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Human enhancement is the concept of applying science and technologies to expand cognitive and physical human capacities. Technologies for human enhancement that promise smarter children, faster and stronger athletes, more attractive physical features, and improved sexual performance are highly seductive. Today, we are bombarded by messages that reinforce the notion that enhancements via drugs, dietary supplements, and cosmetic surgery are readily accessible for personal self-improvement, so that there is no longer a reason to remain “ordinary.”
For many, enhancements promised by new and more powerful technologies will be seen as a logical extension of what is commonplace today, and it will be increasingly difficult to draw a clear line between their uses for therapeutic purposes and their use for enhancement.
AAAS has been involved in this issue in a number of ways:
Human enhancement research and technologies offer many unprecedented opportunities and just as many unforeseen challenges to society’s view of human performance. To identify those opportunities and challenges, the AAAS Program on Scientific Freedom, Responsibility and Law convened a workshop in June 2006 involving scientists, ethicists, industry representatives, legal scholars, and policy analysts.
The project was intended to contribute to more informed public deliberations on the technical, ethical, and public policy issues surrounding human enhancement. Some of the issues highlighted at the workshop related to individual choice, allocation of resources, fairness, justice, dignity, and the quality of life, all of which will undoubtedly shape professional and public discourse on human enhancement and options for public policy. One specific outcome of the project was a list of recommendations from meeting participants of next steps AAAS might consider in its role as an association committed to “advancing science, serving society.” The Summary Report of the meeting, entitled "Good, Better, Best: The Human Quest for Enhancement," concludes with several of those recommendations, and we plan to continue our involvement in these important issues.
Funding for this project was provided by the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and Genentech.
Invitational Workshop, June 1-2, 2006
Agenda | Attendees | June 2006 News Article | Summary Report | Scientific Overview
In November 2007, AAAS and the Hastings Center co-sponsored a Capitol Hill briefing in Washington, DC on gene doping. The expert panel included:
- Theodore Friedmann, Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego
- Thomas H. Murray, President, The Hastings Center
- Mark Rothstein, Director, Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville School of Medicine
- John Feinstein, Sports Writer, Washington Post; Contributor, National Public Radio
November 2007 News Article
AAAS and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), an international organization that provides comprehensive anti-doping monitoring and educational resources at Olympic and Paralympic Games, co-sponsored a symposium in June 2008 in St. Petersburg, Russia to discuss gene doping in sport. Resulting from the meeting was the St. Petersburg Declaration on Gene Doping, which includes policy recommendations.
Meeting Details | Agenda and Speaker Presentations | July 2008 News Article
At the 33rd Annual AAAS Science and Technology Policy Forum experts addressed the potential role of human enhancement in the military, age extension, cognitive enhancement, and sports. Click here for news coverage of the event. Below are slides and audio recordings from each presentation:
- David Rejeski, Moderator - (mp3)
- An Overview of Key Issues in Human Enhancement Efforts (PDF)
Thomas H. Murray, President, The Hastings Center - (mp3)
- Sports Applications (PDF)
Theodore Friedmann, Professor of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego - (mp3)
- Military Applications (PDF)
John A. Parmentola, Director, Research and Laboratory Management, U. S. Army - (mp3)
- Age Extension (PDF)
S. Jay Olshansky, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago - (mp3)
- Cognitive Enhancement (PDF)
Martha J. Farah, Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Natural Sciences; Director, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania - (mp3)
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