A Basis for Action - Commission de l'éthique de la science et de la ...

Position Statement of the Commission de l'éthique de la science et de la technologie
can help guarantee safe approaches that protect health and the environment, as well as the
development of proper regulations.
Nanoelectronics raises concerns primarily with regard to its ties to information and communications
technologies and the development of high performance sensors (and, perhaps, smart dust). Ethical
questions regarding respect for privacy are not new, but nanotechnology may amplify them, since a
significant amount of data on people’s health, consumption habits, comings and goings, and more
could be recorded without their knowledge. The risk of using nanoelectronics to artificially augment
human physical and mental performance (in much the same way as steroids or Ritalin) should also be
considered.
Clearly, nanobiotechnology holds out great hope in the area of health. But what about nanotechnologyderived
drugs—not to mention cosmetics—and new properties developed at the nanoscale? How will
these products—which are not necessarily new, but contain nano ingredients—be controlled? How will
nanoproducts able to cross the blood-brain barrier be used? In terms of diagnosis, ethical questions
arise regarding the early detection of disability or disease; the same is true of genetics, particularly when
medical science offers no therapeutic solution or the health system must shoulder the cost: Who can
benefit from scientific progress, and how will this progress be used?
These are but a few examples of the questions raised by nanotechnology innovation in the four main
sectors of development. But there are others that the Commission believes worthy of reflection while
there is still time, particularly regarding the applications that could result from the triple convergence of
biology, nanoelectronics, and nanomaterials with a view to human “enhancement” and the emergence
of new eugenic* practices. What does the future hold if such applications become available? What type
of society will emerge? What will happen to the most disadvantaged, the most vulnerable, or even those
who reject the available changes? All these questions also raise the issue of the instrumentalization and
transformation of the human body.
The Commission believes that the ethical questions raised by nanotechnology are not limited to
those discussed in this brief overview. It must develop a broader vision that encompasses other
emerging technologies involving the same type of problems, which nanotechnology may only
amplify or exacerbate. For this reason, the Commission is also examining economic development
and governance, work organization, research development, and the needs of developing countries.
The Commission believes that certain values might be affected by nanotechnology applications or their
unnatural use or misuse, including dignity, liberty, individual integrity and respect, quality of life,
protection of health and the environment, respect for privacy, justice and equity, transparency, and
democracy. The following pages will explore the ethics of nanotechnology from the perspective of
these values and the management of foreseeable health and environmental impacts and will also look at
questions that may be raised with regard to governance, social acceptability, and in certain respects,
philosophical issues.
Chapter 1 – A New and Emerging World: 25
The Universe of Nanotechnology