Texas Tech Family and Consumer Science Online Curriculum

Science and engineering science are the great drivers of innovation in the world around us. Technological and scientific breakthroughs help people every day, bringing clean h2o, access to data through the cyberspace, cures for rare diseases.

Many aspects of scientific discovery confront few upstanding questions. But in that location are also a number of scientific endeavors that push the upstanding lines of what science should revolve around. While all the areas of controversy embrace  hither have dandy benefits, they also come up with potential upstanding burdens, such as potential harm to animals, people, or the surround.

It all should make us stop and think - at what point do the negatives of innovation overshadow the practiced that information technology may bring? And is there ever an innovation so beneficial to the world that it would exist worth compromising on ideals in order to achieve scientific and technological progress? Ponder these questions as nosotros await into vii ethically controversial areas of science and technology...

one. AI

Artificial intelligence is at the forefront of technological development in many areas. Nearly every company that has anything to practice with technology is using it equally a buzzword to sell their product: "New dog collar with built-in AI to notice when your domestic dog is in distress! Install our simple estimator plug-in and we'll optimize your workday."

AI certainly has many valuable applications and benefits, simply at that place are also areas where it has some extensive drawbacks. Take two, primal AI technologies that have questionable benefits, or rather all-encompassing drawbacks: deep imitation and Neuralink.

Y'all've probably heard of deep fakes, the face-swapping technology that is used to bring dead movie stars dorsum to life, but tin also brand world leaders appear to say things they never did –or for even less family-friendly things.

You might not know nigh Neuralink, though. It's one of Elon Musk's technological endeavors, and aims to meliorate encephalon-automobile interfaces, tape memories, and brand other technological advancements to do with the encephalon.

Focusing in on Neuralink start, questions surround the ideals of connecting man brains to machines, and utilizing AI to make homo brains function amend. Ethical questions primarily focus on the development of said engineering and potential side-furnishings. The company'southward goal is to optimize human brain function, but the testing that will be needed to get there will be extensive. This will eventually involve testing on homo brains, with unknown consequences. At what point is the potential hope of drastic technological advancement not worth the potential human loss in the development of the technology?

RELATED: AI CONTINUES TO Human activity IN UNPREDICTABLE Means – SHOULD We Be CONCERNED?

Moving on from Neuralink, we're met with a technology, deep fakes, that pose less potential benefit to humanity. In that location's arguably niggling reason that anyone needs to replace someone'southward confront with another in a video – at least, little reason that isn't nefarious.

Even so, the technology exists to do this, thanks to bogus intelligence and motorcar learning. It continues to be researched under the guise of benefits to improved video editing applied science, but at the end of the day, in that location'due south no mode to keep it from existence used for negative purposes.

At the finish of the day, artificial intelligence has the potential to completely alter how nosotros interact with the world, but are there likewise many negatives? Fourth dimension will tell...

two. CRISPR

Through CRISPR, scientists are able to apace and cheaply edit the human genome. That ways researchers tin can alter Dna sequences and  how our genes part. That means the potential to correct genetic defects, preventing the spread of illness –orrr for making designer babies.

CRISPR is brusque for 'Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats', a gene-editing tool whose all-time-known class utilizes the Cas9 enzyme to cut strands of DNA. It's basically like molecular scrapbooking.

The development of the CRISPR applied science emerged from discoveries of how bacteria defend themselves, by creating a 'library' of virus DNA that the bacteria can draw on to destroy the DNA of foreign invaders before they are able to take hold of the organism.

CRISPR has emerged very recently, with a 2017 newspaper demonstrating using the technique for cistron editing.

Chinese scientists have started using CRISPR to engineer designer babies - human being babies with genes edited to be resistant to detail viruses. All of this seems can potentially improve humanity'due south quality of life, but at what price? The long-term side-furnishings are still completely unknown. And there is no style to tell where this could end. Information technology is one thing to pattern a baby to be HIV-resistant, but some other to design the appearance and intelligence of a infant.

In addition, designer babies also potentially call into question the very definition of human being.

3. Gene editing (GMO)

Moving on from man cistron editing in CRISPR, nosotros tin can examine the ethical issues with cistron editing on other organisms, like plants. Factor editing includes whatsoever ntervention in an organism'due south genetics.

This intervention creates GMOs or genetically-modified organisms. This can result in benefits such as stronger, more drought-resistant crops, or crops that have higher yields per acre, amidst other things advantages.

Today, gene editing occurs across the earth and it is conducted on both plants and animals, by and large in the pursuit of better food product. On animals, gene editing has been used to create pigs that are naturally very resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrom, or PRRS, improving creature welfare.

The gene-editing process for all organisms is overseen by various government agencies, depending on the state. Yet, the long-term furnishings of much  cistron editing are still unknown, and the potential for edited genes to enter the 'wild' and alter the surround in unforeseen means may be high.

4. Animate being testing

Animal testing is i of the virtually controversial areas of scientific research on this list. Many people couldn't care less, while others vehemently oppose it. For years, animal testing has been used to create newer and better pharmaceuticals, and test consumer products such as makeup, shampoos, etc.

At the end of the day, however, animal testing places the prevention of human being suffering over the prevention of animal suffering. In sure cases, the ethical argument for animal testing may exist easier, i.e. wher it may lead to advances in preventing disease. In other cases, the statement is harder, as the development of a ameliorate lipstick is probable not worth the suffering of animals.

On the one mitt, you lot take human suffering and on the other, yous have animal suffering. And we seem to have no problem with animal suffering equally long as it is for a greater cause.

In introducing the subject, we've made it seem fairly cut and dry, but an increasing number of scientists are starting to question the relevance of continued fauna testing at a fourth dimension where AI and other tech is starting to exist able to accurately model and predict biological interactions. A great deal of animals are harmed in the creation of many chemicals and consumer products, and we must each ask ourselves, is it worth it?

5. Human being trials

The progression from animal testing to man testing or man trials occurs with most new medications. Man subject enquiry is oft necessary to get drugs to the final phase of regulatory approval. It serves as the final check of how a given medicine or chemical will collaborate with the human being organization. Yet, time and time again it has injure, maimed, or killed individuals. And we take to ask ourselves once again, at what betoken is this not worth it?

History may not be kind to the reputation of human trials, though scientists are making a constant effort to create prophylactic standards in the process.

In 1947, information technology was discovered that German physicians conducted deadly experiments on concentration campsite prisoners during WWII. Some were prosecuted as war criminals in the Nuremberg Trials, after which the Allies and then established the Nuremberg Code, being the commencement international document for voluntary human being consent for research.

In today'due south human being testing, all patients must consent to the study. Nonetheless, as long as human trials are conducted, there are people who are coerced to participate. For this reason, the ethics of the entire  situation are still be hotly debated.

half-dozen. Weapons and military R&D

Military weapons development is some other major crossroad of science and ethics. Take, for example, the development of the atomic flop nether the Manhattan Project during WWII. In many ways, the research conducted during these experiments furthered humanity's understanding of atoms, molecules, and quantum theory. In other ways, this research eventually led to the deaths of thousands of people.

War machine power and weapons technology pose an upstanding dilemma largely due to the nature of humankind. At that place is the potential that failure to invest in a detail mortiferous weapon, such as bioweapons, could allow these weapons to exist developed and controlled only by people intent on evil.  Yet, one time the weapons are developed by anyone, the genie is out of the bottle, and cannot exist put dorsum. This could potentially pb to their utilize past those wanting to commit harm anyhow.

vii. Space colonization

Since information technology seems like the World has seen improve days, possibly it's time to consider moving somewhere else, like Mars. Scientists suspect that there is water on Mars somewhere, and we know the planet likewise contains resources which may aid us survive.

And so, why non spend the coin developing Mars as a colony?

The biggest ethical questions around Martian colonization are presented when you consider the potential of life on Mars or the potential of time to come life on Mars. We can't land with absolute certainty that life could thrive on the planet. Moving people at that place could be harmful. And the cost of developing programs to colonize Mars is high -  surely the money could exist used to assist solve  some of Earth's electric current envoronmental problems?

RELATED: SPACEX IS PREPARING A MISSION TO COLONIZE MARS BY 2026

The answers to these questions may accept to exercise with how humanity should approach its ethical responsibleness toward the Earth itself. If yous believe humanity's only ethical responsibility is to our planet, so colonization seems wasteful. If you believe that we need to explore all options, and so infinite exploration makes sense, no thing how expensive.

Endmost out this discussion of ethical dilemmas in science and technology nosotros're left over again wondering – what is innovation and the edification of humanity worth? The respond to that question will vary depending upon who you lot ask... but enquire yourself, what is innovation worth?

Texas Tech Family and Consumer Science Online Curriculum

Source: https://interestingengineering.com/7-ethically-controversial-research-areas-in-science-and-technology

Share this post