ethics

When you take 800,000 human brain cells, wire them into a biological hybrid computer chip, and demonstrate that it can learn faster than neural networks, people have questions. We speak to Dr. Brett Kagan, Chief Scientific Officer at Cortical Labs.

With AI already a big part of everyday life and its involvement only bound to increase, researchers at Duke University have asked children how they think we should treat intelligent technology.

A new review article suggests insects have the capacity to experience pain. The research summarizes the latest behavioral and molecular science and concludes pain states in insects could have ethical implications for current farming practices.

Following a recent call for a moratorium on human germline gene editing, several scientists have pushed back, claiming prohibition is redundant and problematic. The WHO's panel on the topic also sidestepped the issue, instead recommending a central registry on human gene editing research be created.

​In the largest cross-cultural survey ever conducted, a team of anthropologists has determined 7 moral rules they suggest are universal. Surveying ethnographic accounts from 60 different cultures the research concludes every single culture analyzed seems to be ruled by the same moral precepts.​

In a new commentary, two researchers are questioning the ethics and transparency of Facebook’s suicide prevention system. The algorithm reportedly flags users deemed to be at high-risk of self-harm activating a process where the company notifies local authorities to intervene.

Preliminary results of an investigation by the Chinese government into the ethics of experiments that led to the birth of the world's first gene-edited babies have now been released. The report condemns the actions of He and confirming some of the questions previously raised about this strange case.

On Wednesday Chinese scientist He Jiankui took to the stage amidst a maelstrom of controversy surrounding his recent revelation of creating the world’s first genetically edited babies. As He announced pride in his work, the Chinese government called it “shocking and unacceptable.”

The world’s first gene-edited human babies have been born in China. Professor Jiankui He claims that by removing a specific gene from the embryos using CRISPR-Cas9, the twin girls would have a natural immunity to HIV. But scientists question the safety, effectiveness and morality of the procedure.

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has released a briefing note asking what it sees as the big ethical questions on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The note acknowledges the huge potential of AI, but its focus is on the serious questions relating to its use.

​The human brain remains an enigma, but neuroscience is beginning to unravel its secrets. To help us navigate the murky waters of peering into the human mind, researchers from Switzerland have proposed four new human rights relating to limitations on how the brain should be read or manipulated.

With the speed that AI is advancing, hundreds of AI and robotics researchers have compiled the Asilomar AI Principles, a list of 23 principles, priorities and precautions that should guide our development of artificial intelligence to ensure it’s safe, ethical and beneficial.