Obligation-Conflict Resolution
Case 24-02 (2025) · Use of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering Practice
Professional obligations conflict, and the board applies no fixed rule for which one wins.
Each resolution is recorded as three edges:
competesWith (the tension),
prevailsOver (the obligation the board allowed to win in this case), and
defeasibleUnder (the situation under which the yielding obligation gives way).
The same tension is then traced across comparable cases, where its resolution shifts with context.
Hover any obligation or state to see its definition; click to open it in OntServe.
How this case resolved it
Featured
Engineer A Design Safety Compliance
prevails over
Engineer A AI Design Disclosure
No State context committed for this edge.
What the board concluded
- Engineer A's use of AI in report writing was partly ethical, and partly unethical.
- The use of AI-assisted drafting tools by Engineer A was not unethical per se.
- Similar to other software used in the design or detailing process, Engineer A has no professional or ethical obligation to disclose AI use to Client W (unless such disclosure is required under Engineer A’s contract with Client W).
Recorded violations:
Draft Report Sealing and Submission violates Engineer A Report Technical Citations
AI Disclosure Omission for Report violates Engineer A AI Authorship Representation
Design Document Submission violates Engineer A Design Responsible Charge
Cursory Design Document Review violates Engineer A Design Responsible Charge
AI Disclosure Omission for Report violates Engineer A Report AI Disclosure
AI Disclosure Omission for Design violates Engineer A AI Design Disclosure
Client Data Upload to AI violates Engineer A Client Data AI Upload
AI Disclosure Omission for Report violates Engineer A AI Report Disclosure
Cursory Design Document Review violates Engineer A Design Safety Compliance
AI Disclosure Omission for Design violates Engineer A AI Authorship Representation
Design Document Submission violates Engineer A Design Seal
Cursory Design Document Review violates Engineer A Report AI Direction Control
Draft Report Sealing and Submission violates Engineer A AI Authorship Representation
Design Document Submission violates Engineer A Design Safety Compliance
Cursory Design Document Review violates Engineer A Safety Feature Omission