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:
Client Data Upload to AI violates Engineer A Client Data AI Upload
Cursory Design Document Review violates Engineer A Design Responsible Charge
Draft Report Sealing and Submission violates Engineer A Report Technical Citations
AI Disclosure Omission for Report violates Engineer A AI Authorship Representation
Cursory Design Document Review violates Engineer A Report AI Direction Control
AI Disclosure Omission for Report violates Engineer A Report AI Disclosure
Draft Report Sealing and Submission violates Engineer A AI Authorship Representation
Design Document Submission violates Engineer A Design Safety Compliance
AI Disclosure Omission for Report violates Engineer A AI Report Disclosure
AI Disclosure Omission for Design violates Engineer A AI Authorship Representation
AI Disclosure Omission for Design violates Engineer A AI Design Disclosure
Cursory Design Document Review violates Engineer A Design Safety Compliance
Cursory Design Document Review violates Engineer A Safety Feature Omission
Design Document Submission violates Engineer A Design Responsible Charge
Design Document Submission violates Engineer A Design Seal
How comparable cases resolved the same tension
Engineer A AI Design Disclosure yields to Engineer A Design Safety Compliance. The yielding obligation ("Engineer A AI Design Disclosure") recurs across cases; the obligation that overrides it and the context under which it yields differ case by case. This is the case-law move: not a single rule, but a family of context-indexed resolutions.
| Case | Obligation that prevailed | Yielding obligation | Context (defeasibleUnder) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
20-1
Job Qualifications—Disclosure of Material Fact
|
Engineer Intern A Faithful Agent Post-Hire Risk Notification | Engineer Intern A Prudential Disclosure Relational Self-Protection | Engineer Intern A Prudent Disclosure Foregone Vulnerability |
|
22-2
Sharing As-Built Drawings
|
Engineer D Proactive Formal Process Initiation As-Built Drawing Gap | Engineer D Informal Information Sharing Restraint As-Built Drawings | Public Agency Absent Formal As-Built Disclosure Process; Undisclosed Available As-Built Drawings in Bid Documents |
|
82-2
Confidentiality of Engineering Report
|
Engineer A Inspection Report Carbon Copy Real Estate Firm Confidentiality Breach | Engineer A Benevolent Motive Non-Cure Confidentiality Breach | Engineer A Good-Faith Transparency Motive Confidentiality Violation; Non-Self-Interested Confidentiality Violation — Engineer A Mitigating Context |
|
05-4
Failure to Disclose Full Impact of Development
|
Engineer A Direct Question Complete Honest Answer City Planning Board | Engineer A Faithful Agent Developer F Public Hearing Presentation | -- |
|
10-8
Selection of Firm—FOIA Request
|
Engineer B BER 93-3 Client Confidentiality Instruction Faithful Agent Compliance | Engineer B BER 93-3 Faithful Agent Client Interest Primacy Over Altruistic Disclosure | BER 93-3 Faithful Agent Duty Activation; BER 93-3 Franchiser-Engineer B Covert Transition Engagement |