Ethical questions for human enhancements of UK workforce

Technologies that enhance human functions such as memory, hearing and mobility could dramatically change how people work over the next decade, according to a workshop hosted by four of the UK's national academies and chaired by Genevra Richardson from The Dickson Poon School of Law at King's. The report, 'Human enhancement and the future of work', points out that although human enhancement technologies might improve performance and aid society, their use would raise serious ethical, philosophical, regulatory and economic issues that will need further consideration. The report follows a joint workshop hosted by the Academy of Medical Sciences, the British Academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society which considered cognitive enhancing drugs, bionic limbs and retinal implants among other current and emerging technologies that may revolutionise UK workplaces. The report emphasises the immediate need for further discussion and debate around such issues as potential harm to individuals, coercion by employers and concerns related to equity and fairness. To date, physical and cognitive enhancements have been developed primarily with the focus of restoration of function but increasingly drugs and enhancers are being used by healthy people. For example, Modafinil - a drug prescribed to treat sleep disorders has also been used to reduce impulsive behaviour. Researchers from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts previously estimated that up to 16% of students in the USA use cognitive enhancers to improve performance and that even some academics make use of enhancers to overcome jetlag and improve productivity for particularly challenging tasks.