AI/ML increasingly impacts the ability of humans to have a good life. Various sets of indicators exist to measure well-being/the ability to have a good life. Students play an important role in AI/ML discussions. The purpose of our study using an online survey was to learn about the perspectives of undergraduate STEM students on the impact of AI/ML on well-being/the ability to have a good life. Our study revealed that many of the abilities participants perceive to be needed for having (...) a good life were part of the well-being/ability to have a good life indicator lists we gave to participants. Participants perceived AI/ML to have and continue to have the most positive impact on the ability to have a good life for disabled people, elderly people, and individuals with a high income and the least positive impact for people of low income and countries from the global south. Regarding indicators of well-being and the ability to have a good life given to participants, we found a significant techno-positive sentiment. 30% of respondents selected the purely positive box for 28 of the indicators and none did so for the purely negative box. For 52 indicators, the purely negative was below 10% (not counting the 0%) and for 10 indicators, none selected purely negative. Our findings suggest that our questions might be valuable tools to develop an inventory of STEM and other students’ perspectives on the implications of AI/ML on the ability to have a good life. (shrink)

The time is near where ‘therapeutic’ bodily assistive devices, developed to mimic species-typical body structures in order to enable normative body functioning, will allow the wearer to outperform the species-typical body in various functions. Although such devices are developed for people that are seen to exhibit sub species-typical abilities, many ‘therapeutic enhancements’ might also be desired and used by people that exhibit species-typical body abilities. This paper presents the views of members of the World Federation of the Deaf on potential (...) beyond species-typical abilities enabling therapeutic assistive devices (i.e. related to hearing). Survey respondents showed support for the development and uptake of beyond normal hearing enabling devices. The views of survey respondents as clients affect hearing-enabling professions (such as audiologist and speech pathologists). The paper analyzes what guidance code of ethics of hearing enabling professions give in regards to beyond normal hearing enabling devices. This paper suggests that people labeled impaired and the professions that serve them should more involved in the enhancement discourse. (shrink)

Non-therapeutic performance enhancement in sport is a contentious issue for some time but the issue of therapeutic enhancements has only recently entered the sport vernacular. The purpose of therapeutic assistive devices so far is widely seen as lifting as impaired perceived people back to species-typical norms. However, ?therapeutic? body devices developed to mimic species-typical body structures and expected body functioning, as a side effect, increasingly allow the wearer to outperform the species-typical body in various functions. Unsurprisingly, then, this brings the (...) prospect of people labelled as impaired outperforming the so called non-impaired person in general and the paralympic athlete outperforming Olympic athletes. The ?cheetah? prosthetic legs worn by the South African Paralympic amputee Oscar Pistorius are one example of a ?therapeutic? device that might in the future outperform the species-typical body. Although it does not yet, it has already been labelled as a techno doping device. Others that already outperform are wheelchairs; however, they are rather invisible in the dispute around therapeutic enhancements and sport. This essay highlights various issues attached to this paradigm shift of the ability relationship between disabled and so called non-disabled people, Paralympic and Olympic athletes and what this might mean for Olympism and the Paralympic and Olympic Games. (shrink)

Cognitive enhancement is an increasingly discussed topic and policy suggestions have been put forward. We present here empirical data of views of parents of children with and without cognitive disabilities. Analysis of the interviews revealed six primary overarching themes: meanings of health and treatment; the role of medicine; harm; the ‘good’ parent; normality and self-perception; and ability. Interestingly none of the parents used the term ethics and only one parent used the term moral twice.

Brain-computer interfaces are envisioned to enable new abilities of action. This potential can be fruitful in particular when it comes to restoring lost motion or communication abilities or to implementing new possibilities of action. However, BCIs do not come without presuppositions. Applying the concept of ability expectations to BCIs, a wide range of requirements on the side of the users becomes apparent. We examined these ability expectations by taking the example of therapeutic BCI users who got enrolled into BCI research (...) studies due to particular physical conditions. Some of the expectations identified are quite explicit, like particular physical conditions and BCI “literacy”. Other expectations are more implicit, such as motivation, a high level of concentration, pain tolerance, emotion control and resources. These expectations may produce a conception of the human and a self-understanding among BCI users that objectify the body in favour of a brain-centred, cerebral notion of the subject which also plays its part in upholding a normality regime. (shrink)

Advancements in scientific research and technological development influence the practice of organ donation and organ transplantation. Many SRTD governance discourses put forward the need for multi-stakeholder engagements. We posit that staff employed by organ procurement organizations have a stake in the discussions around SRTD applicable to ODOT because SRTD is one factor that shapes ODOT and because staff are involved in ODOT education and awareness raising while acting as a nexus between donors and the public. Therefore, we performed a content (...) analysis of eight semi-structured in-depth interviews with staff of one Canadian organ procurement organization to ascertain the views that staff had on the use of SRTD in ODOT in general; specific SRTD envisioned to be used in the future in ODOT namely xenotransplantation, embryonic and non-embryonic stem cells, cloning, bionic/artificial organs, and 3-D printed organs; and the emerging ability of SRTD applicable in ODOT to enhance bodily abilities beyond the normal. We found that staff had views on the topics covered in this study, and staff acknowledged that they do not possess sufficient knowledge to be able to engage meaningfully in governance discussions of the SRTD covered and to educate others on these SRTDs. We recommend implementing continuous education for the staff on SRTD envisioned to be applied in ODOT as a capacity-building measure to enable their participation in the governance discussions of these SRTDs and to enhance their ability to educate others on ODOT applicable SRTD. (shrink)

An e-mail interview made by Francisco Guzmán. April 2010.

Well-being is an important policy concept including in discussions around the use of artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics. Disabled people experience challenges in their well-being. Therefore, the aim of our scoping review study of academic abstracts employing Scopus, IEEE Xplore, Compendex and the 70 databases from EBSCO-HOST as sources was to better understand how academic literature focusing on AI/ML/robotics engages with well-being in relation to disabled people. Our objective was to answer the following research question: how and to what (...) extent does the AI/ML/robot literature we covered include well-being in relation to disabled people? We found 2071 academic abstracts covering AI/ML and well-being, and 1055 covering robotics and well-being. Within these abstracts, only 39 covered AI/ML and 48 robotics and well-being in relation to disabled people. The tone of the coverage was techno-positive and techno-optimistic arguing that AI/ML/robotics could improve the well-being of disabled people in general or improve well-being by helping disabled people overcome their ‘disability’ or make tasks easier. No negative effects that AI/ML/robotics could have or has had on the well-being of disabled people were mentioned. Disabled people were portrayed only within patient, client, or user roles but not in their roles as stakeholders in the governance of AI/ML/robotics discussions. This biased and limited coverage of the impact of AI/ML/robotics on the well-being of disabled people disempowers disabled people. (shrink)

El presente trabajo explora las conceptualizaciones actuales de la capacidad de resistencia que se aplican a personas con habilidades-diversas. El concepto de ‘ableísmo’ es presentado y se demuestra su utilidad como un lente analítico. Los resultados indican que un enfoque ecológico a la capacidad de resistencia representa un problema para el avance de los derechos de las personas con habilidades diversas. En concreto, la presencia de asunciones y lenguaje ‘ableístas’ demuestran una continua necesidad de examen crítico de las políticas relacionadas (...) con la capacidad de resistencia y su capacidad para incorporar a la población con habilidades diversas. Sugerimos que una ética feminista del cuidado de personas con habilidades diversas contribuye a la comprensión de la capacidad de resiliencia, promoviendo una agenda positiva de los derechos de las personas con habilidades diversas y dando una dirección positiva para políticas en esta área. Los resultados seguramente ayudaran a hacer frente a las lagunas existentes en la literatura de este tema, y serán de gran importancia para los responsables de políticas, investigadores, y la población con habilidades diversas. (shrink)

Se postula que ciencia y tecnología tienen consecuencias positivas y negativas para la humanidad, cargadas de intención y propósito, y reflejo de las visiones, intenciones, prejuicios y objetivos particulares de cada sociedad. Desde este marco, el trabajo se centra en el campo de la bio/gene/nanomedicina, que busca reparar supuestas discapacidades, incapacidades, enfermedades y defectos, pero instala el dilema ético de quién decide lo que es discapacidad, enfermedad, incapacidad o “defecto”. Propone el autor un camino desde la Declaración sobre la Ciencia (...) de la Conferencia Mundial sobre la Ciencia de la Unesco de 1999. (shrink)

Hasta la fecha, el significado de salud y por lo tanto de tratamiento y rehabilitación está referenciado al cuerpo normal o típico de la especie. Las intervenciones terapéuticas tienen cada vez más el potencial de generar habilidades corporales más allá de las ‘normales’ (mejoras terapéuticas). El campo de la rehabilitación, el deseo de disfrutar de habilidades corporales especialmente más allá de las típicas para la especie y la dirección y gobernanza de la ciencia y la tecnología están cada vez más (...) interrelacionadas. Cómo juzgamos y hacemos frente a habilidades corporales o falta de ellas, entre otros, influencia la dirección y gobernanza de los procesos de ciencia y tecnología, productos e investigación y desarrollo e influencia el sentido y el alcance de la salud y la rehabilitación, la identidad y la descripción de los profesionales de salud y rehabilitación, los deseos de los clientes de salud y rehabilitación para recabar sus puntos de vista sobre cuestiones relativas a la mejora del cuerpo y su impacto sobre los profesiones de salud y rehabilitación. La mayoría de encuestados perciben las mejoras humanos más allá de lo ‘normal’ y los cambios asociados como algo inevitable. Los resultados indican que ya es hora de que el discurso de mejora se mueva fuera de la esfera ética y de que el análisis de impacto de mejoras más allá de lo normal se lleve a cabo, que incluya a los hasta ahora prácticamente invisibles profesionales de la salud y la rehabilitación, sus clientes y académicos la política de discapacidad. (shrink)

One of the most consequential advances in sciences and technology is the increasing generation of bodily enhancement products that enable a culture of, demand for, and acceptance of improving and modifying the human body (structure, function, abilities) beyond its species-typical boundaries. A lively discourse exists around the rights and wrongs of human genetic and other forms of enhancement. Many treat the species-typical human body as an obsolescent technology in need of serious improvements. This raises various questions. This paper addresses the (...) following questions: a) can one refuse the upgrade, b) who has access to the upgrade, c) is there a way to revert to the obsolescent state after the upgrade, and d) what is the impact of perceiving oneself as obsolescent. (shrink)

Science and technology, including nanoscale science and technology, influences and is influenced by various discourses and areas of action. Ableism is one concept and ability expectation is one dynamic that impacts the direction, vision, and application of nanoscale science and technology and vice versa. At the same time, policy documents that involve or relate to disabled people exhibit ability expectations of disabled people. The authors present ability expectations exhibited within two science and technology direction documents from Asia, as well as (...) in two policy documents generated and influenced by disabled people from Asia. As well, the authors discuss the impact of the ability expectations exhibited in these four documents with respect to the relationship between science and technology and disabled people. (shrink)