Matt James

The Glass Cage: Who Needs Humans Anyway?

Former executive editor of the Harvard Business Review, Nicholas Carr is no stranger to engaging with the implications of technology upon humanity. In The Shallows, published in 2010, Carr argues that as a result of the near constant exposure and engagement with a multiplicity of data the way our brains function is being changed. As a consequence of this, our capacity to absorb and retain what we read is being lost. In his latest book, The Glass Cage: Who needs humans anyway?, Carr extends his examination of the relationship between technology and life in the twenty-first century by considering what automation is doing to humans. He brings his typically thorough approach to research to bear on the topic, exploring how certain aspects of automative technology can have the potential of separating us from reality. His central argument echoes that of C.S. Lewis in 1943 in his prophetic essay The Abolition of Man: if we are not careful we could become slaves to the very technology that we have created to supposedly serve us! Similar to Lewis, Carr causes the reader to stop, question and reflect on the realities of artificial intelligence and robotics and their potential impact on humanity. The phrase ‘glass cage’ is the term pilots give to the modern day cockpit in which they now sit. Surrounded by a vast array of screens that display a plethora of data readings and outputs, the once tactile link between pilot and plane felt through the yoke or throttle lever has been severed (pp.50–51). That sense of connection with the plane which allowed pilots to become part of the machine with their bodies sensing the plane’s workings and feeling its responses helped to make the experience of flying. With the advance in technology, such tactile responses have been converted to digital signals activated by the pressing of a button or the turning of a knob, activating in turn a myriad of binary exchanges and commands. Many plane crashes are caused by this clash of human and technology resulting in a lack of what has been termed ‘situational awareness’ (the ability to identify and process critical elements of information about what is going on around you). A case in point would be the fatal crash of a 2009 Continental Connection/Colgan Air flight from Newark to Buffalo, USA. As programmed, the autopilot was automatically disconnected during the landing approach. Owing to a stall warning, the captain tried to climb when in actual fact he should have descended, in order to gain speed and subsequent lift. Carr’s argument is that generally speaking, the increasing reliance of pilots on the autopilot actually reduces their own ability to fly a plane in any direct way. In a somewhat ironic juxtaposition, as flight safety continues to improve through advanced automated systems, pilots’ skill and expertise is being eroded. the new bioethics, Vol. 22 No. 3, 2016, 253–258

Patient-Centred IVF – Bioethics and Care in a Dutch Clinic

Steptoe and Edwards’ pioneering work in the area of fertility treatment has certainly transformed reproductive medicine, allowing many millions of couples worldwide to overcome the challenge of inf...

Adventures in Human Being

Any books that you read, no matter how you got the sentences that have been read from the books, surely they will give you goodness. But, we will show you one of recommendation of the book that you need to read. This adventures in human being is what we surely mean. We will show you the reasonable reasons why you need to read this book. This book is a kind of precious book written by an experienced author.

The Techno-Human Condition

aim is not to use these new technologies to emphasis racial division and distinction but to use science to improve access to health services for those who historically have been marginalized (p. 173). Yet at the same time as arguing for the individuality of pharmacogenomics, it reinforces the legitimacy of collective categories such as race. This cuts to some of the most important contemporary bioethical questions we face: that of privileging racial categories over others in understanding human diversity. Properly handled and defined racial categories can be one of a few tools for certain studies on human diversity, yet financial interests cannot be the driving force (p. 187). This skill at drawing out the interrelationship of different factors and understanding why decisions were taken and why others were not is really where the value of The Genealogy of a Gene resides. This bringing to the fore of the role of history in understanding public policy and sociology of science is to be celebrated and something that can be overlooked. Combining the insights of a twentieth century historian such as Hobsbawn, or Taylor, to the field of advances in science and technology, Jackson helps the reader to make sense of what has happened and why, so that collectively, our understanding is enriched to make better decisions in future.

Stem Cell Dialogues: A Philosophical and Scientific Inquiry into Medical Frontiers

Advances in the realm of stem cell research are often heralded as being at the frontiers of modern medicine, yet I still find it surprising that many of the public do not understand some of the basic information surrounding the research. The distinction between human embryonic stem cell research (hESC) and adult stem cells being one key issue, alongside understanding what approaches have actually led to viable treatments with clear therapeutic benefit. What needs to be done to help improve understanding and appreciation in this area that is often fraught with ethical and public policy dilemmas? Much has already been written about the ethical and social implications posed by the research so will yet another book on the topic help? A new contribution to the discussion is Sheldon Krimsky’s Stem Cell Dialogues. Professor of Humanities and Social Sciences and adjunct professor at the School of Medicine at Tufts University, Krimsky has written this book with the public firmly in its sights, to help them understand the science, ethics and policy concerns of stem cell research. Whilst admirable, this is hardly a new or groundbreaking approach to take. Indeed many other authors may well argue they have tried to achieve the same ends. So does Stem Cell Dialogues offer something new? I believe it does, largely through its innovative and novel approach of addressing the issues through the lens of different characters engaging in dialogue. In many respects this approach is not new. The Socratic dialogue is a well known genre developed in the fourth century Greece, the prime examples being the dialogues of Plato and the Socratic works of Xenophon. By asking and answering questions, the dialogue between the characters helps to stimulate critical thinking and engagement on pertinent issues. This has become recognized as the Socratic method. Krimsky effectively takes this model and uses it to explore the scientific and ethical issues surrounding stem cell research. Readers approaching the book with little understanding of the science are able to gain a good grounding of the facts and comprehend the science in a clearly accessible way. Through the dialogue model, they also have opportunity to be able to analyse and evaluate the intertwined cultural and values issues. One of the strengths of the book is the fact that there are over 300 references to scientific literature, alongside a wealth of relevant material from other disciplines such as social science and law. For the new bioethics, Vol. 22 No. 1, 2016, 82–86

Truly Human Enhancement: A Philosophical Defense of Limits

We need to talk about human enhancement. We not only need to talk about human enhancement in terms of sports, education, IVF and procreation; but also in terms of cognitive and moral enhancement as well. The issue grows as fast as we can talk about it. One of the ones who keeps up with this issue is Nicholas Agar. In 2010, Agar put out Humanity’s End: Why We Should Reject Radical Enhancement (The MIT Press). This was largely a survey work criticizing those, like Nick Bostrom and Aubrey de Grey, who defend the permissibility of some sort of radical enhancement or “improving significant human attributes and abilities to levels that greatly exceed what is currently possible for human beings” (2010, 1). Agar’s interest is the unsettling consequences of radical enhancement. Humanity’s End, while a very good book, leaves the reader asking for more in terms of a positive proposal for permissible enhancement. It is clear that Agar wants to defend some forms of human enhancement. And this is where Truly Human Enhancement comes in. This book is the welcome follow-up to the earlier book and his defense of moderate enhancement.