Deck 13: Technology Assessments and Social Experiments

Question 1

What is the purpose of a technology assessment, and why are such analyses morally important?

Answer 1

No Answer.

Question 2

What is the role of informed consent when new technologies are introduced in society?

Answer 2

No Answer.

Question 3

Should new technologies be treated as ongoing social experiments? Explain your answer.

Answer 3

No Answer.

Question 4

What is the best objection to treating new technologies as ongoing social experiments? Explain why.

Question 5

How should new technologies be introduced in society by morally conscientious engineers?

Question 6

Which of the following is a clear example of a negative and unforeseen consequence of the use of cell phones?

A) People would stop using landlines as much.
B) There would be more automobile accidents.
C) People would use cell phone cameras to film people without their knowledge.
D) None of the above

Question 7

In 1972 the United States created the Office of Technology Assessment performed a similar function to which federal agency?

A) FBI
B) NSA
C) FDA
D) ATF

Question 8

Which of the following best expresses the mission of the OTA?

A) To generate new technology for new generations
B) To ensure that the armed forces always have the most cutting-edge technology
C) To assess the beneficial and adverse impacts of new technology
D) To increase America's ability to electronically eavesdrop on other countries

Question 9

How might we evaluate the government's assessment of the Internet?

A) Highly accurate;, predicted exactly how the technology would be used
B) Somewhat inaccurate; misidentified good consequences as bad
C) Somewhat accurate; predicted many uses of the technology but not all
D) Highly inaccurate; missed crucial directions the technology would take

Question 10

In 1989 the US Office of Technology Assessment wrote in a report that "the current Internet is, to an extent, an experiment in progress, similar to the early days of the telephone system. . . . Patterns of use are still evolving; and a reliable network has reached barely half of the research community." This quote

A) articulates a view about technological progress accepted by technological optimists.
B) articulates a view about technological progress accepted by technological pessimists.
C) articulates a view about technological progress that fits well with the Brundtland report on sustainable development.
D) suggests that it is sometimes useful to think of new technologies as social experiments.

Question 11

If we think of the introduction of new technologies in society as social experiments, then which of the following criteria would be relevant for evaluating the moral permissibility of such experiments?

A) Is it possible to stop the experiment?
B) Have the participants given their informed consent to participating?
C) Are the potential hazards and benefits distributed fairly?
D) All of the above

Question 12

If we think of the introduction of new technologies in society as social experiments, then which of the following criteria would be relevant for evaluating the moral permissibility of such experiments?

A) Does the experiment give rise to any serious irreversible effects?
B) Have the participants given their informed consent to participating?
C) Have the risks of the experiment been minimized as far as reasonably possible?
D) All of the above

Question 13

If we think of autonomous military robots as an ongoing social experiments, we could object that they are morally problematic because

A) we may not be able to stop the experiment if we so wish.
B) we have not given our informed consent to the experiment.
C) the potential hazards and benefits are not fairly distributed.
D) All of the above

Question 14

Which of the following concerns about autonomous military robots best expresses Russell's worry?

A) Criminals might use them.
B) The robots might turn against humans.
C) The technology might fall into the enemy's hands.
D) One can launch deadly attacks without endangering one's own personnel.

Question 15

Some argue that the question "Is X an ethically acceptable technology" should be replaced by the question "Is X an ethically acceptable social experiment?" Which of the following is the best objection to this idea?

A) It is not clear what is meant by the term social experiment.
B) The two questions are not equivalent: A technology can be acceptable even if it is not an acceptable social experiment.
C) It is much easier to answer the question "Is X an ethically acceptable technology" than the question "Is X an ethically acceptable social experiment?"
D) The term ethically acceptable technology is undefined.

Question 16

Some ethicists think that rather than evaluating new technology as good or bad, we should evaluate it as a good or bad social experiment to try. Which of the following cases might show problems with treating technology as social experiment?

A) Stem cell therapy because it involves unethical experimentation
B) Cell phones because once the experiment begins, it cannot be stopped
C) Autonomous killer robots because we cannot control the experiment
D) Truman dropping bombs on Japan because it would never satisfy requirements of ethical experiment but would satisfy criterion for acceptable military action

Question 17

The case of stem cells show that evaluating technology as a social experiment fails to solve the ethical questions because

A) the debates between utilitarians and deontologists remain and are unresolved.
B) this sort of experimentation does not involve informed consent.
C) the length of the experiment is too long.
D) we already have moral agreement in this case.

Question 18

One of the main criticisms of evaluating technology as a social experiment is

A) research ethics is already quite strict and any consideration is taken seriously.
B) the long history of unethical research on humans in the United States.
C) the impossibility of informed consent.
D) the growing consensus that animal experimentation is wrong.

Question 19

The best argument against replacing the question of the acceptability of technology with its acceptability as a social experiment is

A) most experiments are ruled unethical anyway.
B) this approach does not replace the question of the acceptability of the technology.
C) social experiments are too easy to justify.
D) research ethics assumes deontology.

Question 20

Which of the following is a principle of the Nuremburg Code?

A) The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved.
B) The experiment should be such as to yield fruitful results for the good of society.
C) The voluntary consent of the human subject is absolutely essential.
D) All of the above

Question 21

The case of email being necessary for performing job functions in the 21st century counts against using the Nuremburg Code to evaluate technology as a social experiment because the

A) fifth principle about the subject having liberty to end experiment is too strong.
B) second principle of yielding fruitful results is too vague.
C) fourth principle of protection from death is impossible to guarantee.
D) All of the above

Question 22

Martin and Schinzinger recognize it is impractical to obtain informed consent for new technology from everyone affected so they suggest we

A) use a weaker principle that only requires that the information a rational agent would require has been widely disseminated.
B) limit social experiments to small towns.
C) inform the public and consumers immediately prior to use of the new product.
D) None of the above

Question 23

Ibo van de Poel objects to Martin and Schinzinger's solution to the informed consent problem on what grounds?

A) We have no clear notion of a rational person.
B) We can't tell a passenger about to board a plane about the risks and expect an informed decision.
C) We simply don't know enough about the effects of technology socially to give the proper information for informed consent..
D) No small town would agree to large-scale social experiments.

Question 24

Van de Poel responds to earlier attempts to determine whether technology is an acceptable social experiment with a more nuanced and forgiving set of criteria including which of the following?

A) During the course of the experiment, the human subject should be at liberty to bring the experiment to an end.
B) The experiment is approved by democratically legitimized bodies.
C) The degree of risk to be taken should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved.
D) All of the above

Question 25

Which of the following did the OTA predict about the Internet?

A) Researchers would eventually have access to digital libraries of journals and reference material.
B) Scientific communication would be supported by electronic mail, conferencing, etc.
C) Experimental devices like telescopes and seismographs would be able to be operated remotely.
D) All of the above