> we need a way for engineers and scientists to feel accountable for the outcomes of their work, and to straight out refuse working on such projects

This is one of the major reasons why I'm in favor of an unconditional basic income. We can't hold people responsible for doing their job if they're not realistically allowed to refuse it. Only by allowing them to say no, by providing an alternative, in this case an unconditional income to cover their basic needs, can we allow ourselves to hold them responsible for not saying no.