Science has undergone significant progress and change over the past century and even in the last few decades. In some cases, novel and emerging fields have developed at a faster rate than parliamentary governance and ethical regulations can follow which has left many fields with little local and international regulation and dangerous potential. What ethical aspects do scientists working in these fields have to consider? How can governance infrastructures be developed that do not hinder scientific progress all while maintaining ethical and safe boundaries? This panel discussion will seek to answer these questions and more in the frame of three contemporary and emerging fields: AI, gene editing, and medical trials.
Panellists:
Prof David Leslie
Professor David Leslie is director of ethics and responsible innovation research at The Alan Turing Institute and Professor of Ethics, Technology and Society at Queen Mary University of London. He studies the moral and ethical implications of emerging technologies, focusing on digital ethics and the social and ethical impacts of machine learning.
Dr Simon Kolstoe
Dr Simon Kolstoe is a reader of Bioethics at the University of Portsmouth and sits as Chair on multiple ethics and governance committees. His research focuses on research ethics and integrity, particularly considering human participants in medical defence research.
Dr Francesca Forzano
Dr Francesca Forzano is a consultant in clinical genetics and honorary senior lecturer at King’s College London. She is involved in national and international policy for clinical genetics and chairs several related bodies. Her research interests lie in genomic and foetal medicine related to rare genetic disorders.
Dr Lalitha Sundaram
Dr Lalitha Sundaram is a senior research associate at Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge. Her research investigates real and perceived risks surrounding emerging biotechnologies, such as synthetic biology, with a particular emphasis on regulation and governance.
Chair:
Dr Angeliki Kerasidou
Dr Angeliki Kerasidou is an associate professor at the Ethox Centre and research fellow at the Wellcome Centre for Ethics and Humanities at the University of Oxford. With a background in philosophy, her research examines the ethical issues arising from the introduction of novel technologies, such as AI and genomics data, into biomedical research and clinical practice.
Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/from-deepfakes-to-deadly-viruses-ethics-and-governance-in-science-tickets-617683657447
