Patrick Lin

Ethics of Human Enhancement: 25 Questions & Answers

This paper presents the principal findings from a three-year research project funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) on ethics of human enhancement technologies. To help untangle this ongoing debate, we have organized the discussion as a list of questions and answers, starting with background issues and moving to specific concerns, including: freedom & autonomy, health & safety, fairness & equity, societal disruption, and human dignity. Each question-and-answer pair is largely self-contained, allowing the reader to skip to those issues of interest without affecting continuity.

Why Ethics Matters for Autonomous Cars

If motor vehicles are to be truly autonomous and able to operate responsibly on our roads, they will need to replicate—or do better than—the human decision-making process. But some decisions are more than just a mechanical application of traffic laws and plotting a safe path. They seem to require a sense of ethics, and this is a notoriously difficult capability to reduce into algorithms for a computer to follow.

Robot ethics: Mapping the issues for a mechanized world

As with other emerging technologies, advanced robotics brings with it new ethical and policy challenges. This paper will describe the flourishing role of robots in society-from security to sex-and survey the numerous ethical and social issues, which we locate in three broad categories: safety & errors, law & ethics, and social impact. We discuss many of these issues in greater detail in our forthcoming edited volume on robot ethics from MIT Press.

What Is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter

Nanotechnology has in various ways been regarded as a technology that promises both innovations and risks and that has the potential to profoundly change the world. Yet for many people there are still two questions that remain unanswered: just what is nanotechnology, and why does it matter? What is nanotechnology and why does it matter?: from science to ethics, by a nanoscientist and two philosophers, aims to give the reader a balanced and informed understanding of this important technology. The book not only focuses on providing the reader with normative reasons around why nanotechnology matters, such as its social impact and ethics, but also offers an accurate and generally accessible analysis of the science involved, highlighting what nanotechnology actually is and why it matters in terms of the applications and features that make it relevant. The book serves as a useful introduction to nanotechnology for those who know little about the subject but wish to learn about the impact this technology could have on their lives and about the ethical issues it raises. The book is for the most part easily accessible, with the exception of some of the first chapters in Unit 1 which could come across as overly technical. However, this may be viewed as a positive feature, rather than a negative one, given that few books that discuss the ethical and social issues of nanotechnology offer such a comprehensive review of the science behind nanotechnology. This review of the science behind nanotechnology is indeed a main strength of this book by Allhoff et al., as it is here that a framework is established that permits a better understanding of the societal and ethical issues covered in the subsequent units. In a wider sense, the book can be recommended to both scientists and non-scientists alike, since it deals with a wide range of the questions and problems that are the subject of current debate. The book is divided into three units. The first focuses on the science behind nanotechnology. In the second the authors provide frameworks that allow an evaluation of the specific ethical and social issues to be discussed in the final unit, including military, medical and enhancement-related applications. The first unit entitled ‘What is nanotechnology?’ Begins with a chapter that attempts to explain the basic principles of nanotechnology to the reader, addressing definitions and scales, the origins of nanotechnology, the current state and future of nanotechnology, as well as issues relating to nanotechnology in nature and its applications. As the authors state: “Nanotechnology has not only been present in nature, but has also been used unwittingly in human-made technology for centuries” (p.18). The second chapter focuses on the “tools of the trade” that are used in nanotechnologies and discusses the basic governing theories that have affected them. Reference is made to the development of the electron microscope and to scanning probe microscopy in the context of the former, and to quantum mechanics, Nanoethics (2014) 8:211–213 DOI 10.1007/s11569-014-0196-8

Ethics of Human Enhancement: An Executive Summary

With multi-year funding from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), a team of researchers has just released a comprehensive report detailing ethical issues arising from human enhancement (Allhoff et al. 2009). While we direct the interested reader to that (much longer) report, we also thank the editors of this journal for the invitation to provide an executive summary thereof. This summary highlights key results from each section of that report and does so in a self-standing way; in other words, this summary presupposes no familiarity with the report and offers the opportunity to gain quick familiarity with its most central findings.

Ethical Blowback from Emerging Technologies

Abstract The military is a major driver of technological, world-changing innovations which, like the Internet, often have unpredictable dual uses and widespread civilian impact (‘blowback’). Ethical and policy concerns arising from such technologies, therefore, are not limited to military affairs, but can have great implications for society at large as well. This paper will focus on two technology areas making headlines at present: human enhancement technologies and robotics, representing both biological and technological upgrades to the military. The concerns we will raise are about (1) the unintended effects that these technologies could have on society and (2) the possibly self-defeating nature of these military programs in making war itself more, rather than less likely to occur. Given that society also can influence military programs (e.g., through civil protests) it is important for the military to attend to such concerns.

International Governance of Autonomous Military Robots

Unarmed aerial vehicles (i.e., drones) are already starting to transform the conduct of military engagements, and these systems are projected an increasingly prominent role in military forces in the future. A number of factors will push these systems toward increased autonomy, raising the possibility of the future development of lethal autonomous robotics (LARs). This article seeks to proactively address the ethical, policy, and legal aspects of ALRs. It first describes the technological status and incentives for LARs, and then reviews some ethical and policy concerns that autonomous systems present. The paper then describes three potential routes for proactive governance of LARs: (i) existing legal and policy regimes such as rules of engagement, laws of war, and international humanitarian law; (ii) arms control agreements; and (iii) “soft law” mechanisms such as codes of conduct and international consultative bodies.

Viewpoint: Look Before Taking Another Leap For Mankind- Ethical and Social Considerationa in Rebuilding Society in Space

Commercial space travel is looking more like a real possibility than science fiction, but tied to that ambition we may be held back by the gravity of emerging ethical dilemmas. This viewpoint article surveys a range of social, economic, and political questions, and critically evaluates reasons why we should explore space. The usual ethical issues related to environmental and safety concerns are just the beginning, as there are other interesting questions, such as: what would be a fair process for commercializing or claiming property in space; how likely would a separatist movement be among space settlements who want to be free and independent states; and are reasons to explore space, like for adventure, wanderlust, or “backing up the biosphere,” good enough to justify our exploration of space? The point here that we should explore space; and if we are to move forward with our journey, which may be unstoppable anyway, then we should seriously consider these issues. At the least, this would give the public more confidence—amid questions of misplaced priorities and wasteful spending, along with an increased focus on ethics in science—that we are looking ahead before we take another leap for mankind.

War 2.0: cyberweapons and ethics

Considering the basic ethical questions that must be resolved in the new realm of cyberwarfare.

Ethics, War, and Robots

There has been a rapid proliferation of the use of robots in warfare in recent years, and the United States military (which accounts for ∼40% of global military spending) has made further roboticization a priority within its research and development program. In this chapter, Patrick Lin, Keith Abney, and George Bekey review the state of robots within warfare and survey the wide array of legal and ethical issues raised by them. These include issues related to conducting a just war and determining responsibility for events in war, as well as issues related to the effects of the widespread use of robots on those involved in war and on society more generally. The authors argue that these technologies warrant a great deal more attention than they currently receive, given both the nature of them and the pace at which they are emerging.