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8 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 245-268

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From page 245...
... This report explores the ELSI implications of emerging and readily available technologies (ERA technologies) in a military context, and suggests the possibility that some of the ELSI understandings formulated in the context of civilian applications may need to be modified or extended when cast against a military or other national security backdrop.
From page 246...
... The committee examined only ERA technologies, and thus declines to assert the relevance of this report so broadly, but the committee would be gratified if the discussion in this report turns out to be relevant to non-ERA technologies as well. 8.2 FINDINGS Finding 1: Some developments in emerging and readily available technologies in a military context are likely to raise complex ethical, legal, and societal issues, some of which are different from those asso ciated with similar technologies in a civilian context.
From page 247...
... is not particularly relevant when cyber weapons are considered. A related point is that new technologies with military application may well generate ELSI controversy even if the ELSI concerns are in some sense not new.
From page 248...
... But the undertaking ran afoul of public concerns regarding the ethics of a project that might give individuals incentives to conduct terrorist activities, even if such incentives were in some absolute sense minimal. The methodology -- arguably a promising one in the appropriate context -- was not as thoroughly explored as it might have been, and the project was canceled.
From page 249...
... On the other hand, a positive perception regarding the ethics of an R&D project may enhance public support for pursuit of that science or technology, irrespective of the scientific or technical basis for such pursuit. Finding 4: The ethical, legal, and societal issues of concern that may be associated with a given technology development are very hard to anticipate accurately at the start of that development.
From page 250...
... The committee also suspects that if an agency's culture routinely addresses ELSI concerns, the additional work required to address ELSI matters on any individual project will be small. That is, the cost of putting into place the necessary processes and procedures to address the first R&D projects to be assessed for ELSI significance is likely to be at least partially amortizable over succeeding projects subject to the same processes and procedures, and a new project addressing approximately the same problem domains might require only incremental work.
From page 251...
... In the late 1980s, a variety of AIDS advocacy groups argued that the timeline for delivering promising drugs for AIDS treatment was simply too long, and that on ELSI grounds, that timeline should be accelerated. Their arguments were ultimately successful, and the FDA adopted an approval standard for certain drugs based on a risk-benefit calculus rather than on the traditional criteria of being shown to be "safe and effective." 1 8.3 RECOMMENDATIONS Chapters 1 through 5 point out ways in which developments in ERA technologies in a military context may end up raising significant ethical, legal, and societal issues.
From page 252...
... The findings above help to shape the committee's four recommendations to agencies that support R&D on emerging and readily available technologies of military significance and that are interested in addressing ethical, legal, and societal issues inherent in their R&D portfolios. (In the recommendations below, the term "interested agency" is used to mean agencies interested in addressing ELSI concerns inherent in their R&D portfolios.
From page 253...
... In the long run, these are key elements in creating an institutional culture that is sensitive to ELSI concerns. Furthermore, statements of public support need to be repeated periodically, to remind experienced program managers of the importance that the agency places on the subject and to introduce new program managers to the idea of doing so.
From page 254...
... that was not caught by the several layers of project people and functionally deployed people who were accountable for checking and correcting such mistakes and who each failed to be accountable and to satisfy their responsibilities. Risks from unaddressed ELSI concerns may, or may not, be less consequential.
From page 255...
... Recommendation 2: Interested agencies that support R&D on emerging and readily available technologies of military significance should develop and deploy five specific processes to enable these agencies to consider ethical, legal, and societal issues associated with their research portfolios: (a) initial screening of all proposed R&D projects for ELSI concerns, (b)
From page 256...
... A false negative, involving the failure to identify an ELSI concern that a project in fact does raise, would need correction only if the research proposal is actually funded; the monitoring process discussed below in Recommendation 2.c is intended to help catch those false negatives. 2.b–Reviewing proposals that raise ELSI concerns Once an agency has identified research proposals or projects that may raise complex ethical, legal, and societal issues, it needs to decide how to proceed.
From page 257...
... In some cases it may also be useful to bring in voices from outside the agency, such as experts in the technology, experts in the particular ethical, legal, and societal issues, or representatives of the groups that might be affected by the issues. All such possibilities are based on the idea that engagement with a variety of different intellectual and political perspectives increases the likelihood that relevant ELSI concerns will be revealed.
From page 258...
... If the perceived ELSI concerns change significantly during the course of a project (that is, if and when new issues are identified, if and when previous attempts to address already-identified issues prove inadequate, or if and when public perceptions change even if the issues themselves have not) , programmatic or project responses are developed and the program or project plan can be modified accordingly.
From page 259...
... On either path, if the perceived ELSI concerns associated with an R&D project change significantly, the interested agency will have to adapt to those changes. When new issues are identified (or previous attempts to address already-identified issues prove inadequate)
From page 260...
... As part of the review of the research proposal, someone within the agency would examine all proposals to identify which ones appear likely to raise significant ELSI concerns. Depending on the size and breadth of the research portfolio at the agency and its internal orga nization, that examination might be conducted by one person or several.
From page 261...
... Researchers might also be encouraged to bring to the attention of program managers new ELSI concerns if they become aware of them during the course of their work. Proposals that initially were not seen as raising such issues, either during the screening or after the assessment process, could be sent back through the screening process.
From page 262...
... If the agency finds that the promulgated policies and implementations are both consistent with the senior leadership's intent and helpful to the agency, it has the option of advocating through appropriate chains of command similar efforts to other agencies that fund S&T research. Recommendation 3���������������������������������������������� : Interested agencies supporting R&D on emerg ing and readily available technologies of military significance should undertake an effort to educate and sensitize program man agers to ethical, legal, and societal issues.
From page 263...
... Like all fields, the fields that assess ELSI concerns arising with various technologies have their own vocabularies. At the very least, the agency personnel dealing with these issues will have to understand, at some level, the relevant "language." At the same time, those with ELSI responsibilities and/ or expertise must have some understanding of the underlying research in order to identify issues that may or may not emerge.
From page 264...
... For example, in an agency with one person screening proposals or projects for ELSI concerns, that person might need substantial training. The other people involved at the assessment stage, though, might be sufficiently trained through a series of a few lectures or seminars, possibly even delivered online or in videos.
From page 265...
... Many approaches are possible; what is important is that an agency focuses on the goal of getting help from outside experts who understand ELSI concerns but also understand, to some extent, the agency and its mission. Such expertise may be rare, in which case new training grants on ethical, legal, and societal issues in S&T with regard to specific agency culture, procedures, and mission might be indicated.
From page 266...
... For example, institutional review boards for research involving human subjects are quite common. Leveraging policies and procedures already in place to address ELSI concerns associated with certain kinds of research will help to minimize unnecessary overhead in institutions performing research on ERA technologies with military significance, and where policies and procedures already exist to address ethical, legal, and societal issues that are common to both military and civilian-oriented research, new ones should not be created to address them.
From page 267...
... That said, civilian-oriented ELSI mechanisms cannot be used in a military context without taking into account the special and unique aspects of that context. Apparent in DARPA's charge to the committee is a concern about what it means to undertake R&D in an ethical manner.


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