Benefits and Dangers Pervade Use of Human Enhancement Tools, Bioethicists Say

Whatever the activity—baseball, taking exams, fighting in a war, or even simply living longer—the desire to improve is inherently human. Now that science and technology have equipped us with some ways to enhance our natural abilities, should we use them all the time, or even at all? A panel of experts outlined developments in human enhancement tools and discussed the ethical implications of their use during an 8 May session at the 33rd annual AAAS Forum on Science and Technology Policy.

Training, practicing and studying are all successful and ethically acceptable strategies to improve performance, but now pharmaceutical enhancements are finding their way into our set of tools for improving performance. The new tools have shown short-term success, but their use creates profound ethical dilemmas and concerns about long-term health effects.

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