Methods for promoting ethics for human enhancement

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What is this about?

The SIENNA D5.3 report outlines methods to promote ethical practices in the research, development, and application of human enhancement technologies (HET). It focuses on creating practical tools and frameworks that help stakeholders integrate ethical reflection into both early and later stages of technology development. The core contributions include ethical guidelines tailored to human enhancement, a proposed research ethics framework that shapes how studies involving HETs are conducted, and a recommended international expert body to oversee ethical, social, and regulatory concerns. The report also argues for reconsidering how human enhancement is positioned within medical, legal, and societal contexts. It highlights dissemination strategies to ensure that these methods remain influential beyond the SIENNA project’s lifetime, supporting lasting ethical awareness among policymakers, technologists, and researchers.

Why is this important?

This report is significant because human enhancement technologies raise profound ethical, social, and regulatory challenges, from fairness and human dignity to societal inequality and consent. By proposing concrete ethical methods and governance suggestions, the report moves beyond abstract principles to offer guidance that can actually shape responsible innovation. Its ethical guidelines and frameworks help researchers and developers anticipate societal impacts, reduce harm, and align innovation with human rights values. The call for an international expert body addresses the need for coordinated, cross-national oversight over technologies that do not respect borders. As human enhancement expands in areas like neurotechnology, genetic editing, and performance augmentation, such ethics-centred approaches are crucial to ensure technologies benefit individuals and societies without compromising fundamental ethical standards.

For whom is this important?

Academics and researchersUniversities and research institutionsResearch Ethics CommitteesDevelopers and technologists working on human enhancementCivil society and NGOs focused on technology ethics

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