Ethical Issues Raised by Emerging Technologies
Saturday, December 4th, 2010
Emerging technologies like nanotechnology and biotechnology raises health and ethical issues. Government regulations cannot hope to keep pace as the new technologies raise issues that nobody has a clear idea about. This situation creates a dilemma as countries want technological progress but are apprehensive about the unknown safety and ethical issues.
Nanotechnology is a revolutionary technology that has applications in many areas, including healthcare, consumer products, industrial products and energy. The technology involves working at nanoscale; a nanometer is one-billionth of a meter; and nanotechnology deals with materials of 100 nanometers or less. At nanoscale, normally harmless materials can become toxic, and nanomaterials can permeate the skin barrier and enter internal organs with unknown consequences.
An ethical issue arises when multinational corporations, unable to work in their home countries owing to rigorous regulations, shift operations to developing countries where regulations are non-existent or lax. In addition to MNCs, even local companies might engage in dangerous research and manufacturing activities in such an environment.
Modern biology raises issues that cause even greater concerns. For example, issues such as patenting life, DNA banks and genetically engineered animals and crops are issues that have raised serious controversies. Considerable discussions are taking place about these issues all over the world.
An article on Green Nanotechnology and a booklet on Ethics and Biotechnology go into these issues.
Tags: emerging technologies, ethical issues, health issues, safety issues
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Are Robots or People a greater Threat to Humanity?
Thursday, October 28th, 2010
The question above is just one of the questions that might be asked at the Singularity University at the NASA Ames site in Mountain View. The institution was created by futurists and backed by the co-founders of Google. Its focus is on exploring the implications of the accelerating pace of innovation across a number of scientific fields.
A recent lecture at the university was about the possibility that developments in artificial intelligence might create machines that achieve self-awareness, and become able to enslave humanity. While this possibility might appear far-fetched to most of us, and was considered unlikely by the lecturer himself, there are more likely possibilities in different fields that can have a fundamental impact on humanity.
A recent program at the university focused on briefing participants from all over the world about robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, computer networking, medicine and environmental technologies where dramatic breakthroughs are occurring. Many social and ethical questions are raised by developments in at least some of these fields.
Modern biotechnology with its ability to work at genetic levels might, for example, be able to create two classes of humans, one class that is able to afford the costs of gene modifications to make them “supermen” and another class who cannot afford the costs, and might be enslaved or dominated by the former.
Read the story at MercuryNews.
Tags: emerging technologies, future developments, technology impact
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Industrial Convergence Faces Legal and other Obstacles
Sunday, March 28th, 2010
Recently the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in Korea announced that it is crafting legislation to overcome the obstacles in the way of developing industrial convergence. By industrial convergence is meant the coming together of different technologies, nanotechnology, information technology, biotechnology and cognitive science, to develop and market products of value.
The Ministry cited as example the problems faced by a recent product, the “diabetes phone” that allowed users to check their blood-sugal levels and get remote treatment from doctors. The product combined the latest in biotechnology and information technology. However, inadequate sales and existing regulations on medical treatment forced the product off the market.
Government categorized the device as medical equipment and did not allow remote treatment owing to safety concerns.
Convergence of technologies are bringing many innovative solutions into the market, which are being exploited by companies in the advanced economies such as those of U.S., Europe and Japan. However, outdated legal and institutional factors prevent their development in many other countries.
Korea wants to get out of this situation and has formed a committee to craft new legislation that will tap the synergies possible through convergence of industries. If each industry goes on its own traditional path, the benefits of such synergy will be lost to the society.
Korea wants to adopt policies that will allow deregulation, R&D support for local companies and commercialization of convergence technologies.
Read the news at JoongAngDaily.
Tags: convergence of technologies, emerging technologies
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Transhumanism or Human Enhancement through Technology
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Transhumanism is an international movement that supports the use of technology for enhancing human physical and mental capabilities. Members of the movement believe that disability, disease, suffering, aging and involuntary death are neither inevitable nor desirable, and look to technologies like biotechnology to eliminate these.
Transcendentalist ideas of going beyond human limitations have a long history. The quest for immortality, Elixir of Life, Fountain of Youth and such ideas represent such transendentalist yearnings. Even Charles Darwin’s theories were used to suggest that we humans are only at the beginning of evolution and much more can be expected.
By 19th century, the idea of using technology to enhance human capabilities began to receive attention and the trend gained momentum in the 20th. Bionic implants have already become a reality helping the diseased heart to beat and the deaf to hear. Research into cognitive enhancement is beginning to show results.
Another related development is space colonization that allow people to migrate to other hospitable worlds. It can perhaps help improve things back on earth, which is getting increasingly overcrowded in certain areas while the reverse is happening in other areas.
Developments in nanotechnology gave a new dimension to transhumanist ideas. Nanobiotechnology is a field where biotechnology works with nanoscale elements. Nanorobots could be traversing our blood vessels curing diseases and the new properties of materials at nanoscale might lead to better healing of wounds, for example.
The movement is also concerned with the possible dangers of using technology in this manner. There are opponents to this movement such as Francis Fukuyama who considered it the “world’s most dangerous idea”.
Universal access to tranhumanist technologies across classes and borders is a key ethical issue. Unless such access is made possible, the movement can lead to an elite few benefiting from the technologies to the exclusion of the vast majority. It could lead to a nightmare world where the majority become slaves of the elite “superhumans,” a popular theme in horror films.
See the four possible scenarios for transhumanist developments at the Institute for Emerging Ethics and Technologies.
Tags: emerging technologies, transcending human condition, transhumanism
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Hitting the Minds of Enemy Soldiers and other War Tactics
Friday, March 12th, 2010
Like everything else, war is also “benefiting” from science. The “Mad Scientist” Future Technology seminar in the US looked at some possibilities. Seminar participants included scientists, science fiction writers, futurists, academicians and students.
The seminar looked at the “asymmetric” power that can be wielded by “super empowered” individuals and competing nation states. Some of the key findings are outlined below.
Biotechnology can help modify diseases and develop organisms against which there is no existing defense or treatment. These can then be deliberately targeted to debilitate enemy military forces or create an epidemic that cripples a nation’s ability to respond normally.
Electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) can destroy electronic systems. Presently, such a pulse results as a side effect of deploying nuclear weapons. Using new technologies, and the capabilities of miniaturization, it might be possible to develop handheld EMP guns that can destroy enemy communication capabilities.
Improvements in nanotechnology, networking and advanced computing/artificial intelligence can enable the flooding of battlefields with miniature robots capable of causing all kinds of damage.
Social networking coupled with immersive 3-D technologies could reach families and friends of soldiers and carry the battle into realms presently not covered adequately. These technologies can also affect recruitment and retention efforts.
Cyber capabilities can disrupt the IT infrastructure used by transportation, financial and government agencies causing serious disruption.
Combinining the capabilities of electromagnetic, infrasonic and light technologies, it is possible to target human neural and physiological systems, degrading the cognitive, physiological and behavioral performance of the targets.
Tags: biological warfare, blending technologies, electronic warfare, emerging technologies, new weapons, social warfare, war
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