Our Events

28-29 March 2009
Western Michigan University
Co-organizing workshop on the ethics of human enhancement technologies, especially as enabled by nanotechnology

Military Enhancement Report

1 January 2013
Enhanced Warfighters: Risk, Ethics, and Policy
We just released our new 100+ page report, funded by The Greenwall Foundation—the first to examine a full range of issues arising from military human enhancement technologies. Press release is here, and see excerpts in The Atlantic and related links below.

Human Enhancement Report

August 2009
US National Science Foundation-funded report
Ethics of Human Enhancement: 25 Questions & Answers

Journal Papers and Contributed Articles

29 February 2024
Bioethics
Cryonics: Traps and Transformations

5 May 2023
Prindle Post
The Garden of Simulated Delights

8 September 2022
The Prindle Post
Were Parts of Your Mind Made in a Factory?

11 May 2022
The Prindle Post
Cryonics: The Trap Objection

8 July 2019
Forbes
Cryonics: Medicine, Or The Modern Mummy?

12 July 2018
World Economic Forum
Artificial Islands, Robo-Ships, Sleepless Soldiers. Is This the Future of the Arctic?

12 July 2017
Forbes
Augmented Reality: It's Fun And Games Until You Make Your Neighborhood Mad

August 2015
Commercial Space Exploration: Ethics, Policy, and Governance
Enhancing Astronauts: The Ethical, Legal and Social Implications

6 October 2014
Slate
Introduction to Astronaut Bioethics

September 2014
Neurotechnology in National Security and Defense: Practical Considerations, Neuroethical Concerns
Military Neuroenhancement and Risk Assessment

April 2014
Global Issues and Ethical Considerations in Human Enhancement Technologies
Super Soldiers (Part 1): What is Military Human Enhancement?
Super Soldiers (Part 2): The Ethical, Legal, and Operational Implications

May 2013
Military Medical Ethics for the 21st Century
Enhanced Warfighters: A Policy Framework

15 April 2013
The Atlantic
Pain Rays and Robot Swarms: The Radical New War Games the DOD Plays

4 January 2013
The Atlantic
Could Human Enhancement Turn Soldiers Into Weapons That Violate International Law?

16 Feb 2012
The Atlantic
More Than Human? The Ethics of Biologically Enhancing Soldiers

December 2010
Journal of Military Ethics
Military 2.0: Ethical Blowback from Emerging Technologies

1 July 2009
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
Therapy and Enhancement: Is There a Moral Difference?

Other Links

22 May 2023
Drone Wars
Report: "Cyborg Dawn? Human-Machine Fusion and the Future of Warfighting"

22 May 2021
dot.LA
Immersion Tracks Oxytocin Levels to Improve Entertainment. Critics Fear It's Going Too Far.

8 February 2021
BBC
The Myth and Reality of the Super Soldier

27 August 2020
Breaking Defense
DoD Needs New Policies, Ethics For Brain-Computer Links (Jacked-In Troops?)

8 June 2020
Noema
Gods and Robots

5 February 2019
The Strategy Bridge
Biotechnology and Human Augmentation: Issues for National Security Practitioners

24 October 2018
Army Magazine
Engineering Super-Soldiers: Boost in Lethality May Come from Within

2 July 2018
United Nations, Office of Disarmament Affairs
Eighth Biennial Report of the Secretary-General on Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education

2 August 2017
The Independent (UK)
A Third Thumb? Our Changing Attitudes to Human Enhancement

29 November 2016
Quartz
Microsoft’s HoloLens Headset Will Allow Real Tank Operators to See the Battlefield Outside

3 October 2016
Strategy+Business
Hugh Herr Wants to Build a More Perfect Human

23 September 2016
World Politics Review
How Far Can the U.S. Military Go to Building a Technology-Enhanced "Super Soldier"?

1 May 2016
National Catholic Register
Genetic Engineering and Building a Better Soldier: Captain America vs. Ironman

24 March 2016
Popular Science
The Tricky Ethics of Living Longer

28 July 2015
The Christian Science Monitor
Robots in War: Ethical Concern, or a Help for Social Ills?

22 July 2015
Defense One
In The War of 2050, The Robots Call The Shots

13 July 2015
Defense One
What the Fighter of the Future Will Look Like

Summer 2015
The Wilson Quarterly
Future Wars: Reshaping the Ethics and Norms of War

20 April 2015
Army Magazine
Supersoldiers: Can Science and Technology Deliver Better Performance?

1 April 2015
Joint Force Quarterly
Will Humans Matter in the Wars of 2030?

Jan-Feb 2015
Military Review (US Army)
Ethics and the Enhanced Soldier of the Near Future

Winter 2015
Canadian Military Journal
The Ethics and Operational Considerations of Personal Augmentation in Military Operations

10 November 2014
Defense One
The Cyborg Medicine of Tomorrow Is Inside the Veteran of Today

20 October 2014
The Telegraph (UK)
The Real Cyborgs

16 September 2014
io9
10 Horrifying Technologies That Should Never Be Allowed To Exist

5 September 2014
Brookings Institution
Our Cyborg Future: Law and Policy Implications

27 February 2014
Foreign Policy
The Future of War: Enhancing Human Performance

19 December 2013
National Research Council
Emerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security — A Framework for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues

21 October 2013
Bloomberg Businessweek (Poland)
Open-Source War

22 January 2013
io9: Futurism
It Could Be a War Crime to Use Biologically Enhanced Soldiers

5 January 2013
BBC World Service Radio
Weekend Report (starts at 12.30)

31 December 2012
Wired's Danger Room
Military Must Prep Now for ‘Mutant’ Future, Researchers Warn

31 December 2012
The Raw Story
Group Warns Military: Prepare Now for Risks of ‘Mutant Soldier’ Future

31 December 2012
Digital Journal
Prepare for Future of Troops with 'Mutant Powers' Pentagon Urged

31 December 2012
End The Lie
New Report Highlights Ethics and Policy Dangers of “Military Human Enhancements”

31 December 2012
The Blaze
Report: Soldiers with ‘Mutant Powers’ Coming...But Is Anyone Considering the Implications?

26 December 2012
Wired's Danger Room
This Scientist Wants Tomorrow’s Troops to Be Mutant-Powered

13 November 2012
Robotics Business Review
The Cyborg Agenda: Extreme Users

13 June 2010
The New Atlantis (blog)
Patrick Lin on the Military's Push for Human Enhancement

27 April 2010
Press Release
Ethics Professor to Discuss Military Technologies at Harvard University
Talks this spring include US Naval Academy, Cal Poly Science Café, local TEDx, others

5 April 2010
Mustang Daily (Cal Poly)
Stanford Law Professor Speaks About Neuroscience

25 February 2010
Press Release
Neuroscience and Ethics to be Explained by Stanford Professor on March 12
Issues include prediction, mind-reading, responsibility, consciousness, and more

31 August 2009
Press Release
NSF-Funded Ethics Report on Human Enhancement Released Today
Q&A format gives an easy-to-understand introduction and outline of key issues

2 Mar 2009
Press Release
Human Enhancement and Nanotechnology Conference to Convene at WMU
Ethics meeting to cover issues in sports, military, policy, religion, and more

15 Dec 2008
Press Release
Human Enhancement and Societal Challenges Featured in NanoEthics Journal
New collection of papers helps to navigate complex maze of issues

29 October 2007
Press Release
The Nanoethics Group to Discuss Human Enhancement Debate at ICNT 2007
Nov. 6 San Francisco talk examines predicted applications and growing controversy

* Invited talks, briefings, and book chapters may not all appear on this page.