Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies
Encyclopedia
The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET) was founded in 2004 by philosopher Nick Bostrom
and bioethicist James Hughes. Incorporated in the United States as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, the IEET is a self-described "technoprogressive think tank
" that seeks to contribute to understanding of the likely impact of emerging technologies
on individuals and societies. It proposes to do so by "promoting and publicizing the work of thinkers who examine the social implications of scientific and technological advance
". A number of such thinkers are offered honorary positions as IEET Fellow
s. The institute also aims to influence the development of public policies
that distribute the benefits and reduce the risks of technological change
.
The IEET works with Humanity Plus (previously known as the World Transhumanist Association), an international non-governmental organization
with a similar mission but with an activist rather than academic approach. Humanity Plus was also founded and chaired by Dr. Bostrom, and formerly served by Dr. Hughes as its executive director. However, unlike the Humanity Plus, the founders of the IEET argue that it is not a transhumanist organization. Individuals who have accepted appointments as Fellows with the IEET support the institute's mission, but they have expressed a wide range of views about emerging technologies and not all identify themselves as transhumanists.
The IEET publishes an on-line, peer reviewed, academic journal
entitled, the Journal of Evolution and Technology
at the JET Press website. The JET was previously known as the Journal of Transhumanism, but changed its name and focus in order to expand its contributorship to include those who do not self-identify with the ideology.
In late May 2006, the IEET held the Human Enhancement Technologies and Human Rights conference at the Stanford University
Law School in Stanford, California.
Chair
Executive Director
Managing Director
Program Directors
Assistant Director
Board of Directors
Senior Fellows
Fellows
Affiliate Scholars
Nick Bostrom
Nick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk and the anthropic principle. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics...
and bioethicist James Hughes. Incorporated in the United States as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, the IEET is a self-described "technoprogressive think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
" that seeks to contribute to understanding of the likely impact of emerging technologies
Emerging technologies
In the history of technology, emerging technologies are contemporary advances and innovation in various fields of technology. Various converging technologies have emerged in the technological convergence of different systems evolving towards similar goals...
on individuals and societies. It proposes to do so by "promoting and publicizing the work of thinkers who examine the social implications of scientific and technological advance
Science and technology studies
Science, technology and society is the study of how social, political, and cultural values affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society, politics and culture...
". A number of such thinkers are offered honorary positions as IEET Fellow
Fellow
A fellow in the broadest sense is someone who is an equal or a comrade. The term fellow is also used to describe a person, particularly by those in the upper social classes. It is most often used in an academic context: a fellow is often part of an elite group of learned people who are awarded...
s. The institute also aims to influence the development of public policies
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
that distribute the benefits and reduce the risks of technological change
Technological change
Technological change is a term that is used to describe the overall process of invention, innovation and diffusion of technology or processes. The term is synonymous with technological development, technological achievement, and technological progress...
.
The IEET works with Humanity Plus (previously known as the World Transhumanist Association), an international non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
with a similar mission but with an activist rather than academic approach. Humanity Plus was also founded and chaired by Dr. Bostrom, and formerly served by Dr. Hughes as its executive director. However, unlike the Humanity Plus, the founders of the IEET argue that it is not a transhumanist organization. Individuals who have accepted appointments as Fellows with the IEET support the institute's mission, but they have expressed a wide range of views about emerging technologies and not all identify themselves as transhumanists.
The IEET publishes an on-line, peer reviewed, academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
entitled, the Journal of Evolution and Technology
Journal of Evolution and Technology
The Journal of Evolution and Technology is the peer-reviewed, electronic, academic journal of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, which publishes contemporary foresight into long-term developments in science, technology and philosophy....
at the JET Press website. The JET was previously known as the Journal of Transhumanism, but changed its name and focus in order to expand its contributorship to include those who do not self-identify with the ideology.
In late May 2006, the IEET held the Human Enhancement Technologies and Human Rights conference at the Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
Law School in Stanford, California.
Programs
In 2006, the IEET launched the following programs of activity:- Securing the Future: Identification and advocacy for global solutions to threats to the future of civilizationRisks to civilization, humans and planet EarthVarious existential risks could threaten humankind as a whole, have adverse consequences for the course of human civilization, or even cause the end of planet Earth.-Types of risks:...
. - Rights of the Person: Campaign to deepen and broaden the concept of human rightsHuman rightsHuman rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
. - Longer, Better Lives: Case for longer healthier lives, addressing objections to life extensionLife extensionLife extension science, also known as anti-aging medicine, experimental gerontology, and biomedical gerontology, is the study of slowing down or reversing the processes of aging to extend both the maximum and average lifespan...
, challenge ageist and ableist attitudes that discourage the full utilization of health technology. - Envisioning the Future: Collection of images of posthumanity and non-human intelligence, positive, negative and neutral, e.g., in science fictionScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
and popular culture; engagement with cultural critics, artists, writers, and filmmakers in exploring the lessons to be derived from these.
Staff
Board of Trustees- Arthur CaplanArthur CaplanArthur L. Caplan, Ph.D., is Emmanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics and director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to Penn in 1994, Caplan taught at the University of Minnesota, the University of Pittsburgh, and Columbia University. He was the...
- Dan Stoicescu
- Martine RothblattMartine RothblattMartine Aliana Rothblatt Ph.D, MBA, J.D. is an American lawyer, author, and entrepreneur. Rothblatt graduated from UCLA with a combined law and MBA degree in 1981, then began work in Washington, D.C., first in the field of communication satellite law, and eventually in life sciences projects like...
Chair
- Nick BostromNick BostromNick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk and the anthropic principle. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics...
Executive Director
- James Hughes
Managing Director
- Mike Treder
Program Directors
- Kyle Munkittrick
- Kristi Scott
- Sean Hays
Assistant Director
- Marcelo Rinesi
Board of Directors
- George DvorskyGeorge DvorskyGeorge P. Dvorsky is a transhumanist futurist, and author of the Sentient Developments blog. Dvorsky is a co-founder and president of the Toronto Transhumanist Association, and currently serves on the board of directors for Humanity+ and the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies...
- Giulio PriscoGiulio PriscoGiulio Prisco, born in Napoli in 1957, is an Italian information technology virtual reality consultant; as well as a writer, futurist, and transhumanist. He is an advocate of cryonics and contributes to the science and technology online magazine Tendencias21...
- Mark WalkerMark Alan WalkerMark Alan Walker, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at New Mexico State University, where he occupies the Richard L. Hedden Endowed Chair in Advanced Philosophical Studies. Prior to his professorship at NMSU Prof. Walker taught at McMaster University in the department of philosophy and...
- Mike LaTorra
- Nick BostromNick BostromNick Bostrom is a Swedish philosopher at the University of Oxford known for his work on existential risk and the anthropic principle. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics...
Senior Fellows
- Jamais CascioJamais CascioJamais Cascio is a San Francisco Bay Area-based writer and ethical futurist specializing in design strategies and possible outcomes for future scenarios...
- William BainbridgeWilliam Sims BainbridgeWilliam Sims Bainbridge is an American sociologist who currently resides in Virginia. He is co-director of Human-Centered Computing at the National Science Foundation and also teaches sociology as a part-time professor at George Mason University. He is the first Senior Fellow to be appointed by...
Fellows
- Ana Lita
- Andy MiahAndy MiahAndy Miah is British bioethicist, academic and journalist. His work often focuses on technology and posthumanism.-Life and career:...
- Aubrey de GreyAubrey de GreyAubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey is an English author and theoretician in the field of gerontology, and the Chief Science Officer of the SENS Foundation. He is editor-in-chief of the academic journal Rejuvenation Research, author of The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging and co-author...
- Ayesha Khanna
- Ben GoertzelBen GoertzelBen Goertzel , is an American author and researcher in the field of artificial intelligence. He currently leads Novamente LLC, a privately held software company that attempts to develop a form of strong AI, which he calls "Artificial General Intelligence"...
- David BrinDavid BrinGlen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
- David EaglemanDavid EaglemanDavid Eagleman is a neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine, where he directs the Laboratory for Perception and Action and the Initiative on Neuroscience and Law. He is best known for his work on time perception, synesthesia, and neurolaw...
- Douglas RushkoffDouglas RushkoffDouglas Rushkoff is an American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist and documentarian. He is best known for his association with the early cyberpunk culture, and his advocacy of open source solutions to social problems.Rushkoff is most frequently regarded as a media...
- Linda M. Glenn
- Marshall BrainMarshall BrainMarshall David Brain is an American author, public speaker, and entrepreneur. A former college instructor and computer programmer, Brain is the founder of HowStuffWorks.-Background:Marshall Brain was born in Santa Monica, California...
- Milan M. Ćirković
- Natasha Vita-MoreNatasha Vita-MoreNatasha Vita-More is a transhumanist, media artist and designer, with a science background, known for designing "Primo Posthuman." This future human prototype incorporates biotechnology, robotics, information technology, nanotechnology, cognitive and neuroscience for human enhancement and extreme...
- Patrick LinPatrick LinPatrick Lin, , is Senior Executive Chef for Metropolitan Hotels, overseeing the company's five restaurants in Toronto:* Senses Restaurant and Bakery * Lai Wah Heen * Lai Toh Heen * Hemispheres Bistro * Diva at the Met -Career:...
- Ramez NaamRamez NaamRamez Naam is a professional technologist. He was involved in the development of widely-used software products such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook....
- Riccardo CampaRiccardo CampaRiccardo Campa is Professor of Sociology at the University of Cracow. He possesses two Master of Arts degrees, in Political Science and Philosophy, from the University of Bologna and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Nicholas Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland...
- Russell BlackfordRussell BlackfordRussell Blackford is an Australian writer, philosopher, and critic, based for many years in Melbourne, Victoria. He was born in Sydney, and grew up in Lake Macquarie district, near Newcastle, NSW. He moved to Melbourne in 1979, but returned to Newcastle to live and work in 2009.-Writing career:As a...
- Susan Schneider
- Wendell Wallach
Affiliate Scholars
- Andrea Kuszewski
- Ilia Stambler
- Hank Pellissier
- Heather Bradshaw
- Melanie Swan
- Patrick Hopkins
- Philippe Verdoux
- Richard Eskow
- V.R. Manoj