Technology and Ethics - Case Study Example

Topic: Essay on centre for human improvement scenario. Introduction The scenario presents a situation where two issues come out clearly. First there is the issue of embracing technology in the centre for human improvement by proposing to use a large experimental ICT project funded by the National Health Service. The other concern is of researchers discovering new ways of integrating their findings due to advancement in technology. The scenario explains that the convergence of technology platforms will bring new approaches to what are currently diverse areas of research. The combination of these technologies will also provide revolutionary advancement in human longevity, quality of life, learning and productivity. In my view I have there are four main stakeholders in the scenario namely the patients, top management, computer programmers and the government. There are also various ethical concerns presented in the scenario. First of all, the centre for human improvement top management and the government intend to put a large experimental ICT intelligent system called Fairchoice to aid in making decisions on certain medical tasks (Herman, 2004). On the other hand, recommendations regarding the type of decision making powers left to this system should be made. Based on known ethical principles, I'm tasked to advise the top management and the government on this issue as the ethics manager. This essay has an exposition, an analysis of the given scenario and a conclusion at the end. Exposition Technological advancement in our times has become a reality that drives home the monumental issues our society will be facing in the not too far-away future, thanks to our increasing technological ability to enhance the human body. A multiplicity of problems arises in the area of human enhancements as exemplified by various cases which have been witnessed in recent times. For instance, the modern history of sport illustrates that there are ceaselessly numerous athletes who will do anything within their means to run faster, jump higher or even swim harder (Eric, 1997). Similarly, performance enhancement, legal or illegal is no longer limited to doping. Take for instance the use of laser surgical procedures to improve eyesight among top athletes. These are not just corrections of bad eyesight to reach the standard 20/20 vision. A case in point is when the renowned golfer Tiger Woods reportedly used this procedure to improve his vision to 20/15 (Eric, 1997). This is only but an example of cases of human improvement using technology, which could as well be left to Fairchoice as illustrated in my scenario. While today's enhancement procedures such as plastic surgery for actors and fashion models may seem relatively inconsequential for the majority of common citizens, the advent of enhancement technologies resulting in vastly enhanced physical or mental abilities will produce profound results as argued by Harris (1992). This kind of undertaking is expected to bestow physical labourers an advantage in strength and dexterity over their non-enhanced co-workers. In addition to use of steroids to become stronger and use of plastic surgery to become more attractive, people nowadays also use drugs to boost creativity, attentiveness, perception, and more (Harris, 1992). All these are found to be associated with technological advancements, again a core concern of the Centre for Human Improvement. Currently, there are two most striking inventions on which research is being carried out include the use of medical miniature robots and tweezers. A medical miniature robot when injected into the blood stream would travel freely throughout the body, identify abnormal cells in the body and selectively release the supply of the drugs they carry on coming in contact with the diseased or abnormal cells. Miniature tweezers on the other hand are surgical tools, which are only a few nanometers in thickness. They are electrically controlled multicoated carbon nanotubes which would be used to grab any single biological molecule within the cell. They would help doctors to perform surgery on an individual human cell, in the future (Eric, 1997). Analysis of the ethical scenario As already established, the scenario presents the Centre for Human Improvement inviting for bids from ICT companies to put up a large experimental ICT intelligent system called Fairchoice. There are some security risks involved with any haphazard use of computers as illustrated by the following quotation." We are overwhelmed daily with intellectual property issues and warnings against computer viruses and hackers. Government and law enforcement agency involvement in the security of our computer systems leaves us vulnerable to abuse of privacy, and raises the specter of 'Big Brother.' Also, many critical systems controlled by computers, such as nuclear power facilities and missile defense systems, are often designed and tested with an over-reliance on computer modeling, which can cause failure, injury or loss of life" (Bowyer, 2001). This not withstanding, the Centre for Human Improvement intends to leave some decision making powers to technology to perform some medical tasks. For instance, the choice of administering doses of painkillers to terminally ill patients performed by the National Health Service should not be delegated to Fairchoice. In my view, this decision is in line with the rights and duties theory especially utilitarianism. In utilitarian theory, the goal of producing the greatest amount of happiness for the largest number of individuals has priority over the principle of equal rights for all citizens and as such, the terminally ill patients should be given the opportunity to live (Rawls, 1971). Additionally, respect for human dignity demands that procedures be done with a view to morally acceptable ends and that morally acceptable means be used to achieve those ends. Moreover, it has to be made clear that the welfare and integrity of the individual is the paramount consideration in the sanctity of life. This is best exemplified by Kant's categorical imperative on the principle of respect. Rawls (as cited in Daniels, 1975) argues that perfectionism is not a fair and equitable method of distributing primary social goods but individuals should receive a fair share of basic rights and duties based on their personal respect and contributions to society. If this is done, then infringements upon the basic rights of individuals can easily be morally justified (Mill, 1957). The scenario indicates that the top management and the government aim to drastically cut operating costs with the implementation of Fairchoice project. This in my view also has ethical implications in that it touches on the principle of efficiency as put forward by Rawls (1971). Accordingly, the method by which social or economic inequalities are structured may be described as efficient if there is no possible restructuring which could be performed to make this structuring more advantageous to any particular individual without simultaneously making it less advantageous to another individual (Rawls, 1971). This is not the case within the scenario because the method used will definitely make the management and the government economically advantageous than the patients. For this reason, I recommend the amendment of the intended scenario to make the method efficient. Finally, implantable devices of both medical and sensory aids have been used to facilitate the continuous collection of highly accurate medical information (Eric, 1997). It is my strong belief that the implementation of a technological system in this area will be very beneficial to the centre. Thus, decisions on tasks involving transplants of a variety of organs for life saving purposes and those for enhancing existing quality of life will be left to Fairchoice. This is believed that Fairchoice will improve the efficiency of operations. This will have to be guided by the principles of justice for social institutions, according to Daniels (1975). "Principles of justice for individuals in social institutions include but not limited to fairness, benevolence, and generosity, the duty to keep promises, the duty to offer mutual aid, the duty to show mutual respect, the duty not to cause unnecessary suffering, the duty not to harm or injure others, and the duty to uphold justice". This is a quotation from Daniels which I find very sufficient to justify my decision in letting technology to perform enhancement tasks. Conclusion The implementation of a completed Fairchoice project will lead to improved detection of difficult health complications such as cancer and HIV/AIDS by simply using laser beams and thus avoiding the numerous drawbacks associated with organic dyes conventionally used to mark cells (Harris, 1992). While making this clean and faster process, Fairchoice will drastically cut operational costs to the minimum. Additionally, inexpensive miniaturized medical diagnostic devices easily used in remote regions will also become a birth child of technological advancement. Accordingly, the ability to repair skeletal tissue damaged by traffic accidents for example as well as better monitoring of human body toxicity levels through use of biosensors will all add up to the unfathomed wonders of technology in Fairchoice. In addition the above benefits of a completed and operational Fairchoice project, the identified stakeholders in the scenario would all be beneficiaries of this intelligent system. The patients who are according to me the primary stakeholders will end up having their procedures take a shorter time saving a lot of man hours and also have a higher degree of success. The top management of the Centre for Human Improvement and the Government on the other hand will benefit by saving a considerable amount of money in performing the various tasks using Fairchoice. The computer programmers will have their day by exercising their ingenuity in writing the best computer programmes to be used in making real decisions about patients based on their characteristics and needs (Herman, 2004). REFERENCES Bowyer, K. W. (2001 - second edition), Ethics and Computing, Living Responsibility in a computerised world, IEEE Press. Daniels, Norman, ed (1975). Reading Rawls: Critical Studies of a Theory of Justice. NY: Basic Books. Eric, Juengst (1997). "Can Enhancement Be Distinguished from Prevention in Genetic Medicine" Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. Harris, John (1992). Wonderwoman and Superman: The Ethics of Human Biotechnology NY: Oxford University Press. Herman, Tavani (2004). Ethics & Technology - Ethical Issues in an Age of ICT, John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Mill, John Stuart (1957). Utilitarianism Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. Rawls, John (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Read More