Recently, the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council released a set of guidelines to strengthen governance over ethics in science and technology, which has received extensive attention in the academic community.
Ethics compliance should be emphasized throughout the process of scientific research and technological development, according to the guidelines.
Modern society’s pursuit of modernization and the reality of new moral and ethical issues often go hand in hand, especially ethical problems caused by the explosive growth and expansion of modern science and technology, which all pose new challenges to human beings. The introduction of these guidelines indicates the role that Ethics of Science and Technology can play in governance.
Ethics for sound sci-tech development
“With the rise of industrial civilization and the development of the four technological revolutions, the living environment of human beings has changed, and the social forms and way of life have begun to change from development dependent on science and technology to development driven by science and technology,” said Cheng Sumei, deputy director of the Institute of Philosophy at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences. Ethics of Science and Technology has become increasingly significant.
The wide application of new technologies brings a series of explicit or potential ethical and legal issues, and related discussions are diverse. In this regard, Li Jianhui, a professor from the School of Philosophy at Beijing Normal University, said that amongst these discussions, ethicists first need to warn against the risks of emerging technologies and reflect on the ethical conflicts that may arise during the application of technology.
Secondly, ethicists need to provide valuable ethical guidance for scientists to carry out responsible innovation, for example, the principles of beneficence (do no harm), informed consent, and fairness have been proposed, which have become an ethical foundation guiding scientists as they conduct experimental research or make scientific applications, Li said.
The relationship between technology and ethics is often discussed using an analogy of feet and shoes, where technology represents the feet, and ethics, shoes. Technology is constantly developing, while ethics are relatively stable, so there is a view that ethics as the “shoes” limit the growth of technology as the “feet.”
However, Li said that technology unconfined by ethics is more like bare feet walking on a road full of thorns. On the one hand, without ethics, technology will encounter various obstacles in concepts, systems, and behaviors, making it difficult to develop sustainably. On the other hand, it can easily be abused and even cause damage.
“Only by wearing ethical ‘shoes’ can the ‘feet’ of science and technology walk steadily, prudently dealing with the extreme tendencies of scientism and techno-optimism, and effectively serving social progress,” Li said.
Duan Weiwen, director of the research office of philosophy of science and technology from the Institute of Philosophy at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that while ethical regulation often lags behind the development of science and technology, setting ethical principles for science and technology should not be regarded as an obstacle to the development of scientific and technological innovation. It is necessary to view the potential risks of scientific and technological development rationally and objectively, and advocate for collaborative governance by ethicists, philosophers, and scientists.
Strengthening education
The promulgation of the guidelines will play a substantial role in strengthening the discipline development and personnel training in the field of Ethics of Science and Technology in China.
Higher education institutions are the incubators of scientific and technological innovation, and also a major base of education in Ethics of Science and Technology. On March 22, entrusted by the Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University took the lead in setting up an expert group and a working group for pedagogy in Ethics of Science and Technology in higher education institutions, and its kick-off meeting was held in Beijing. This move marks the integration of Ethics of Science and Technology into the higher education system as a general education area of study.
In the future, it is urgent to optimize the curriculum of Ethics of Science and Technology for senior undergraduates and postgraduates in related majors in higher education institutions, to help young students understand ethical principles, improve decision-making abilities, and establish a view of science and technology ethics, said Zhang Xinqing, a professor from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Peking Union Medical College. Higher education institutions should conduct both regular and supplemental training for teachers, researchers, managers, and ethics committee members, and actively explore online research ethics training and evaluation of its effects.
Strengthening general education in Ethics of Science and Technology puts forward higher requirements for the cultivation of science and technology ethics talent.
According to Duan’s observation, a lack of scientific basis and technical background will make it difficult to truly understand the ethical, social, and legal issues in cutting-edge technology. The existing research topics are mostly the thoughts of some Western science and technology ethicists and philosophers, or a specific field or a specific issue, such as brain-computer interface, artificial intelligence, and so forth. In fact, this research has yet to become truly cross-disciplinary. It is still a challenge for Ethics of Science and Technology to truly understand the frontiers and dynamics of science and technology.
As such, Duan suggested that scholars should break the shackles of publishing papers, break disciplinary boundaries, and attach importance to dialogues and exchanges with scientific research institutions and technology enterprises. By doing so, they will enhance their understanding of reality and on-site scientific and technological development, so as to apply what they have learned into practical use.