Among E (ethical), L (legal), and S (social) issues, ethics (E) is the norm that society depends on, which changes over the long term but is stable in the short term. E is expected to be the basis of Law (L). L must be constantly reviewed from E but is also impacted by society (S). On the other hand, public opinion tends to be volatile.
When emerging technologies are introduced into society, they may not be interpretable under the current laws and regulations (L) or may become illegal if left untouched. For example, when inexpensive drones began to spread, an issue emerged as the aviation law was not adequate for small unmanned aerial vehicles. In addition, emerging technologies may require a new code of ethics (E). New reproductive medicine and transplantation techniques require new ethical norms. The availability of cameras at the end of the 19th century led to the creation of the concept of privacy rights. Social acceptability (S) is also essential for emerging technologies. If society (S) does not accept the technology, even if it complies with laws and regulations (L), the business implementing the technology will be at a reputational risk.
In this way, the innovation of emerging technologies, that is, the spread of emerging technologies to society leading to the creation of new industries and changes in lifestyles, requires an update of Ethical (E), Legal (L), and Social (S) aspects (https://elsi.osaka-u.ac.jp/en/what-is-elsi).
Collaborative Projects within the Center
Through CISNN’s collaborative activities, Dr. Shauku will work closely with Dr. Ahmed, Biswas and Pathak in exploring the impacts of the various science and technologies—Clean Energy, Quantum technologies, Catalysis—on the critical spaces of Ethics, Society, Legality, and Policy.
Dr. Shauku will also collaborate with Prof. Carbonara in the area of understanding the impacts of the utilization of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in these spaces. Lastly, the Center will foster collaboration between Dr. Shauku and Dr. Qian and Dr. Hunter in addressing the interfaces of these areas with the area of Economics and Economic Viability of any given technology.