2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

With emerging technologies getting in the hands of the public at ever-increasing speeds, technology policymaking has become the primary means of regulating it. This means more individuals capable of understanding their nuances and conveying the information to the masses are required. Ethical governance of these advancements is best achieved when informed by ethically motivated technology experts, including engineers, as injecting ethics into the formation of policy begins with those who write it. For these reasons, it would be valuable to understand the relationship between the variables that may influence a technology expert in their pursuance of a policy career path, such as the development of their various identities (personal and social, engineering, and ethical identities) of these engineers. Discussions have taken place regarding public policy engineering workforce expectations and development and the use of these various identities, particularly ethics identity, in establishing a policy career pathway for engineers. There is not an explicit connection between the influence of these identities, whether personal and social, engineering, or ethical, on the establishment of public policy as a career pathway for engineers. In this theory paper, we aim to explore (1) what theoretical constructs are most prevalent among several theories for each form of identity development (personal and social, engineering, and ethical), and (2) whether these various identities have the potential to be leveraged in the establishment of a policy career pathway. We review the existing literature on the identity of engineers (including personal and social, engineering, and ethical) and consider the relation between these identities and public policy as a career for engineers. To complement the literature review, we provide examples from interviews conducted with technology experts who participate in AI ethics-related policymaking to illustrate how identity may influence one’s journey in cultivating policy career. These interviews underwent thematic coding as part of a larger study, and during this process, participants unexpectedly referenced identity-based experiences which influenced them. This specifically refers to experiences the individuals had in which their perceptions of their experiences were shaped by constructs of their personal and social identity, engineering identity, or ethical identity. A review of literature pertaining personal and social, engineering, and ethical identity development provides the necessary context to further establish the connection between them and their presence in the public policy career pathway for engineers. This paper will guide future research which requires a basis in the explicit relationship among various theoretical constructs of personal and social, engineering, and ethical identities development and the public policy career pathway for engineers.