Human Enhancement Bibliography

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Human Enhancement Bibliography Human Enhancement Bibliography Year 2016 Description A annotated bibliography looking at ethical issues and societal implications raised by human enhancement, including cybernetic and genetic technologies, cognitive enhancement, moral enhancement, and what it means to be human. Types of materials included in the bibliography include policy documents, reports web sites, films, books and journal articles. Body Policies and Guidelines Academy of Medical Sciences (Great Britain), British Academy., Royal Academy of Engineering (Great Britain), and Royal Society (Great Britain). 2012. Human enhancement and the future of work. London: The Academy of Medical Sciences. A report from a joint Academies meeting that looked at how human enhancement and related technological advancements could change how people work over the next decade. President’s Council on Bioethics (United States). 2003. Beyond therapy: Biotechnology and the pursuit of happiness. A report that explores the profound ethical and social consequences of today’s biotechnological revolution and looks at how to responsibly use them in an age where human enhancement is possible. President’s Council on Bioethics (United States). 2015. Gray Matters: Topics at the Intersection of Neuroscience, Ethics and Society. Volume 2 Chapter two of this report provides a good overview of the cognitive enhancement technologies and ethical concerns raised, and offers some recommendations for policies that should be put in place to ensure the ethical development of these technologies. Websites Kapustil, Cristina J. and Mark S. Frankel. 2016. Hastings Center Bioethics Briefings: Enhancing Humans Part of the Bioethics Briefings for Journalists, Policymakers and Educators, this site offers an overview of the history of human enhancement, technologies that enable enhancement, an overview of ethical issues including safety, coercion, and fairness, and a collection of further resources on human enhancement. Another policy briefing also looks at enhancement technologies and sports. Masci, David. 2016. Human Enhancement: The Scientific and Ethical Dimensions of Striving for Perfection. Pew Research Center. Provides an accessible overview of recent developments in human enhancement, as well as discussion about ethical issues raised by these technologies. Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics. This site includes overview of enhancement technologies and ethics of enhancement;, and recent publications, lectures and talks by members of the Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics on this topic. Films Brashear, Regan Pretlow, et al. 2013. Fixed : the science/fiction of human enhancement. Blooming Grove, New York: New Day Films. two- dimensional moving image. A documentary film looking at technologies being used to treat and enhance the human body, from bionic limbs, to prenatal screening, and discusses some of the ethical and social implications of these technologies. Books and Reports Agar, Nicholas. 2004. Liberal eugenics: in defense of human enhancement . Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Argues that parents should be allowed to enhance their children. Agar, Nicholas. 2014. Truly human enhancement. A philosophical defense of limits, Basic Bioethics. Cambridge: The MIT Press. The transformative potential of genetic and cybernetic technologies to enhance human capabilities is most often either rejected on moral and prudential grounds or hailed as the future salvation of humanity. In this book, Nicholas Agar offers a more nuanced view, making a case for moderate human enhancement -- improvements to attributes and abilities that do not significantly exceed what is currently possible for human beings. He argues against radical human enhancement, or improvements that greatly exceed current human capabilities. Al-Rodhan, Nayef R. F. 2011. The politics of emerging strategic technologies: implications for geopolitics, human enhancement, and human destiny. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan: in association with St Anthony's College. The author examines key trends in emerging strategic technologies and the implications for geopolitics and human dignity. Al-Rodhan argues that future evolution into transhumans is inevitable. In preparation, the global community is urged to establish strict moral and legal guidelines balancing innovation with the guarantee of dignity for all. Bostrom, Nick and Julian Savulescu. 2008. Human Enhancement. New York: Oxford University Press. An excellent collection of eighteen essays on the human enhancement debate that discusses what enhancement is, what it means to be human, how enhancement might change human nature, and provides critiques of recent technologies, such as genetic engineering, prenatal diagnosis, and other biomedical interventions that are likely to be used to enhance humans in the future. Bateman, Simone, Jean Gayon, Sylvie Allouche, Jérôme Goffette, and Michela Marzano. 2015. Inquiring into human enhancement: interdisciplinary and international perspectives, Health, technology and society. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Human enhancement has become a major concern in debates about the future of contemporary societies. This interdisciplinary book is devoted to clarifying the underlying ambiguities of these debates, and to proposing novel ways of exploring what human enhancement means and understanding what practices, goals and justifications it entails. Buchanan, Allen. 2011. Beyond Humanity? The ethics of biomedical enhancement. New York: Oxford University Press. Human enhancement raises enduring questions about what it is to be human, about individuality, about our relationship to nature, and about what sort of society we should strive to have. The author argues that the debate about enhancement needs to be informed by a proper understanding of evolutionary biology, which has discredited the simplistic conceptions of human nature used by many opponents of enhancement. He argues that there are powerful reasons for us to embark on the enhancement enterprise, and no objections to enhancement that are sufficient to outweigh them. Clarke, Steve. Julian Savulescu, Tony Coady, Alberto Giubilini, and Sagar Sanyal. 2016. The Ethics of Human Enhancement: Understanding the debate. New York: Oxford University Press. This collection of essays from leading scholars in the field of human enhancement discusses new developments in the area of human enhancement, and the evolving debate around these technologies. Eilers, Miriam, Katrin Grüber, and Christoph Rehmann-Sutter. 2014. "The human enhancement debate and disability: new bodies for a better life." In. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England: Palgrave Macmillan. Improving human characteristics goes beyond compensating for an impairment. This book explores the rich and complex relationship between enhancement and impairment, showing that the study of disability offers new ways of thinking about the social and ethical implications of improving the human condition. European Parliament. 2009. Human Enhancement Study. This study done in 2009 for the European Parliament defines human enhancement and enhancement technologies and then looks at the social impact and ethical issues inherent in the development and use of enhancement technologies in the following cases: designer babies, use of Ritalin to improve school/work performance and deep brain stimulation. Harris, John. 2016. How to be Good: The possibility of moral enhancement. New York: Oxford University Press. There are many proposed methodologies or technologies for moral enhancement. Some of them are ancient and/or familiar: we may attempt moral enhancement by setting a good example, by good parenting, by education or training, or we can use medical, biological, or other scientific means; we can search for and deploy chemicals, or biological or molecular agents, which we believe will change people for the better; and we can modify the environment to make bad outcomes of all sorts less likely. We can experiment with political and social systems, institutions, and arrangements designed to make the world a better place or people better people. The question whether and to what extent moral enhancement is possible is the subject of this book. Gasson, Mark N., Eleni Kosta, and Diana Bowman. 2012. Human ICT implants: technical, legal and ethical considerations. In Information technology and law series. Hague, The Netherlands: T.M.C. Asser Press. Information and communication technology (ICT) has been implanted in the human body for years and these technologies (such as cochlear implants) for therapeutic proposes. Now, low-tech human ICT implants have been increasingly used for non- therapeutic purposes, such as VIP nightclub entry, automated payments, and controlling secure access. While self-experimenters push the boundaries and medical technologies become used for non-medical applications, this collection of essays explore the latest technological developments and the legal, social and ethical implications of the use and further application of these technologies. Jotterand, Fabrice and Veljiko Dubljevic. Cognitive Enhancement: Ethical and policy implications in international perspectives. New York: Oxford University Press The editors of this book take an international view of the field of cognitive enhancement by examining the conceptual implications stemming from competing points of view about the nature and goals of enhancement, the ethical, social, and legal implications of neuroenhancement from an international and global perspective including contributions from
Recommended publications
  • Human Enhancement Technologies and Our Merger with Machines
    Human Enhancement and Technologies Our Merger with Machines Human • Woodrow Barfield and Blodgett-Ford Sayoko Enhancement Technologies and Our Merger with Machines Edited by Woodrow Barfield and Sayoko Blodgett-Ford Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in Philosophies www.mdpi.com/journal/philosophies Human Enhancement Technologies and Our Merger with Machines Human Enhancement Technologies and Our Merger with Machines Editors Woodrow Barfield Sayoko Blodgett-Ford MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade • Manchester • Tokyo • Cluj • Tianjin Editors Woodrow Barfield Sayoko Blodgett-Ford Visiting Professor, University of Turin Boston College Law School Affiliate, Whitaker Institute, NUI, Galway USA Editorial Office MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 4052 Basel, Switzerland This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Philosophies (ISSN 2409-9287) (available at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/philosophies/special issues/human enhancement technologies). For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below: LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. Journal Name Year, Volume Number, Page Range. ISBN 978-3-0365-0904-4 (Hbk) ISBN 978-3-0365-0905-1 (PDF) Cover image courtesy of N. M. Ford. © 2021 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications. The book as a whole is distributed by MDPI under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND.
    [Show full text]
  • Transcript(PDF 68.39
    TRANSCRIPT STANDING COMMITTEE ON LEGAL AND SOCIAL ISSUES Inquiry into end-of-life choices Melbourne — 19 August 2015 Members Mr Edward O’Donohue — Chair Mr Daniel Mulino Ms Nina Springle — Deputy Chair Ms Fiona Patten Ms Margaret Fitzherbert Mrs Inga Peulich Mr Cesar Melhem Ms Jaclyn Symes Participating Members Mr Gordon Rich-Phillips Staff Secretary: Ms Lilian Topic Research assistants: Ms Annemarie Burt and Ms Kim Martinow Witness Professor Julian Savulescu. 19 August 2015 Standing Committee on Legal and Social Issues 1 The CHAIR — I declare open the Legislative Council’s legal and social issues committee public hearing in relation to the inquiry into end-of-life choices. I welcome Professor Julian Savulescu, the Uehiro chair in practical ethics; director, Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics; director, Oxford Centre for Neuroethics; Sir Louis Matheson distinguished visiting professor, Monash University; doctoris honoris causa, University of Bucharest. Professor, we are very pleased you could join us tonight. Before we start I caution that all evidence taken at this hearing is protected by parliamentary privilege as provided by the Constitution Act 1975 and further subject to the provisions of the Legislative Council’s standing orders. Therefore you are protected against any action for what you say here today, but any comments made outside the hearing are not afforded such privilege. Today’s evidence is being recorded. You will be provided with proof versions of the transcript within the next week. Transcripts will ultimately be made public and posted on the committee’s website. We have allowed an hour for our session tonight, so I invite you to make some opening remarks and an opening statement, and thereafter the committee will have questions.
    [Show full text]
  • Moral Bioenhancement: an Ethical and Philosophical Investigation
    Moral Bioenhancement: An Ethical and Philosophical Investigation by Andrea C Palk Dissertation presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University Supervisor: Prof Anton A van Niekerk March 2018 The financial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) towards this research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed, and conclusions arrived at, are those of the author and are not necessarily to be attributed to the NRF Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za DECLARATION By submitting this thesis electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own original work, that I am the sole author thereof (save to the extent explicitly otherwise stated), that reproduction and publication thereof by Stellenbosch University will not infringe any third party rights and that I have not previously in its entirety, or in part, submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Signed – Andrea Palk (March 2018) Copyright © 2018 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za Abstract It has been argued, in the bioethics literature, that traditional forms of moral instruction and development are no longer adequate in equipping humanity to address the urgent nature of the ethical problems facing contemporary societies. Rather than continuing to rely upon these supposedly ineffective methods, we should explore the possibility of biologically enhancing our morality. This would entail both decreasing the likelihood that we would wish to cause harm to others as well as increasing our motivation to do good. The proponents of moral bioenhancement argue that the best way of achieving this would be to isolate which affective dispositions, that are associated with moral traits, are susceptible to biological modification and to biologically enhance these dispositions.
    [Show full text]
  • To Be, Or Not to Be? the Role of the Unconscious in Transgender Transitioning: Identity, Autonomy and Well-Being
    Extended essay To be, or not to be? The role of the unconscious in J Med Ethics: first published as 10.1136/medethics-2021-107397 on 30 July 2021. Downloaded from transgender transitioning: identity, autonomy and well- being Alessandra Lemma,1 Julian Savulescu 2,3,4 1Visiting Professor, ABSTRACT yet gone through puberty are not able to properly Psychoanalysis Unit, University The exponential rise in transgender self- identification understand the ‘lifelong medical, psychological and College London, London, UK 2 emotional implications’ of taking puberty blockers Faculty of Philosophy, invites consideration of what constitutes an ethical University of Oxford, Oxford, UK response to transgender individuals’ claims about how and cross- sex hormones; and second, the experi- 3Biomedical Ethics Research best to promote their well- being. In this paper, we mental nature of puberty blockers specifically, with Group, Murdoch Childrens argue that ’accepting’ a claim to medical transitioning potentially significant unknown side effects and Research Institute, Parkville, 3 in order to promote well- being would be in the person’s little evidence of long-term benefits. In practice, Victoria, Australia 4Melbourne Law School, best interests iff at the point of request the individual this ruling now forbids the prescription of puberty University of Melbourne, is correct in their self- diagnosis as transgender (i.e., suppressants without court order. This particular Melbourne, Victoria, Australia the distress felt to reside in the body does not result ruling is in the process of being challenged by the from another psychological and/or societal problem) GID. A more recent 2021 court order allows for Correspondence to such that the medical interventions they are seeking the prescription as long as there is parental consent.
    [Show full text]
  • Autonomy and the Ethics of Biological Behaviour Modification Julian Savulescu, Thomas Douglas, Ingmar Persson
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by PhilPapers Autonomy and the Ethics of Biological Behaviour Modification Julian Savulescu, Thomas Douglas, Ingmar Persson [This is a pre-publication version. The final version is available in A Akabayashi (ed) The Future of Bioethics: International Dialogues, Oxford University Press.] Much disease and disability is the result of lifestyle behaviours. For example, the contribution of imprudence in the form of smoking, poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, and drug and alcohol abuse to ill-health is now well established. More importantly, some of the greatest challenges facing humanity as a whole – climate change, terrorism, global poverty, depletion of resources, abuse of children, overpopulation – are the result of human behaviour. In this chapter, we will explore the possibility of using advances in the cognitive sciences to develop strategies to intentionally manipulate human motivation and behaviour. While our arguments apply also to improving prudential motivation and behaviour in relation to health, we will focus on the more controversial instance: the deliberate targeted use of biomedicine to improve moral motivation and behaviour. We do this because the challenge of improving human morality is arguably the most important issue facing humankind (Persson and Savulescu, forthcoming). We will ask whether using the knowledge from the biological and cognitive sciences to influence motivation and behaviour erodes autonomy and, if so, whether this makes it wrong.1 1. COGNITIVE SCIENCE AND BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION One of the emerging subdisciplines of the cognitive sciences is the cognitive science of motivation and behaviour. Advanced techniques in neuroscience, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, together with sophisticated pharmacological, psychological and economic experiments have begun to shed light on the subtle neural and psychological bases of motivation and behaviour.
    [Show full text]
  • Future of Genetics Julian Savulescu
    Doha Debate 8: Future of Genetics Lesson Plan 4a - Julian Savulescu FLEXIBLE INSTRUCTION This lesson and related activities are designed to support in-class learning, elearning, and distance learning (students working online at home while the instructor checks in digitally.) STAGE 1: DESIRED GOALS ESTABLISHED GOAL Demonstrate an understanding of how genetic human enhancement is a moral obligation going into the future. MEANING UNDERSTANDINGS ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Students will understand that... What is the importance of human wellbeing? Gene editing can give the next generation a In what ways does nature not allocate genes equally better life. in humans? We already use biological interventions. How is wellbeing appealed to in daily life? People can already avoid certain genetic Which biological interventions are already being disorders with gene editing. used? There will need to be strong ethical How are people able to avoid genetic disorders with principles around gene editing. current technology? The promotion of wellbeing should be the Why might we not need as much genetic diversity as central idea behind gene editing. we once did? What role does ethics play in human enhancement? How might our species change with gene editing? ACQUISITION Students will know... Students will be able to... Key issues surrounding the future of Explain how gene editing is a moral obligation. human enhancement through gene Describe ways gene editing has the potential to editing. create a new species of humans. Differing ways gene enhancement may benefit people. ProjectExplorer x Doha Debates, 2020 ENGAGEMENT Students will.. Learn about what choices you might make if you had the opportunity to choose what you look like.
    [Show full text]
  • Ethical Issues in Human Enhancement
    Ethical Issues in Human Enhancement Nick Bostrom Rebecca Roache (2008) [Published in New Waves in Applied Ethics, eds. Jesper Ryberg, Thomas Petersen & Clark Wolf (Pelgrave Macmillan, 2008): pp. 120-152] www.nickbostrom.com What is Human Enhancement? Human enhancement has emerged in recent years as a blossoming topic in applied ethics. With continuing advances in science and technology, people are beginning to realize that some of the basic parameters of the human condition might be changed in the future. One important way in which the human condition could be changed is through the enhancement of basic human capacities. If this becomes feasible within the lifespan of many people alive today, then it is important now to consider the normative questions raised by such prospects. The answers to these questions might not only help us be better prepared when technology catches up with imagination, but they may be relevant to many decisions we make today, such as decisions about how much funding to give to various kinds of research. Enhancement is typically contraposed to therapy. In broad terms, therapy aims to fix something that has gone wrong, by curing specific diseases or injuries, while enhancement interventions aim to improve the state of an organism beyond its normal healthy state. However, the distinction between therapy and enhancement is problematic, for several reasons. First, we may note that the therapy-enhancement dichotomy does not map onto any corresponding dichotomy between standard-contemporary-medicine and medicine- as-it-could-be-practised-in-the-future. Standard contemporary medicine includes many practices that do not aim to cure diseases or injuries.
    [Show full text]
  • Forthcoming in Bioethics. Please Cite Final Version 1 Moral Enhancement and Those Left Behind Abstract
    Forthcoming in Bioethics. Please Cite Final Version Moral Enhancement and Those Left Behind Abstract: Opponents to genetic or biomedical human enhancement often claim that the availability of these technologies would have negative consequences for those who either choose not to utilize these resources or lack access to them. However, Thomas Douglas has argued that this objection has no force against the use of technologies that aim to bring about morally desirable character traits, as the unenhanced would benefit from being surrounded by such people. I will argue that things are not as straightforward as Douglas makes out. The widespread use of moral enhancement would raise the standards for praise and blame worthiness, making it much harder for the unenhanced to perform praiseworthy actions or avoid performing blameworthy actions. This shows that supporters of moral enhancement cannot avoid this challenge in the way that Douglas suggests. Introduction Suppose humanity had the potential to use biomedical enhancement techniques to produce human beings with morally improved character traits. What would the moral implications of the availability of this technology be? This question is not one of mere theoretical importance. There are a number of existing drugs that may be capable of doing this job. The neurotransmitter Oxytocin, for example, has been found by Kosfield et al. to increase levels of trust and 1 Forthcoming in Bioethics. Please Cite Final Version cooperation between people.1 Similarly, Terbeck et al. have found that there is evidence to suggest that Propranolol may reduce implicit negative racial bias.2 It is no surprise then, that this question has been the subject of much debate in the recent philosophical literature.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ethics of Human Enhancement
    Philosophy Compass 10/4 (2015): 233–243, 10.1111/phc3.12208 The Ethics of Human Enhancement Alberto Giubilini1* and Sagar Sanyal2 1Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, Charles Sturt University 2Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics, University Of Melbourne Abstract Ethical debate surrounding human enhancement, especially by biotechnological means, has burgeoned since the turn of the century. Issues discussed include whether specific types of enhancement are permis- sible or even obligatory, whether they are likely to produce a net good for individuals and for society, and whether there is something intrinsically wrong in playing God with human nature. We characterize the main camps on the issue, identifying three main positions: permissive, restrictive and conservative posi- tions. We present the major sub-debates and lines of argument from each camp. The review also gives a f lavor of the general approach of key writers in the literature such as Julian Savulescu, Nick Bostrom, Michael Sandel, and Leon Kass. 1. Introduction Human enhancement in contemporary philosophical debate refers to biomedical interventions to improve human capacities, performances, dispositions, and well-being beyond the traditional scope of therapeutic medicine. Some forms of enhancement, such as doping in sport or the pharmaceutical improvement of memory and attention span, are already feasible. Others might be available in the near future, such as genetic engineering to increase cognitive capacities. The ethical issues that arise include whether specific enhancements are permissible, obligatory, or a net good for individuals and for society. Positions in the debate span a continuum between permissive and restrictive views. Authors holding the most permissive positions have no objections to a wide range of enhancements, such as the ones already mentioned.
    [Show full text]
  • Transhumanism and Its Critics on the Ethics of Enhancement Via Brain-Computer Interfacing
    Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-17-2014 12:00 AM Cultivating Better Brains: Transhumanism and its Critics on the Ethics of Enhancement Via Brain-computer Interfacing Matthew Devlin The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Tim Blackmore The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Matthew Devlin 2014 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Devlin, Matthew, "Cultivating Better Brains: Transhumanism and its Critics on the Ethics of Enhancement Via Brain-computer Interfacing" (2014). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1946. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1946 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CULTIVATING BETTER BRAINS: TRANSHUMANISM AND ITS CRITICS ON THE ETHICS OF COGNITIVE ENHANCEMENT VIA BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACING (Thesis format: Monograph) by Matthew Devlin Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Matthew Devlin 2014 Abstract Transhumanists contend that enhancing the human brain—a subfield of human enhancement called cognitive enhancement—is both a crucial and desirable pursuit, supporting the cultivation of a better world.
    [Show full text]
  • Hille Haker, Ph.D. Richard Mccormick, S.J., Chair in Moral Theology
    Hille Haker, Ph.D. Loyola University Richard McCormick, S.J., Chair in Moral Theology 1032 W Sheridan Road Loyola University Chicago Chicago, Illinois 60660 Email: [email protected] Phone: ++1 773 508 2368 Fax: ++1 773 508 2386 ................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 UNIVERSITY POSITIONS, EDUCATION, AND EXPERIENCE .................................................................... 3 I. UNIVERSITY POSITIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 3 II. EDUCATION .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 III. ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE .................................................................................................................................... 4 IV. VISITS ABROAD ................................................................................................................................................. 4 V. TEACHING ........................................................................................................................................................ 4 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ....................................................................................................................................... 6 I. DISSERTATION COMMITTEES ...................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Artificial Intelligence As a Means to Moral Enhancement
    STUDIES IN LOGIC, GRAMMAR AND RHETORIC 48 (61) 2016 DOI: 10.1515/slgr-2016-0061 Michał Klincewicz Jagiellonian University ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A MEANS TO MORAL ENHANCEMENT Abstract. This paper critically assesses the possibility of moral enhance- ment with ambient intelligence technologies and artificial intelligence presented in Savulescu and Maslen (2015). The main problem with their proposal is that it is not robust enough to play a normative role in users’ behavior. A more promising approach, and the one presented in the paper, relies on an artifi- cial moral reasoning engine, which is designed to present its users with moral arguments grounded in first-order normative theories, such as Kantianism or utilitarianism, that reason-responsive people can be persuaded by. This pro- posal can play a normative role and it is also a more promising avenue towards moral enhancement. It is more promising because such a system can be designed to take advantage of the sometimes undue trust that people put in automated technologies. We could therefore expect a well-designed moral reasoner system to be able to persuade people that may not be persuaded by similar arguments from other people. So, all things considered, there is hope in artificial intelli- gence for moral enhancement, but not in artificial intelligence that relies solely on ambient intelligence technologies. Keywords: moral enhancement, artificial intelligence, rhetoric, ambient intelli- gence. 1. The moral lag problem and moral enhancement In a notorious opening section to the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle tells us that only those already brought up well and in possession of the moral virtues can engage in the study of ethics (Nicomachean Ethics 1095b4–6).
    [Show full text]