New technologies have the potential to produce positive and unforeseeable (and possibly negative) results; among these are innovations in sustainability, nanotechnology, neurotechnology, and energy technology. By virtue of their expertise, engineers are in a unique position to understand, assess, and shape these technologies, and to inform the public about them. On October 14 and 15, 2003, the NAE held a public workshop, "Emerging Technologies and Ethical Issues", with three objectives: 1) to describe directions of development of these emerging technologies; 2) to review the state of the art in engineering ethics in search of strategies and tools for addressing these emerging technologies; 3) to address questions as to what engineers and engineering professional organizations, such as the NAE, can and should do to ensure that these technologies are developed in socially responsible ways. You can listen to the sessions in streaming RealAudio. Two of particular interest may be: Neurotechnology and Brain-Computer Interfaces: Ethical and Social Implications Nano-Ethics: Framing the Issues |