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Rainey S. An Anticipatory Approach to Ethico-Legal Implications of Future Neurotechnology. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2024; 30:18. [PMID: 38748291 PMCID: PMC11096192 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-024-00482-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
This paper provides a justificatory rationale for recommending the inclusion of imagined future use cases in neurotechnology development processes, specifically for legal and policy ends. Including detailed imaginative engagement with future applications of neurotechnology can serve to connect ethical, legal, and policy issues potentially arising from the translation of brain stimulation research to the public consumer domain. Futurist scholars have for some time recommended approaches that merge creative arts with scientific development in order to theorise possible futures toward which current trends in technology development might be steered. Taking a creative, imaginative approach like this in the neurotechnology context can help move development processes beyond considerations of device functioning, safety, and compliance with existing regulation, and into an active engagement with potential future dynamics brought about by the emergence of the neurotechnology itself. Imagined scenarios can engage with potential consumer uses of devices that might come to challenge legal or policy contexts. An anticipatory, creative approach can imagine what such uses might consist in, and what they might imply. Justifying this approach also prompts a co-responsibility perspective for policymaking in technology contexts. Overall, this furnishes a mode of neurotechnology's emergence that can avoid crises of confidence in terms of ethico-legal issues, and promote policy responses balanced between knowledge, values, protected innovation potential, and regulatory safeguards.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen Rainey
- Department of Values, Technology and Innovation (VTI), Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
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2
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Wexler A. At the Crossroads of Neuroethics and Policy: Navigating Neurorights and Neurotechnology Governance. AJOB Neurosci 2024; 15:77-79. [PMID: 38568700 DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2024.2330570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
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3
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Johnson T, Romanis EC. The relationship between speculation and translation in Bioethics: methods and methodologies. Monash Bioeth Rev 2023; 41:1-19. [PMID: 37770722 PMCID: PMC10754718 DOI: 10.1007/s40592-023-00181-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023]
Abstract
There are increasing pressures for bioethics to emphasise 'translation'. Against this backdrop, we defend 'speculative bioethics'. We explore speculation as an important tool and line of bioethical inquiry. Further, we examine the relationship between speculation and translational bioethics and posit that speculation can support translational work. First, speculative research might be conducted as ethical analysis of contemporary issues through a new lens, in which case it supports translational work. Second, speculation might be a first step prior to translational work on a topic. Finally, speculative bioethics might constitute different content altogether, without translational objectives. For each conception of speculative bioethics, important methodological aspects determine whether it constitutes good bioethics research. We conclude that whether speculative bioethics is compatible with translational bioethics-and to what extent-depends on whether it is being employed as tool or content. Applying standards of impact uniformly across bioethics may inappropriately limit speculative bioethics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tess Johnson
- Ethox Centre, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Elizabeth Chloe Romanis
- Centre for Ethics and Law in the Life Sciences, Durham Law School, University of Durham, Durham, UK.
- Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, and Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Wexler A, Sullivan LS. Translational Neuroethics: A Vision for a More Integrated, Inclusive, and Impactful Field. AJOB Neurosci 2023; 14:388-399. [PMID: 34851808 PMCID: PMC9187971 DOI: 10.1080/21507740.2021.2001078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
As early-career neuroethicists, we come to the field of neuroethics at a unique moment: we are well-situated to consider nearly two decades of neuroethics scholarship and identify challenges that have persisted across time. But we are also looking squarely ahead, embarking on the next generation of exciting and productive neuroethics scholarship. In this article, we both reflect backwards and turn our gaze forward. First, we highlight criticisms of neuroethics, both from scholars within the field and outside it, that have focused on speculation and lack of skepticism; the dearth of consideration of broader social issues such as justice and equality, both with regard to who speaks for neuroethics as a field and who benefits from its recommendations and findings; and the insufficient focus on the practical impact of our ethical work. Second, we embrace the concept of "translational neuroethics" to outline a vision for neuroethics that is integrated, inclusive, and impactful. Integration can help us identify more pertinent, real-world issues, and move away from speculation; inclusivity can help ensure that the questions we attend to are not merely relevant to a single subgroup but aim toward just distribution of benefits; and impact can help us think beyond guidelines and recommendations to focus on implementation. Our goal is for this call to action to help shape neuroethics into a discipline that develops rigorous research agendas through relationships with interdisciplinary partners, that is broadly inclusive and attends to issues beyond novel neurotechnologies, and that is devoted to the translation of scholarship into practice.
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Segers S. The IVG 'relatedness paradox': researchers should mind speculation. Trends Biotechnol 2023; 41:1220-1222. [PMID: 37188574 DOI: 10.1016/j.tibtech.2023.04.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023]
Abstract
Companies and academic laboratories are pursuing the production of gametes from stem cells. Researchers should be active participants in discussions about speculative scenarios, to avoid this endeavor to accommodate genetic parenthood undermines the value it is meant to serve, because of either unrealistic or insufficient ethical reflection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seppe Segers
- Department of Health, Ethics, and Society, Research Institutes GROW and CAPHRI, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6200, The Netherlands; Department of Philosophy and Moral Science, Bioethics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium.
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Segers S, Accoe D. The Ethics of Ectogestative Technology-Telling Science from Science Fiction. JAMA Pediatr 2023; 177:1110. [PMID: 37578789 DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.2820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Seppe Segers
- Bioethics Institute Ghent, Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - Dorian Accoe
- Bioethics Institute Ghent, Department of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
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Selin C, Lambert L, Morain S, Nelson JP, Barlevy D, Farooque M, Manley H, Scott CT. Researching the future: scenarios to explore the future of human genome editing. BMC Med Ethics 2023; 24:72. [PMID: 37735670 PMCID: PMC10512597 DOI: 10.1186/s12910-023-00951-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Forward-looking, democratically oriented governance is needed to ensure that human genome editing serves rather than undercuts public values. Scientific, policy, and ethics communities have recognized this necessity but have demonstrated limited understanding of how to fulfill it. The field of bioethics has long attempted to grapple with the unintended consequences of emerging technologies, but too often such foresight has lacked adequate scientific grounding, overemphasized regulation to the exclusion of examining underlying values, and failed to adequately engage the public. METHODS This research investigates the application of scenario planning, a tool developed in the high-stakes, uncertainty-ridden world of corporate strategy, for the equally high-stakes and uncertain world of the governance of emerging technologies. The scenario planning methodology is non-predictive, looking instead at a spread of plausible futures which diverge in their implications for different communities' needs, cares, and desires. RESULTS In this article we share how the scenario development process can further understandings of the complex and dynamic systems which generate and shape new biomedical technologies and provide opportunities to re-examine and re-think questions of governance, ethics and values. We detail the results of a year-long scenario planning study that engaged experts from the biological sciences, bioethics, social sciences, law, policy, private industry, and civic organizations to articulate alternative futures of human genome editing. CONCLUSIONS Through sharing and critiquing our methodological approach and results of this study, we advance understandings of anticipatory methods deployed in bioethics, demonstrating how this approach provides unique insights and helps to derive better research questions and policy strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia Selin
- School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University, PO Box 876002, 85287-6002, Tempe, AZ, USA.
| | - Lauren Lambert
- School of Sustainability at Arizona State University, 4th floor, Walton Center for Planetary Health, 85281, Tempe, AZ, USA
| | - Stephanie Morain
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, 1809 Ashland Ave, 21212, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - John P Nelson
- School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, 685 Cherry St., Suite 107, 30332, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Dorit Barlevy
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Suite 310D, 77030, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Mahmud Farooque
- Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes, Arizona State University, 1800 I Street, 20006, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Haley Manley
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Suite 310D, 77030, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christopher T Scott
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Suite 310D, 77030, Houston, TX, USA
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Bikson M, Giordano J. Defining distinction between real vs hypothetical problems in the ethics of neurotechnology. Brain Stimul 2023; 16:977-979. [PMID: 37301469 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2023.05.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Marom Bikson
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York, USA.
| | - James Giordano
- Dept of Neurology and Neuroethics Studies Program, Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics, Georgetown University Medical Center, USA
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Chandler JA, Van der Loos KI, Boehnke S, Beaudry JS, Buchman DZ, Illes J. Brain Computer Interfaces and Communication Disabilities: Ethical, Legal, and Social Aspects of Decoding Speech From the Brain. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:841035. [PMID: 35529778 PMCID: PMC9069963 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.841035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
A brain-computer interface technology that can decode the neural signals associated with attempted but unarticulated speech could offer a future efficient means of communication for people with severe motor impairments. Recent demonstrations have validated this approach. Here we assume that it will be possible in future to decode imagined (i.e., attempted but unarticulated) speech in people with severe motor impairments, and we consider the characteristics that could maximize the social utility of a BCI for communication. As a social interaction, communication involves the needs and goals of both speaker and listener, particularly in contexts that have significant potential consequences. We explore three high-consequence legal situations in which neurally-decoded speech could have implications: Testimony, where decoded speech is used as evidence; Consent and Capacity, where it may be used as a means of agency and participation such as consent to medical treatment; and Harm, where such communications may be networked or may cause harm to others. We then illustrate how design choices might impact the social and legal acceptability of these technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A. Chandler
- Bertram Loeb Research Chair, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- *Correspondence: Jennifer A. Chandler,
| | | | - Susan Boehnke
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Jonas S. Beaudry
- Institute for Health and Social Policy (IHSP) and Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Daniel Z. Buchman
- Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Krembil Research Institute, University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Judy Illes
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Abstract
AbstractThis paper analyses recent calls for so called “neurorights”, suggested novel human rights whose adoption is allegedly required because of advances in neuroscience, exemplified by a proposal of the Neurorights Initiative. Advances in neuroscience and technology are indeed impressive and pose a range of challenges for the law, and some novel applications give grounds for human rights concerns. But whether addressing these concerns requires adopting novel human rights, and whether the proposed neurorights are suitable candidates, are a different matter. This paper argues that the proposed rights, as individuals and a class, should not be adopted and lobbying on their behalf should stop. The proposal tends to promote rights inflationism, is tainted by neuroexceptionalism and neuroessentialism, and lacks grounding in relevant scholarship. None of the proposed individual rights passes quality criteria debated in the field. While understandable from a moral perspective, the proposal is fundamentally flawed from a legal perspective. Rather than conjuring up novel human rights, existing rights should be further developed in face of changing societal circumstances and technological possibilities.
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Scott CT, Barlevy D. How Ethics Can Better Anticipate the Consequences of Emerging Biotechnologies. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS : AJOB 2021; 22:46-48. [PMID: 36569466 PMCID: PMC9788647 DOI: 10.1080/15265161.2021.2001112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Thomas Scott
- Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, 77030-3411 United States
| | - Dorit Barlevy
- Baylor College of Medicine, Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Houston, 77030-3411 United States
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12
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Nelson JP, Selin CL, Scott CT. Toward Anticipatory Governance of Human Genome Editing: A Critical Review of Scholarly Governance Discourse. JOURNAL OF RESPONSIBLE INNOVATION 2021; 8:382-420. [PMID: 35281674 PMCID: PMC8916747 DOI: 10.1080/23299460.2021.1957579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 07/14/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The rapid development of human genome editing (HGE) techniques evokes an urgent need for forward-looking deliberation regarding the aims, processes, and governance of research. The framework of anticipatory governance (AG) may serve this need. This article reviews scholarly discourse about HGE through an AG lens, aiming to identify gaps in discussion and practice and suggest how AG efforts may fill them. Discourse on HGE has insufficiently reckoned with the institutional and systemic contexts, inputs, and implications of HGE work, to the detriment of its ability to prepare for a variety of possible futures and pursue socially desirable ones. More broadly framed and inclusive efforts in foresight and public engagement, focused not only upon the in-principle permissibility of HGE activities but upon the contexts of such work, may permit improved identification of public values relevant to HGE and of actions by which researchers, funders, policymakers, and publics may promote them.
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Affiliation(s)
- John P. Nelson
- School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University, 1120 South Cady Mall, Tempe, Arizona 85287-5603
| | - Cynthia L. Selin
- School for the Future of Innovation in Society/Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes, Arizona State University, 1120 South Cady Mall, Tempe, Arizona 85287-5603
| | - Christopher T. Scott
- Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, One Baylor Plaza, Houston, Texas 77030-3411
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Quintal A, Messier V, Rabasa-Lhoret R, Racine E. A qualitative study exploring the expectations of people living with type 1 diabetes regarding prospective use of a hybrid closed-loop system. Diabet Med 2020; 37:1832-1840. [PMID: 32298490 PMCID: PMC8232376 DOI: 10.1111/dme.14309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
AIM To identify the expectations of a diversified sample of informed adults with type 1 diabetes on their prospective use of a hybrid closed-loop system. METHODS Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 adults with type 1 diabetes who shared their expectations on an experimental hybrid closed-loop system after receiving information on its design, functioning and capability. The sample had equal representation of genders and diabetes management methods and was diversified according to age, education and occupation when possible. Qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts with MaxQDA was used to identify expected benefits, expected inconveniences and concerns, expected improvements to design and functionalities, and interest and trust in the system. RESULTS Participants expected benefits regarding diabetes management, clinical outcomes, psychosocial aspects of their lives, nutrition and meals, and physical activity. Participants expected inconveniences or shared concerns regarding wearability, costs and technical limitations. According to participants, improvements could be made to the system's physical appearance, practical convenience, functionalities, and software integration. Overall, 12 participants would use the system. While participants' trust could be immediate or grow over time, it could ultimately be conditional on the system's performance. CONCLUSION Prospective users' general enthusiasm and trust foster the clinical and commercial success of hybrid closed-loop systems. However, poor user satisfaction caused by unrealistic expectations and plausible inconveniences and concerns may limit this success. Providing prospective users with comprehensive information while validating their understanding could mitigate unrealistic expectations. Improvements to design and coverage policies could favour uptake.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Quintal
- Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, University of Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - V Messier
- Metabolic Diseases Research Unit and Diabetes Clinic, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - R Rabasa-Lhoret
- Metabolic Diseases Research Unit and Diabetes Clinic, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Nutrition, University of Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Montreal Diabetes Research Centre and Endocrinology Division, Centre Hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - E Racine
- Pragmatic Health Ethics Research Unit, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, University of Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Experimental Medicine and Biomedical Ethics Unit, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Medicine, University of Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Abstract
What purpose can be served by empirically unsubstantiated speculation in ethics? In answering that question, we need to distinguish between the major branches of ethics. In foundational moral philosophy, the use of speculative examples is warranted to the extent that ethical principles and theories are assumed to be applicable even under the extreme circumstances referred to in these examples. Such an assumption is in need of justification, and it cannot just be taken for granted. In applied ethics, the use of unrealistic scenarios is more difficult to justify. It can be positively harmful if it diverts our attention from more urgent issues. Neuroethics is one of the areas of applied ethics where speculative scenarios have taken up much of the attention that could instead have been devoted to problems that are relevant for the treatment and care of patients. Speculative ethics has often been defended with mere possibility arguments that may at first hand seem difficult to refute. It is shown with examples how such claims can be defeated with a combination of science and argumentation analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Wexler
- University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine
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17
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Kubu CS, Ford PJ, Wilt JA, Merner AR, Montpetite M, Zeigler J, Racine E. Pragmatism and the Importance of Interdisciplinary Teams in Investigating Personality Changes following DBS. NEUROETHICS-NETH 2019; 2019. [PMID: 32952741 PMCID: PMC7500511 DOI: 10.1007/s12152-019-09418-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Gilbert and colleagues (2018) point out the discrepancy between the limited empirical data illustrating changes in personality (and related concepts of identity, agency, authenticity, autonomy, and self, i.e., PIAAAS) following implantation of deep brain stimulating (DBS) electrodes and the vast number of conceptual neuroethics papers implying that these changes are widespread, deleterious, and clinically significant. Their findings are reminiscent of C. P. Snow’s essay on the divide between the two cultures of the humanities (representing the conceptual publications) and the sciences (representing the empirical work). This division in the literature raises significant ethical concerns surrounding unjustified fear of personality changes in the context of DBS and negative perceptions of clinician-scientists engaged in DBS. These concerns have real world implications for funding future innovative, DBS trials aimed to reduce suffering as well as hampering true interdisciplinary scholarship. We argue that the philosophical tradition of pragmatism and the value it places on empirical inquiry, experiential knowledge, and inter-disciplinary scholarship – reflecting diverse ways of knowing – provides a framework to start to address the important questions Gilbert and colleagues raise. In particular, we highlight the importance of expert clinician knowledge in contributing to the neuroethical questions raised by Gilbert and colleagues. Finally, we provide illustrative examples of some of our interdisciplinary empirical research that demonstrate the iterative cycle of inquiry characteristic of pragmatism in which conceptual neuroethics questions have led to empirical studies whose results then raise additional conceptual questions that give rise to new empirical studies in a way that highlights the contributions of the humanities and the sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cynthia S Kubu
- Center for Neurological Restoration, Cleveland Clinic, P57, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195.,Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University
| | - Paul J Ford
- Center for Neurological Restoration, Cleveland Clinic, P57, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195.,Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University
| | - Joshua A Wilt
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University
| | - Amanda R Merner
- Center for Neurological Restoration, Cleveland Clinic, P57, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195.,Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University
| | - Michelle Montpetite
- Center for Neurological Restoration, Cleveland Clinic, P57, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195
| | - Jaclyn Zeigler
- Center for Neurological Restoration, Cleveland Clinic, P57, 9500 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44195
| | - Eric Racine
- Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal
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18
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Umbrello S. Atomically Precise Manufacturing and Responsible Innovation. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOETHICS 2019. [DOI: 10.4018/ijt.2019070101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Although continued investments in nanotechnology are made, atomically precise manufacturing (APM) to date is still regarded as speculative technology. APM, also known as molecular manufacturing, is a token example of a converging technology, has great potential to impact and be affected by other emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and ICT. The development of APM thus can have drastic global impacts depending on how it is designed and used. This article argues that the ethical issues that arise from APM - as both a standalone technology or as a converging one - affects the roles of stakeholders in such a way as to warrant an alternate means furthering responsible innovation in APM research. This article introduces a value-based design methodology called value sensitive design (VSD) that may serve as a suitable framework to adequately cater to the values of stakeholders. Ultimately, it is concluded that VSD is a strong candidate framework for addressing the moral concerns of stakeholders during the preliminary stages of technological development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven Umbrello
- Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, Torino, Italy
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Steward A, Pickersgill M. Developing expertise, customising sleep, enhancing study practices: exploring the legitimisation of modafinil use within the accounts of UK undergraduate students. DRUGS (ABINGDON, ENGLAND) 2019; 26:347-355. [PMID: 31391711 PMCID: PMC6636896 DOI: 10.1080/09687637.2018.1555231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Revised: 11/27/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Abstract
Introduction and aim: Increasing numbers of students are reportedly using prescription medications to enhance cognition. This study aimed to generate qualitative data on UK students' understandings and perspectives of the risks and benefits surrounding so-called 'study drugs' (particularly, modafinil). Design and methods: Fifteen undergraduate students studying biomedical science subjects were interviewed about their perspectives on study drugs. Interviews were recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis. Users and non-users were included in the sample. Results: The prescription status and comparisons to other legal and illicit stimulants informed accounts of the (lack of) risks associated with study drugs, legitimising use. The customisation of sleep(iness) and wakefulness was described as a key benefit of study drug use. Drivers of use related to university pressures and desires to increase productivity. In periods of heightened stress, such as examinations, students reported altered practices and perspectives on risk. Discussion and conclusions: We noted the contextual nature of students' use and risk appraisals, with fluctuating social contexts and pressures over time being capable of altering prior assessments and current practices (including the legitimisation of study drug consumption). Further, we highlighted the degree to which students leveraged their biomedical and experiential expertise to account for drug consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Steward
- Independent, Edinburgh, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Martyn Pickersgill
- Centre for Biomedicine, Self and Society, Usher Institute, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
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21
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Mertz M, Schildmann J. Beyond integrating social sciences: Reflecting on the place of life sciences in empirical bioethics methodologies. MEDICINE, HEALTH CARE, AND PHILOSOPHY 2018; 21:207-214. [PMID: 28733796 DOI: 10.1007/s11019-017-9792-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Empirical bioethics is commonly understood as integrating empirical research with normative-ethical research in order to address an ethical issue. Methodological analyses in empirical bioethics mainly focus on the integration of socio-empirical sciences (e.g. sociology or psychology) and normative ethics. But while there are numerous multidisciplinary research projects combining life sciences and normative ethics, there is few explicit methodological reflection on how to integrate both fields, or about the goals and rationales of such interdisciplinary cooperation. In this paper we will review some drivers for the tendency of empirical bioethics methodologies to focus on the collaboration of normative ethics with particularly social sciences. Subsequently, we argue that the ends of empirical bioethics, not the empirical methods, are decisive for the question of which empirical disciplines can contribute to empirical bioethics in a meaningful way. Using already existing types of research integration as a springboard, five possible types of research which encompass life sciences and normative analysis will illustrate how such cooperation can be conceptualized from a methodological perspective within empirical bioethics. We will conclude with a reflection on the limitations and challenges of empirical bioethics research that integrates life sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcel Mertz
- Institute for History, Ethics and Philosophy of Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Straße 1, 30625, Hanover, Germany.
| | - Jan Schildmann
- Institute for Ethics, Wilhelm Löhe University of Applied Science, Fürth Merkurstraße 41/Südstadtpark, 90763, Fürth, Germany
- Department of Medicine III, Klinikum der Universität München, Campus Großhadern, Munich, Germany
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Voarino N, Dubljević V, Racine E. tDCS for Memory Enhancement: Analysis of the Speculative Aspects of Ethical Issues. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 10:678. [PMID: 28123362 PMCID: PMC5225120 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a promising technology to enhance cognitive and physical performance. One of the major areas of interest is the enhancement of memory function in healthy individuals. The early arrival of tDCS on the market for lifestyle uses and cognitive enhancement purposes lead to the voicing of some important ethical concerns, especially because, to date, there are no official guidelines or evaluation procedures to tackle these issues. The aim of this article is to review ethical issues related to uses of tDCS for memory enhancement found in the ethics and neuroscience literature and to evaluate how realistic and scientifically well-founded these concerns are? In order to evaluate how plausible or speculative each issue is, we applied the methodological framework described by Racine et al. (2014) for “informed and reflective” speculation in bioethics. This framework could be succinctly presented as requiring: (1) the explicit acknowledgment of factual assumptions and identification of the value attributed to them; (2) the validation of these assumptions with interdisciplinary literature; and (3) the adoption of a broad perspective to support more comprehensive reflection on normative issues. We identified four major considerations associated with the development of tDCS for memory enhancement: safety, autonomy, justice and authenticity. In order to assess the seriousness and likelihood of harm related to each of these concerns, we analyzed the assumptions underlying the ethical issues, and the level of evidence for each of them. We identified seven distinct assumptions: prevalence, social acceptance, efficacy, ideological stance (bioconservative vs. libertarian), potential for misuse, long term side effects, and the delivery of complete and clear information. We conclude that ethical discussion about memory enhancement via tDCS sometimes involves undue speculation, and closer attention to scientific and social facts would bring a more nuanced analysis. At this time, the most realistic concerns are related to safety and violation of users’ autonomy by a breach of informed consent, as potential immediate and long-term health risks to private users remain unknown or not well defined. Clear and complete information about these risks must be provided to research participants and consumers of tDCS products or related services. Broader public education initiatives and warnings would also be worthwhile to reach those who are constructing their own tDCS devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Voarino
- Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, Université de Montréal, McGill UniversityMontreal, QC, Canada; Bioethics Programme, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health (ÉSPUM), Université de MontréalMontreal, QC, Canada
| | - Veljko Dubljević
- North Carolina State UniversityRaleigh, NC, USA; Neuroethics Research Unit, Institut de recherches cliniques de MontréalMontreal, QC, Canada
| | - Eric Racine
- Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal, Université de Montréal, McGill University Montreal, QC, Canada
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Doukakis S, Stamatellos G, Glinou N. Cognitive Enhancement Using ICT and Its Ethical Implications. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2017; 989:245-253. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-57348-9_21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Pickersgill M, Hogle L. Enhancement, ethics and society: towards an empirical research agenda for the medical humanities and social sciences. MEDICAL HUMANITIES 2015; 41:136-142. [PMID: 26260624 PMCID: PMC4717454 DOI: 10.1136/medhum-2015-010718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
For some time now, bioethicists have paid close attention to issues associated with 'enhancement'; specifically, the appropriate use and regulation of substances and artefacts understood by some to improve the functioning of human bodies beyond that associated with 'normal' function. Medical humanities scholars (aside from philosophers and lawyers) and social scientists have not been frequent participants in debates around enhancement, but could shine a bright light on the range of dilemmas and opportunities techniques of enhancement are purported to introduce. In this paper, we argue that empirical research into the notion and practice of enhancement is necessary and timely. Such work could fruitfully engage with-and further develop-existing conceptual repertoires within the medical humanities and social sciences in ways that would afford benefit to scholars in those disciplines. We maintain that empirical engagements could also provide important resources to bioethicists seeking to regulate new enhancements in ways that are sensitive to societal context and cultural difference. To this end, we outline an empirical agenda for the medical humanities and social sciences around enhancement, emphasising especially how science and technology studies could bring benefits to-and be benefitted by-research in this area. We also use the example of (pharmaceutical) cognitive enhancement to show how empirical studies of actual and likely enhancement practices can nuance resonant bioethical debates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martyn Pickersgill
- Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences and Informatics, Edinburgh Medical School, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Linda Hogle
- Department of Medical History and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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Shook JR, Galvagni L, Giordano J. Cognitive enhancement kept within contexts: neuroethics and informed public policy. Front Syst Neurosci 2014; 8:228. [PMID: 25538573 PMCID: PMC4256981 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2014.00228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2014] [Accepted: 11/12/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurothics has far greater responsibilities than merely noting potential human enhancements arriving from novel brain-centered biotechnologies and tracking their implications for ethics and civic life. Neuroethics must utilize the best cognitive and neuroscientific knowledge to shape incisive discussions about what could possibly count as enhancement in the first place, and what should count as genuinely "cognitive" enhancement. Where cognitive processing and the mental life is concerned, the lived context of psychological performance is paramount. Starting with an enhancement to the mental abilities of an individual, only performances on real-world exercises can determine what has actually been cognitively improved. And what can concretely counts as some specific sort of cognitive improvement is largely determined by the classificatory frameworks of cultures, not brain scans or laboratory experiments. Additionally, where the public must ultimately evaluate and judge the worthiness of individual performance enhancements, we mustn't presume that public approval towards enhancers will somehow automatically arrive without due regard to civic ideals such as the common good or social justice. In the absence of any nuanced appreciation for the control which performance contexts and public contexts exert over what "cognitive" enhancements could actually be, enthusiastic promoters of cognitive enhancement can all too easily depict safe and effective brain modifications as surely good for us and for society. These enthusiasts are not unaware of oft-heard observations about serious hurdles for reliable enhancement from neurophysiological modifications. Yet those observations are far more common than penetrating investigations into the implications to those hurdles for a sound public understanding of cognitive enhancement, and a wise policy review over cognitive enhancement. We offer some crucial recommendations for undertaking such investigations, so that cognitive enhancers that truly deserve public approval can be better identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- John R. Shook
- Philosophy Department and Graduate School of Education, University at BuffaloBuffalo, NY, USA
| | | | - James Giordano
- Neuroethics Studies Program, Pellegrino Center for Clinical Bioethics and Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Medical CenterWashington, DC, USA
- Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians UniversitätMunich, Germany
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Gordijn B, ten Have H. The methodological rigor of anticipatory bioethics. MEDICINE, HEALTH CARE, AND PHILOSOPHY 2014; 17:323-324. [PMID: 24916659 DOI: 10.1007/s11019-014-9578-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
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