Build A Better Person: An Overview of Bioenhancement
“One of the potential uses for biotechnology is to enhance and/or augment the human” [1]
Humans have been working to better themselves on a physical, physiological, and mental level for a long time. This improvement comes in a variety of ways, such as the traditional means of therapy and education (both social and formal). As technology progresses, more ways of improvement have been introduced, pushing the boundaries and crossing into what was once thought to be impossible, especially when it comes to our own biology. With this biotechnology becoming more advanced and more publicly accessible, it is helpful to understand exactly what it is and what the relevant ethical dimensions of its implementation are.
Bioenhancement
In general, the word ‘enhancement’ alludes to some kind of improvement that is more than just healing or simply restoring — basically, making something better than it once was. This includes improving on what once was, or adding new traits to one’s arsenal. There are three main kinds of enhancement; they are moral, cognitive, and emotional. Physical enhancements are considered to be a type of bioenhancement as well, and the three main kinds of enhancement require some level of physical or physiological intervention. They are also very interconnected, so much so that improving one can improve upon the others. There are subtypes of enhancement, such as genetic enhancement and cosmetic enhancement.
Basically, cognitive enhancement involves improving upon mental functions, emotional or affective enhancement focuses on the recognition and regulation of emotions, while moral enhancement develops one’s tendency for moral and ethical behaviours. Although it might seem like bioenhancement is a faraway possibility or something from a Black Mirror episode, many of us have already been exposed to bioenhancements. For example, individuals who wear glasses, use calculators, or buy their fruits and vegetables are using enhancements. Specific examples of bioenhancements also include the use of anti-depressants or Adderall to improve focus.
The Ethics of Enhancement
Bioenhancement, like other technologies, continues to evolve and change on a daily pace. This means that some of the legal and ethical frameworks governing this technology do not properly cover the scope of the technologies, so some questions are left unanswered. The major questions include the impact of bioenhancement and external intervention on autonomy, the capacity for exacerbating socioeconomic divides by preventing accessibility to treatments, and the concerns of ultimate control and power that these technologies allow.
Many of these big questions have already been discussed at large in literature such as the seminal text, Unfit for the Future, by philosophers Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu [2]. They argue that the survival of the human race is contingent on implementing these bioenhancements to improve our morality, and tackle the inequalities embedded into liberal democracies that require such moral enhancement in the face of catastrophes like climate change. Aside from that, there has been a huge shift toward including these technological advancements in pop culture and media, with the rise of science-fiction and dystopian media that often ponder these large ethical questions. Some pop culture references to bioenhancement include Limitless (2011), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818).
“We are no longer living in a time when we can say we either want to enhance or we don’t. We are already living in an age of enhancement” [3]
Bioenhancement Going Forward
Although there is still a very long way to go, there are still some clear steps that are entailed in the advancement of bioenhancement as well as its ethical induction into mainstream society. The most crucial is the cooperation of ethicists, scientists, lawmakers, and the stakeholders who make up the general public. Some of the most important tenets for the just and ethical development of bioenhancement include:
- Transparency about the means of development, long-term consequences, and ethical implications of using different kinds of bioenhancements.
- Inclusivity to ensure that all stakeholders have a say in the development as part of democratic discourse, but also to ensure that there is no gatekeeping of treatments due to systemic barriers such as socioeconomics.
- Continuous development and reassessment because the evolution of technology does not end with the release of a product, despite the intuition of those who work in such industries. There ought to be an ongoing assessment of their impact on a local and global scale, as well as the related ethics and laws to ensure that they are equivalent to the technologies themselves.
Even though the goal might be to “build a better person,” there are many more considerations to keep in mind that are not solely focused on the technologies themselves, but rather the world around them. To maximize the impact potential of biotechnologies, a comprehensive outlook is required by all the relevant parties who have a hand in creating and using these bioenhancements.
Author: Kawthar Fedjki
Sources
[1] Adlakha-Hutcheon, G., Richins, M. T., & Taylor, D. E. (2021). Biotechnology, Human Enhancement and Human Augmentation: A Way Ahead for Research and Policy. NATO Science and Technology Organization Neuilly-Sur-Seine (France). https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/citations/trecms/AD1183676
[2] Persson, I., & Savulescu, J. (2012). Unfit for the Future: The Need for Moral Enhancement. Oxford University Press.
[3] Masci, D. (2016, July 26). Human Enhancement: The Scientific and Ethical Dimensions of Striving for Perfection. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2016/07/26/human-enhancement-the-scientific-and-ethical-dimensions-of-striving-for-perfection/
