University of Central Lancashire – Converging Technologies and Public Engagement Methodologies
Writing in Nature Ruth Chadwick and Kare Berg told us that “... developments in science and technology have a ‘value impact’— they can change the way we look at things and call for new principles to mediate between competing interests.”*. Their concept is true of many new forms of technology when applied in the medical/healthcare context, and this is especially true when considering interventions that are developed around the thesis of converging technology. The phrase “convergent technologies” refers to the synergistic combination of four major “NBIC” (nano-bio-info-cogno) provinces of science and technology, each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate:
(a) nanoscience and nanotechnology;
(b) biotechnology and biomedicine, including genetic engineering;
(c) Information technology, including advanced computing and communications;
(d) cognitive science, including cognitive neuroscience.
In their report Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance the National Science Foundation predicts great things from the convergence of these powerful technological platforms.
“[i]n the early decades of the 21st century, concentrated efforts can unify science based on the unity of nature, thereby advancing the combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and new technologies based in cognitive science. With proper attention to ethical issues and societal needs, converging technologies could achieve a tremendous improvement in human abilities, societal outcomes, the nation’s productivity, and the quality of life. This is a broad, crosscutting, emerging and timely opportunity of interest to individuals, society and humanity in the long term”.**
With this in mind UCLAN intends to bring together its unique approach to interdisciplinary research and public engagement methodologies, exploring the impact of converging technologies in a European context, allowing for the promotion and advancement of European bioethics education.
* Ruth Chadwick and Kåre Berg, Solidarity and equity: new ethical frameworks for genetic database, Nature Reviews, Genetics Volume 2, April 2001, 319
** Roco, M et al, Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance: Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information Technology and Cognitive Science, Arlington: NSF, 2002
