Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies

The liberal democratic revolution, centuries old and still growing strong, has at its core the idea that people are happiest when they have rational control over their lives. Reason, science, and technology provide one kind of control, slowly freeing us from ignorance, toil, pain, and disease. Democracy provides the other kinds of control, through civil liberties and electoral participation.

Technology and democracy complement one another, ensuring that safe technology is generally accessible and democratically accountable. The convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive science in the coming decades will give us unimaginable technological mastery of nature and ourselves. That mastery requires progressive democratization.

Our purpose, therefore, is to stimulate and support constructive study of ethical issues connected with these powerful emerging technologies.The Institute, incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the United States, promotes and publicizes the work of thinkers who examine the social implications of scientific and technological progress. We seek to contribute to the understanding of the impact of emerging technologies on individuals and societies. In addition, we want to help shape public policies that distribute the benefits and reduce the risks of technological advancement.
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The liberal democratic revolution, centuries old and still growing strong, has at its core the idea that people are happiest when they have rational control over their lives. Reason, science, and technology provide one kind of control, slowly freeing us from ignorance, toil, pain, and disease. Democracy provides the other kinds of control, through civil liberties and electoral participation.

Technology and democracy complement one another, ensuring that safe technology is generally accessible... (read more)