Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security: A Framework for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues
2014

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Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security is a study on the ethical, legal, and societal issues relating to the research on, development of, and use of rapidly changing technologies with low barriers of entry that have potential military application, such as information technologies, synthetic biology, and nanotechnology. The report also considers the ethical issues associated with robotics and autonomous systems, prosthetics and human enhancement, and cyber weapons. These technologies are characterized by readily available knowledge access, technological advancements that can take place in months instead of years, the blurring of lines between basic research and applied research, and a high uncertainty about how the future trajectories of these technologies will evolve and what applications will be possible.

Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security addresses topics such as the ethics of using autonomous weapons that may be available in the future; the propriety of enhancing the physical or cognitive capabilities of soldiers with drugs or implants or prosthetics; and what limits, if any, should be placed on the nature and extent of economic damage that cyber weapons can cause. This report explores three areas with respect to emerging and rapidly available technologies: the conduct of research; research applications; and unanticipated, unforeseen, or inadvertent ethical, legal, and societal issues. The report articulates a framework for policy makers, institutions, and individual researchers to think about issues as they relate to these technologies of military relevance and makes recommendations for how each of these groups should approach these considerations in its research activities. Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security makes an essential contribution to incorporate the full consideration of ethical, legal, and societal issues in situations where rapid technological change may outpace our ability to foresee consequences.

Publication information

348 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-29334-0
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-29335-9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/18512

Suggested citation

National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2014. Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security: A Framework for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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Front Matter i-xx
Summary 1-14
1 Framing the Issues 15-44
2 Foundational Technologies 45-78
3 Application Domains 79-114
4 Sources of ELSI Insight 115-162
5 An Analytical Framework for Identifying Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues 163-211
6 Going Beyond Initial A Priori Analysis 212-229
7 Mechanisms for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues 230-244
8 Findings and Recommendations 245-268
Appendixes 269-270
Appendix A: Committee Members and Staff 271-282
Appendix B: Meeting Agendas and Participants 283-297
Appendix C: Research and Development Organizations Within the Department of Defense 298-305
Appendix D: Established Institutional Mechanisms for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues 306-328

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Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security: A Framework for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues (2014)

Chapter: Appendixes

Publication information

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Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security: A Framework for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues (2014)

Chapter: Appendixes