Moral mid-level principles in modeling

Modeling plays a substantial role in decision-making and therefore many models raise moral issues. Modelers, especially in operations research, become increasingly aware that this poses new problems to modeling. This paper addresses two questions: (1) How do moral issues in modeling arise? (2) How can these moral issues be resolved? In this article I trace the origins of moral issues in modeling back to (a) the beneficial or harmful consequences of using a model, to (b) the sometimes doubtful purposes of a model, and to (c) the target systems that include concerns about good human behavior. Furthermore, I propose a framework for good modeling practice in the form of four moral mid-level principles. The first is the principle of transparency, which codifies the obligations to explain, describe, and document the structure, assumptions and further properties of the model. The second is the principle of integrity, which refers to the responsibility of modelers to follow professional and scientific standards. The third is the principle of comprehensiveness, which stresses that modelers should acknowledge all moral concerns of all stakeholders thoroughly. The fourth and last one is the principle of evaluation, which states that models should evaluate all moral issues with respect to their consequences and implications. In summary, the article provides tools to assess whether a model raises moral issues, and it develops a basic framework for solving practical moral problems. Moral Mid-Level Principles for Modeling manuscript -Please do not quote. page 2