Evaluating New Technologies: Methodological Problems for the Ethical Assessment of Technology Developments. (The International Library of Ethics, Law and Technology, 3)

human practices? How are we to morally evaluate technology developments that have open horizons, encompass uncertainties, and lack control? Technology is in- uential on society; technological innovations act upon the perception of ourselves, the world, and our relation with fellow humans and other objects. Technology is changing everything we do by creating new entities (such as software, nanop- ticles, or Internet), by changing the scale of activities (e. g. vast amounts of data about people can be stored and analysed, and not infrequently without people - ing aware of this), by generating new kinds of knowledge (for instance about i- nesses, the human genome and so on). Technologies, as a consequence, impinge upon our morality and for this reason an ethics of technology should not wait passively until moral problems arise and not only focus on identi ed and exi- ing moral problems, but contemplate technology developments and possible - pacts proactively. However, this is easier said than done, because a prospective and proactive evaluation of technology developments is complicated by complexity and uncertainty. The uncertainty of technology development is closely related to one of the str- ing features of technology, namely what Jim Moor has coined logical malleability. (1985, 269) Technological devices are logically malleable in that they can be shaped to do any activity that can be characterised in terms of logical operations.

In this forward-looking volume the invited authors argue that the world must critically assess the potential pitfalls of new technologies in advance.

Many of the developments in modern technology are complex, risky, and, to begin with, cloaked in uncertainty. How should we deal with such developments – that may not only have positive effects (such as an increase of our well-being or an improved ability to control and cure diseases) but also negative effects for human beings and the environment (such as global warming or the medicalisation of human beings)?

The fact that technological ‘progress’ often occurs under conditions of uncertainty makes the issue even more pressing. Frequently, we are completely devoid of information concerning the applications of new technologies and what their impact will be on human beings and the environment. History has shown that taking a retrospective perspective by passively awaiting the practical consequences of new technologies is both dangerous and inappropriate, as often damage will already have occurred. The genie is well and truly out of the bottle and those who once had control over the new processes no longer have that power, as the science will have a momentum of its own, unheeding of belated attempts to stop it or slow it down. What is more, technology is often ‘logically malleable’, with far wider applications than even we can anticipate.

Thus, say editors Sollie and Düwell, an anticipatory attitude is required towards dealing with new technology. This book addresses methodological issues with regard to the ethical evaluation of new and emerging technology. It focuses specifically on the concept of uncertainty that, unlike the notion of risk, is greatly undervalued in the field of ethics. It is a must-read for anyone involved in (ethical) technology assessment: philosophers, those involved in science and technology studies, and policy-makers alike.