2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Navigating the AI Ethics Frontier: A Cross-national Comparison of AI Policy Documents for Developing Responsible AI Workforce

Presented at Engineering Ethics Division (ETHICS) Technical Session - Ethics in ML/AI

With the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the world becoming a global village, the ethical implications of AI are gathering concerns from the technologists, policymakers, and ethicists around the globe alike. Given the powerful impact of AI and its ability to shape the lives of human beings in the coming years, it is of utmost importance to nurture responsible AI engineers who can design ethical AI systems. To be able to nurture such engineers, it would be helpful for educators to understand existing efforts to govern AI ethically and responsibly. In this paper, we focus on the five stakeholders of AI, namely: the USA, Great Britain, European Union, China, and India. The reasons for selection of these countries are the significant role they play on the global level, their population diversity (India and China present one-third of the world's population, a population that migrates in huge numbers to the other three regions mentioned above), and varying cultural perspectives.

This paper analyzes the documents that discusses the AI policy of each mentioned country, to take a deep dive into the frameworks that were developed for regulation of AI technology. The paper will introduce the policy documents presented by the governments and then conduct comparative analysis. We will answer the following question: What are the similarities and differences in ethical concerns and mitigation strategies discussed in the policy documents across these five countries? The findings of this study will allow the engineering faculties to see a comprehensive picture of the existing efforts to govern AI ethically, and incorporate these in education of engineers of tomorrow. Naturally, the educational implications of the findings will also be discussed.

Authors

Emad Ali Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [biography]

Emad Ali is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. His research focuses on the integration of artificial intelligence in engineering education with particular emphasis on its ethical implications. He holds a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering with specialization in Embedded Systems, from the Information Technology University (ITU Lahore), as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Avionics Engineering from the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. He has worked as TA of multiple undergraduate and graduate courses during his Masters in ITU and as a Lecturer in the Superior University in Lahore. He aims to contribute to the advancement of educational practices in engineering by addressing both the opportunities and challenges presented by the emerging technologies.
Bailey Kathryn McOwen Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [biography]

Bailey McOwen is a Ph.D. student in Engineering Education at Virginia Tech with an academic foundation in physics and industrial engineering. Her research focuses on workforce development, professional training for engineering practitioners, and engineering ethics, with an emphasis on how emerging technologies can enhance continued education. Through her research, service, and academic work, she aims to bridge engineering education and industry needs to support ethical, lifelong learning across diverse engineering pathways.
Arsalan Ashraf Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [biography]

Arsalan Ashraf is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Engineering Education at Virginia Tech. His research interests include AI ethics, ethics and social responsibility, and lifelong learning. He has broad experience in academia and industry, which motivates him to research these vibrant areas. He is a first-generation student from a small village in Punjab, Pakistan. He completed his B.S. in Aviation Management from Lahore in 2017 and then worked in the aviation industry. After gaining experience, he changed his career path and entered academia as a lecturer at The University of Faisalabad in 2022. He joined Virginia Tech in the fall of 2024.
Dr. Dayoung Kim Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University [biography]

Dr. Dayoung Kim is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Engineering Education (College of Engineering) at Virginia Tech and a Director of the LABoratory for Innovative and REsponsible ENgineering workforce (LAB-IREEN). She conducts research in engineering practice and workforce development (e.g., practices and experiences of, and competencies required for, engineers in various employment settings, such as business organizations and government agencies; workforce challenges and opportunities from emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence), engineering ethics (e.g., social responsibility of engineering professionals and its education), and related policy concerns. Dr. Kim's research aims to identify effective strategies to cultivate an innovative and responsible engineering workforce through educational initiatives and science & technology policy. She received her Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Purdue University (2022) and received her B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering at Yonsei University (2017) and Purdue University (2021) respectively. She was the 2022 Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellow of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and received the 2022 College of Engineering Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award from Purdue University. She was also a Bilsland Fellow of the College of Engineering at Purdue University when she was a Ph.D. student.

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