Part 2

• Science and technology, as well as research and development, enjoyautonomy from the state and society. They may draw inspiration from them,but they are not necessarily determined and directed by them. However,the application, use, and distribution of technology require ethical standards and even legal provisions set by the local and internationalgovernments.
• Technologypermeates every aspect of human life, an activity. Inevitably, ethics willalso evolve into a burning, un-ignorable issue for every individual andorganization. At present, we do not have everyday globalethics to technological advancement to discuss different issues, let alone agreement or accepted legal rights and responsibilities.
• Ethical dilemmas and policy issues for 2015

  • Real-time Satellite Surveillance Video
  • Astronaut Bioethics (of colonizing Mars)
  • Wearable Technology
  • State-Sponsored Hacktivism and "Soft War"
  • Enhanced Pathogens
  • Non-lethal Weapons
  • Robot Swarm
  • Artificial Life Forms
• Real-time Satellite Surveillance Video


  Companies such as Planet Labs and Skybox Imaging have launchedlots of satellites in the last year to record the entire Earth's statusin real-time. The satellites themselves are getting cheaper, smaller, andmore sophisticated than before. Commercial satellite companies make thisdata available to corporations letting customers see useful images ofareas handling natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies and data onprivate citizens' comings and goings.
• Astronaut Bioethics (of colonizing Mars)


  The colonization of Mars and plans for long term space missionsare already ongoing. NASA has launched the Orion spacecraft, and NASAAdministrator Charles Bolden declared a "Day One of the Marsera." The company MarsOne and Lockheed Martin and Surrey SatelliteTechnology are preparing to launch a robotic mission to Mars in 2018 withsucceeding humans in 2025. The first 418 mean and 28 women worldwide arepresently competing for the four spots on the first one-way human settlementmission.
• Wearable Technology


  We are presently involved in multiple technologies that monitorour behaviors. The development of dozens of bracelets and clip-on devicesthat monitor steps taken, activity levels, heart rate, etc., not tomention the advent of organic electronics that can be layered, printed,painted, or grown on human skin, has led by the fitness tracking craze. Googleis partnering with Novartis to create a contact lens that monitors bloodsugar levels in diabetes and leads healthcare providers' information.
• Wearables have the potential to teach us, protect our health, aswell as violate our privacy in many amounts of ways.
• State-Sponsored Hacktivism and "Soft War"

  "Soft war" is a concept used to explain insurgents'rights and duties during the armed struggle. It incorporates tacticsother than armed force to achieve political ends. Cyberwar and hacktivismcould be soft war tools, through specific ways by states in inter stateconflict, instead of isolated individuals or groups. We already live in a stateof low intensity cyber conflict.
• Enhanced Pathogens


  White house suspended research on October 17, 2014, enhancingthe pathogenicity of viruses such as influenza, severe acute respiratorysyndrome (SARS), and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). In itself,Gain-of-function research is not detrimental; it is used to provide vitalunderstanding into viruses and how to treat them. When used to increasemammalian transmissibility and virulence, altered viruses pose severesecurity and biosafety risks.
• Non-lethal Weapons


  Primarily, it may seem ridiculous that kinds of weapons that havebeen around since World War I and not designed to kill could be anevolving ethical or policy dilemma - considering the recent developmentand production of non-lethal weapons such as laser missiles, blindingweapons, pain rays, sonic weapons, electric weapons, heat rays, disablingmalodor ants, as well as the use of gases and sprays in both the military and domestic police forces. These weapons may not kill, but they can cause severepain, physical injuries, and long-term health costs (the latter has notbeen thoroughly investigated).
• Robot Swarm


  Harvard University researchers created 1000 robots capable of communicating with each other to perform simple tasks such as ordering themselves into shapesand patterns. No human intervention is required in these"kilobots" beyond the original set of instructions and worktogether to complete tasks. These tiny bots are based on insects' groupbehavior and can perform environmental cleanups or answer disasters where humans fear treading. The concept of driverless cars also relies on thissystem, where the cars themselves would communicate with each other toobey traffic laws and transport people safely to their destination.
• Artificial Life Forms


  Research on artificial life forms is a range of synthetic biologyfocused on custom building life forms to address specific purposes. Announcedby Craig Venter and colleagues is the first synthetic life form in 2010made from a present organism by introducing synthetic DNA. Synthetic lifeallows scientists to study the origins of life by building it rather thanbreaking it down, but this technique blurs the line between life and machines, and scientists foresee program organisms' ability. The ethical andpolicy issues surrounding synthetic biology innovations renew concernsraised previously with other biological breakthroughs, including safetyissues and risk factors connected with releasing life formsin the environment.
• Making artificial life forms has been deemed "playingGod" because it allows individuals to create a life that does notexist naturally. Gene patents have been a concern for several years now,and synthetic organisms suggest a new dimension of this policy issue.While customized organisms may one-day cure cancer, they may also be usedas biological weapons.