Oct 1 2007
The Nanoethics Group announced today that that it has been invited by Yale University’s Technology and Ethics Working Group to deliver a public lecture on nanoethics next week at the university. As part of Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics for the last seven years, the Technology and Ethics Working Group is one of the longest-continuing forums on the ethical challenges posed by new technologies.
Patrick Lin, Ph.D., director of The Nanoethics Group and visiting assistant professor at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo), will make a presentation entitled “The Rise of Nanoethics: Emerging Issues in Nanotechnology and Society” on October 10 from 4:15-7:00 pm at Yale’s Institution for Social and Policy Studies (ISPS), room B-012, located on 77 Prospect Street.
Dr. Lin will discuss: a brief history of nanotechnology and its hype; lessons from the past, including the stem cell and genetically-modified food debates; predicted benefits from nanotechnology; and current, emerging, as well as predicted issues arising from nanotechnology, such as related to research ethics, environment, health, privacy, security, economics, and more.
“We are pleased to see growing interest in nanotechnology’s possible impact on society and ethics, from government agencies to the world’s most respected universities such as Yale,” said Dr. Lin. “It makes sense that we can, and should, apply some forethought to our technological creations to help maximize benefits and minimize any disruption, rather than deal with unwanted scenarios after the fact.”
With membership open to all interested persons, Yale’s Technology and Ethics Working Group examines how new technologies—including such areas a nanotechnology, pharmacological- and genetically-enhanced humans, virtual reality, artificial life, cryonics, prosthetics/bionics, and cloning—can raise crucial social and ethical questions. For a calendar of events and more information about the working group, please visit www.yale.edu/bioethics/.