Technology & Ethics
Chairperson:
Wendell Wallach,
Lecturer, Yale College; Scholar, Bioethics Center
Advisor:
Carol Pollard, Associate Director, Bioethics Center
This group meets on Wednesdays at 77 Prospect St, room B012, from 4:15-6:15 PM. Supper will be provided with RSVP.
2011-2012 schedule
September 28 William Grassie, Founder and Emeritus Executive Director of the Metanexus Institute on Religion and Science
Is Transhumanism Scientifically Plausible?
October 12 Barbara Oakley, Associate Professor of Engineering, Oakland University, Rochester, MI
Cold-Blooded Kindness: Insights into Pathological Altruism
November 4* David Chalmers, Distinquished Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Centre for Consciousness, Australian National University
The Singularity: A Philosophical Analysis
Click here to be taken to a video of this talk.
December 7 Aimee van Wynsberghe, PhD Candidate in Philosophy, University of Twente
A Framework for Integrating Ethics in the Design of Care Robots
Click here to be taken to a video of this talk.
January 25 Keith Miller,
Louise Hartman Schewe and
Karl Schewe Professor in Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois
"The Rules": Principles in Disguise about Moral Responsibilty for Computing Artifacts
Click here to be taken to a video of this talk.
February 22 Matthew Liao
Will it be less dangerous to use human engineering to adapt
to climate change than geoengineering or other solutions?
March 7 Russel Blackford, Attorney, Science Fiction Writer, and Lecturer at the University of Newcastle
The Case Against Radical Enhancement: Assessing the Central Arguments
Click here to be taken to a video of this talk.
March 30 - April 1 Conference - Speakers TBA
The Moral Brain: Does it exist? Can it be enhanced?
April 25 : Ellen Matloff, Research Scientist, Department of Genetics; Director of Cancer Genetic Counseling, Yale Cancer Center/Yale School of Medicine
Gene Patents, Direct-to-Consumer Testing,
and Other Quandaries in Clinical Cancer Genetics
*Note that this meeting is on a Friday
RSVP to carol.pollard@yale.edu if you wish to attend.
The Technology and Ethics study group examines crucial societal, ethical, and public policy questions arising from the adoption of new technologies. Areas of interest include the benefits and ethical challenges posed by genomics, synthetic biology and artificial life, nanotechnology, neuropharmacology, neuroprosthetics and bionics, stem cell research, telemedicine, radical life extension, cryonics, information technology, virtual reality and augmented reality, ubiquitous and pervasive computing, and artificial intelligence.
The group has considered what defines being "human" or "intelligent"; moral
responsibility for those who design, develop, and deploy new technologies; changes in
how society will function under the impact of new technologies; risk assessment; the
ramifications of bodily, mental, social, and physical enhancements; and whether computers
and robots can be intelligent, show emotions, be conscious, be alive, or make
moral decisions. Indeed, the Technology and Ethics working group was seminal in the
development of the new field of research known as machine ethics.
The membership of the group is eclectic, and in addition to faculty and students at Yale,
includes faculty and professionals from throughout the region. The group has served to
enrich the expertise of members who have developed reputations as authorities in
medical informatics, research ethics, machine ethics, and the ethical challenges of
technologies that enhance human faculties. At least three courses taught at Yale have
been inspired by the group, as well as a yearly seminar on Technology and Ethics for
interns of the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics' internationally recognized summer
program.
The Technology and Ethics study group was founded in the spring of 2002. In the fall of 2002 the study group began inviting speakers for an extended presentation and discussion with the group. Many of these speakers comment on how the opportunity has significantly deepened their understanding of the topics they are researching and of the social and ethical ramifications of their work.
Technology and Ethics Chair
Wendell Wallach
2010-2011 Schedule
2009-2010 Schedule
This page translated into Catalan by David Leoney: http://www.fatcow.com/edu/yale-bioethics-ca/
