Boeing Archives - Viterbi Conversations in Ethics

Spring 2019 Weekly News Profile

Profit or Safety: Boeing’s Preventable Accidents

3/22/2019 Profiled article H. Tabuchi, “Doomed Boeing Jets Lacked 2 Safety Features That Company Sold Only as Extras”, Mar. 21, 2019. [Online] The New York…

Fall 2021 Featured Volume 5 Issue 2

Curing the Human Condition: The Ethics of Editing Our Own DNA

Connor Powers October 26, 2021

Thirty-two million Americans currently have health conditions linked to genetic defects, nearly all of which can be corrected by genetic editing with CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Opponents of gene editing abound, from those who point to their potential role in increasing the privilege gap between the rich and poor, to people who object morally to the idea of humans meddling with their own DNA, to pharmaceutical companies whose profits would be threatened by a reduced need for medication. However, after analysis of the ethicality of genetic editing technology with the frameworks of common good, utilitarianism, and fairness, it is evident that the eventual species-scale benefits that will be brought about by the technology outweigh its risks and flaws.

Fall 2021 Featured Volume 5 Issue 2

Animal Testing as a Means of Survival

Isabelle Lau October 26, 2021

The morality of animal testing has been widely debated since its origins in Ancient Greece. Testing on animals allows the evaluation of new drugs and procedures without harming humans but raises the question of whether animals should be forcefully used for human gain. This paper recommends that animal testing only be used for approved medical research necessary for human survival and when all other animal-free methods are inadequate. If researchers need to use animal testing, they must scrupulously follow guidelines to minimize animal pain and suffering.

Fall 2021 Featured Volume 5 Issue 2

The Ethical Challenges of Neural Technology

Sabrina Sy October 26, 2021

Neural engineering is an emerging interdisciplinary field that utilizes engineering techniques to discover the function and manipulate the behavior of the human brain. Current research in neural engineering focuses on the development of treatments for neurological disorders that deplete the health of the nervous system and explores how the nervous system operates in both health and disease. Neural engineering has huge potential to relieve suffering in those who have lost functionality in their nervous systems, but the further development of this technology raises a number of ethical questions about identity, privacy, responsibility, and justice. These questions must be thoroughly addressed in order to guarantee the most responsible future development and use of neural engineering technologies.

Fall 2021 Featured Volume 5 Issue 2

Biohacking: The Ethical Implications of Democratizing Biotechnology

Lindsey Marks October 26, 2021

Biohacking is a Do-It-Yourself movement that encourages experimenting with biotechnology tools to find ways to improve one’s health and enhance one’s natural capabilities, and many in the movement advocate for the democratization of scientific tools so that everyone can participate in such scientific discovery. However, some biohackers take their experimentation to the extreme, and not all of them seem to understand the responsibility and risks associated with the scientific methods they employ. As a result, tension between the biohacking community and the professional science community has grown as biohacking continues to increase in popularity. Though the biohacking movement makes salient points about the way ethical precautions and regulation slow innovation, this paper explores the need for codes of ethics governing the pursuit of scientific discovery and how biohackers and traditional, trained scientists can reach common ground.

Fall 2021 Featured Volume 5 Issue 2

Why We Should Embrace Artificial Wombs

Timothy Wang October 26, 2021

A human fetus developing outside of a uterus may seem like science fiction at first, but artificial wombs are quickly becoming a reality. They’ve already been tested successfully on lambs, and some researchers predict they’ll be ready for human use in less than a decade. Despite criticism from opponents who see artificial wombs as “unnatural” or believe they will be harnessed to create genetically modified “designer babies,” this paper argues that the technology, once proven safe, is wholly ethical – and in certain cases, it may even be unethical not to use it.

Featured Spring 2022 Weekly News Profile

The Inequitable Offer of 4 COVID Tests Per Household

Sabrina Sy January 24, 2022

As part of the Biden administration’s most recent initiatives to combat the rise of COVID-19 cases, four at-home test kits have been offered to each household in the U.S., but the conditions of this offer are yet another example of a consistent pattern of inequities during the pandemic.

Spring 2022 Weekly News Profile

SpaceX and Amazon’s Starlink Spat

Isabel Brieler January 17, 2022

In the most recent update to SpaceX and Amazon’s ongoing conflict over the proposed Starlink Satellite Internet plan, Amazon has requested further delays to SpaceX’s launch schedule in order to “allow for more thorough analysis.”

Fall 2021 Weekly News Profile

The Replication Crisis: Issues in Scientific Research

Michael DeLucia December 13, 2021

In current scientific research, there appears to be a replication crisis in which results of publications cannot be replicated. While this may not impact the validity of the research, it creates looming questions and uncertainties for the products of that research going forward, and innovation in the space as a whole.

Fall 2021 Weekly News Profile

Omicron Variant Causes Public Health Officials to Rethink Vaccine Booster Recommendations

Sabrina Sy December 6, 2021

With the discovery of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, much uncertainty has been injected into the conversation about booster vaccines — from questions about who should get them and when, to the matter of how using vaccine doses as boosters in the U.S. can prevent lower-income countries from receiving first dose supplies.

Fall 2021 Weekly News Profile

Europe’s Emerging Energy Crisis

Isabel Yarwood Perez November 22, 2021

Europe’s energy crisis this winter has forced countries into an increased reliance on fossil fuels; is there a way to make sure everyone has their energy needs met without worsening carbon emissions?