October 17, 2019

Does Technology Make Life Better--or Worse--for People with Disabilities?

Technologies ranging from robotic exoskeletons to cochlear implants, created to make life easier for people with disabilities, may have the opposite effect. Joel Michael Reynolds, the Rice Family Fellow in Bioethics and the Humanities at The Hastings Center and an assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, discusses this disconnect on The Future of the Future, a new podcast by ITSP Magazine, which covers the intersection of technology, cybersecurity, and society. One key to making technologies truly useful for people with disabilities? Ask them what they want and need, says Reynolds, something manufacturers don’t do enough. Another key is for manufacturers to be attuned to ethical concerns about social justice, equality, and equity. Listen to the podcast. The ways in which technologies can support or thwart flourishing will be explored in a series of public events in New York City organized by The Hastings Center--directed by Hastings Center scholar Erik Parens and codirected by Reynolds, and funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The first event will take place on December 3. Read more. Register here.

Tomorrow: Challenges for Older Adults in the "Forgotten Middle"

Public discussion and policy often cite "aging in place" as a way to improve quality of life for older people and reduce costs. However, not all older adults can live in age-supportive communities, neighborhoods, or homes. Millions of people are in the "forgotten middle," neither rich nor poor, whose housing and care needs in the last stage of life cannot be met through publicly funded health insurance or personal savings alone. The challenges raised by these inequalities are the focus of a public event cosponsored by The Hastings Center and the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. Hastings Center president Mildred Solomon and research scholar Nancy Berlinger will speak at the event. It is made possible by a generous grant to The Hastings Center from The Robert W. Wilson Charitable Trust as part of its visionary support for the Center's research and public engagement on ethical challenges facing aging. Register here. Watch the livestream. Join the conversation on Twitter #AgingInAPlace.

New Hastings Researcher Tackles Questions About Genetic Research and Human Behavior

Lucas J. Matthews has been named a postdoctoral researcher at The Hastings Center and the Columbia Center for Research on Ethical, Legal & Social Implications of Psychiatric, Neurologic & Behavioral Genetics. In this two-year position, he will take on conceptual, methodological, and ethical issues that underpin recent developments in genetic technologies, such as polygenic risk scores. “What are the potential benefits and harms of polygenic scores for complex behavioral traits, such as intelligence and educational attainment?” he asks. “How can we mitigate potential harms? How can we maximize potential benefits?” Read more.

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