Ethics of Emerging Technologies
The Division of Ethics and Health Policy is dedicated to rigorous and interdisciplinary scholarly activities that focus on the ethical, legal, and social issues arising from emerging technologies.
Emerging Technologies
Emerging technologies encompass those highly innovative and transformative technologies in science and technology, including:
- Synthetic biology
- Genomics
- Enhancement technologies
- Neuroscience
- Nanotechnology
- Military applications
- Artificial intelligence
Emerging technologies offer humankind an opportunity to advance knowledge, provide potential clinical applications, and improve life. However, their disruptive nature and their rapid progress raise ethical, legal, and social issues that concern society at large. Our Division engages in the study of these issues especially in the area of neuroethics and nanoethics.
Policy Analysis
The Ethics, Policy, and Emerging Technologies Research Group takes advantage of its multidisciplinary expertise to generate a robust discussion on emerging technologies and their potential policy implications. To identify and formulate sound policies requires a careful assessment of the adequacy of existing laws and regulations as they impact approval and dissemination of emerging technologies into the market. In addition, to insure that research and development of emerging technologies remain within legal boundaries, a regulatory framework must be created that allows analysis, management, and assessment of risks; open communication; and constructive debates on issues related to justice and privacy.
To this end, the Ethics, Policy, and Emerging Technologies Research Group engages in policy evaluation, policy recommendation, public outreach, and provides a forum for civil discourse.
Consortium on Emerging Technologies
Vision Statement
Science and engineering ethics and bioethics scholars, as well as policymakers, have recognized that the socially responsible conduct of research requires careful deliberation upon the ethical issues posed by emerging technologies. Such deliberation is intended to educate professionals and the public about the potentials of such technologies and prepare citizens for public discourse and policymaking concerning such emerging technologies.
In our brief proposal, “A Consortium Approach to Ethical and Values Issues in Emerging Technologies”, we take this recognition as an assumption and propose an interdisciplinary consortium to address particular emerging technologies in a focused, disciplined, and rigorous fashion.
Collaboration with the Center for Neurotechnology Studies (CNS)
The Ethics, Policy, and Emerging Technologies Research Group collaborates on scholarly projects with the Center for Neurotechnology Studies (CNS) at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies in Arlington, Virginia, directed by Prof. James Giordano, PhD. This collaborative effort aims at the analysis of the ethical, legal, and social implications (ELSI) associated with emerging neurotechnologies and the applications of neuroscientific research and progress in medicine, public life, and national defense and intelligence. The CNS works with the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Studies of George Mason University in Fairfax, VA and Gallaudet University in Washington, DC, and the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics at the University of Oxford, UK.
By working with the CNS, we are able to integrate the disciplines of neuroscience, psychology, bio-engineering, economics, anthropology, deaf studies, sociology, literature and the arts, philosophy, and ethics to address ELSI. Together we employ the approaches of these many perspectives to develop scenarios, models, and guidelines and inform public policies about the potential uses as well as provide caveats regarding possible misuses of neuroscience and neurotechnologies to affect human values, lifestyles and futures.
Questions? Please contact Fabrice Jotterand, PhD, MA.