Ethical And Social Issues In Human Enhancement

Professional Issues
Aminu Lamin Dantata

ABSTRACT Human augmentation will bring unprecedented ability to the human world and as well bring many unforeseen challenges in the society. In this I will be talking about the legal issues in human enhancement.

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Table of Contents
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3 Benefits Of Human Enhancement ................................................................................. 3 Ethical And Social Implications Of Human Enhancement .................................... 3 Public Opinion ..................................................................................................................... 3 The Case For and Against Enhancement - Hughes and Cohen ............................ 4 Recommendation................................................................................................................ 5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 6 Reference ............................................................................................................................... 7

Aminu Lamin Dantata

Professional Issues

0970036

Introduction
In my words human enhancement is the use of science and technology to expand cognitive and physical human capacities. Developments in fields as diverse as sports medicine, surgery, stem cell research, gene therapy, pharmaceuticals, cybernetics, prosthetics, nanotechnology, and computer science may contribute to HE. Human enhancement technology has been predicted to help provide future humans with numerous radical improvements. Although, it should be noted that many of these are still years away from being realized.i

Benefits Of Human Enhancement

Human Enhancement are techniques that can be used not simply for treating illness and disability, but also for enhancing human characteristics and capacities. In some circles, the expression "human enhancement technologies" is synonymous with emerging technologies or converging technologies. In other circles, the expression "human enhancement" is roughly synonymous with human genetic engineering, it is used most often to refer to the general application of the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science` to improve human performance.ii

Ethical And Social Implications Of Human Enhancement

The advancing of software and hardware engineering and biotechnology to recreate life or intelligence raises ethical and social issues. There is an ethical responsibility on the part of the creator to ensure that the robot or virtual pet causes no harm. There is also the impact of new technology in the society on the one hand, replacing people with robots may reduce labour costs and contribute to unemployment in society, but new jobs in the information technology industry are created. For millions of years, the organisms of Earth have been evolutionary shaped by ecological forces. Modern humans are the only creatures able to substantially impact the biological system in which they live. Allenby pointed out that human intentionality is being extended to unprecedented scales. This is easily seen within the framework of NBIC technologies. Nanotechnology is the means for manipulating the environment at the molecular level. Through modern biotechnology, humans endeavor to direct their own evolution. Information technology and cognitive science are both exploring ways to increase the speed and range of information a person can assess, whether by artificial computing or expanding cognitive capacity.

Public Opinion
We have seen how human enhancement will benefit us, but to accept or reject it are matters that will be fought in the court of public opinion. Public opinion is William Saletans forte. As the Chief National Correspondent for Slate.com, Saletan has covered public reaction to any number of emerging technologies.

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Polls that specifically addressed public attitudes towards enhancement were not available, so Saletan collected survey results on specific HE-related technologies to paint a picture. Among the polls he discussed was a 2004 survey sponsored by the Genetics and Public Policy Center of Johns Hopkins University on Reproductive Genetic Testing: What America Thinks.20 The survey revealed that a majority of Americans favor either banning (11%) or regulating (43%) prenatal genetic testing. Though conservative on this issue, most people do not favor the government making reproductive and medical decisions for them. Of those surveyed, 67% agreed with the statement, Let people decide for themselves because the consequences are so personal, and 70% said they were concerned about government regulators invading private reproductive decisions. As with all surveys done, questions have been rising and context will be considered when interpreting the results. Because of the variations in questions help catch some of the subtleties surrounding enhancement and how these subtleties intersect with reproductive technology issues. Results revealed on masses has made a sense of fatalism about crossing the line with HE technologies. The Genetics and Public Policy Center survey found 75% of those surveyed agreed with the statement reproductive genetic technology will inevitably lead to genetic enhancement and designer babies. In a related question, 70% of those surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that the ability to control human reproduction will lead to treating children like products.iii

The Case For and Against Enhancement - Hughes and Cohen

The debate over HE technology reflects differences in how one perceives human nature. In one sense, humans are driven to instinctively control and manipulate the world around them. Whether it is building fire, creating language, or engineering ships to traverse water and space, the course of human history has documented the species unique drive to exceed its limitations. In another sense, much of this control and manipulation has been external to the body. While medicine has provided humans an increasing ability to repair and shape their bodies, it has typically offered corrective measures within the boundaries of what one might consider the normal spectrum. In large part, debates over HE technology reflect those contrasting views of human nature. James Hughes, executive director of the World Transhumanist Association, and Eric Cohen, director of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, presented the case for and against HE as a function of different conceptions of human nature. Hughes argued that by denying the natural human instinct to improve oneself and develop technology, humans are denying their identity. Cohen countered with the argument that by radically transforming the human form, we change how we perceive and experience the world, and risk undermining our identity and dignity as human beings. Hughes began his case by stating that the ethical considerations linked to human enhancement beg a differentiation between personhood and humanness. In Hughess opinion, personhood exists when an individual is consciously aware of himself and has long-term goals or intentions. By this definition, one can be human and not a person (such as a brain dead individual), or a person but not

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Professional Issues

0970036

human (such as an ape). The goal of a democracy is to protect an individuals right to express personhood, excel, and reach his/her fullest potential. As such, citizens have a fundamental right to technologic self-determination and control over their own lives and abilities. At the conclusion of both presentations, the discussion that followed illuminated one of the major challenges to sustaining a productive human enhancement dialogue. Participants felt that both sides had valid points, but the use of polarizing language and harsh criticisms of each others positions made consensus building difficult, if not impossible. As one attendee observed, the way you describe each others positions makes them hard to bridge and discuss. Others agreed, yet acknowledged that the language and phrasing of both Hughes and Cohen were in many ways typical of human enhancement dialogue.

Recommendation
Meeting participants offered several suggestions for what AAAS might do as follow-on to this meeting. 1. Help refine HE terminology. Developing greater clarity about when and how HE should be used. 2. Bring scientists to the table with science-fiction writers and/or Hollywood producers. Many science-fiction writers and producers have already engaged in imaginative thought- experiments about what a world marked by extensive HE might look like. Feedback from such groups might help to flesh out interesting new dynamics to address. 3. Convene more interdisciplinary meetings on HE that reach out to a wide range of stakeholders, especially those whose views have historically been excluded from such discussion. 4. Contribute to better forecasting methods. For example, participants suggested the possibility of modeling HE convergence against past sociotechnical convergences, such as the industrial revolution. 5. Use the Associations access to scientists across diverse disciplines to develop specific case studies on various HE technologies to identify technically realistic scenarios for public deliberation. Participants recognized that some areas will have a more developed dialogue and literature than others, but that each of the different areas should be examined independently. 6. Participate in efforts to assess potential policy guidelines in specific areas of HE research and technology.

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Conclusion
Reading this report, you will be able to understand the polarizing nature of human enhancements dialogues. Some shared values from both the conservative and progressive sides of the human enhancement has left companies debating in an effort to parse out some common ground for future. Shared values identified included: health, freedom, equity, diversity, solidarity/community, regulation/ access/distribution as they relate social justice, shared concern over the commodification of children and the body, and the search for both the meaning of life and a meaningful life. Below are identified factors that affect the development of human enhancement: Economics of aging/longevity Marketplace and corporate generated demand Globalization Religion (western and non-western) R & D investment by government and industry Patent and intellectually property law FDA procedures Therapeutic vs. enhancement distinctions Medical procedures and standards Trust in science/scientists accountability National security Healthcare equity Medicalization vs. normalization of physical and mental features Safety and social/environmental impacts Media coverage

Aminu Lamin Dantata

Professional Issues

0970036

Reference
David Nicholls (2010).Human Enhancement. 1 .scothland: irish council for bioethics. 1 ii a b c Roco, Mihail C. and Bainbridge, William Sims, eds. (2004). Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance. Springer. ISBN 1402012543.
i iii

http://www.aaas.org/spp/sfrl/projects/human_enhancement/pdfs/HESummar yReport.pdf Nick Bostrom (2008).Ethical Issues in human enhancement. New waves in applied ethics. 120-152(1), 3-7.