budget, and market pressures. The findings indicate that ethical engineering in emerging multidisciplinary technologies requires more than individual professional morality. It demands anticipatory thinking, interdisciplinary accountability, transparent design processes, stakeholder inclusion, and institutional mechanisms that integrate ethics into the full technology lifecycle. Strengthening ethical governance can help engineers address uncertainty, reduce harm, and support socially responsible innovation.
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