Ethics is her reigning ethos

Philosopher and PhD candidate Federica Lucivero, 27, is studying the ethical issues in emerging technologies. She hopes to broaden scientists’ imagination about the social and moral impact of their research.

With a Masters in Philosophy from Pisa University, Lucivero joined the Faculty of Behavioral Sciences at the UT two years ago. Her goal is to access the ethical implications of emerging technology in a realistic way. ‘It’s vital to reflect on the social impacts and cultural meanings of any technology in its initial stage of development,’ she said in her Cubicus office. ‘When technology is analyzed at an early stage, we can still change it or become better prepared when the technology enters the market.’

This early approach is new for ethicists who are only starting to assess technologies during their initial research stages. Lucivero is focusing, in particular, on techno-scientific expectations and how they play a role in socio-technical dynamics. ‘Expectations can guide decisions that are taken in the R&D process,’ she said. ‘Often it is difficult to anticipate the social dynamics that we expect to occur with any new technology. We have to ask: “Does it change our moral attitude and in what way? What values might the technology change?” These impacts of emerging technologies on our values and everyday life are often neglected.

‘Sometimes expectations on emerging technologies are highly speculative, depicting very futuristic scenarios. Yet, in these visions, people’s behaviors and values seem to be very conservative. We have to broaden how we imagine not just the future, but also how our morality changes in time.’

Collaborating with scientists in Arizona and lab-on-a-chip engineers at MESA+ Research Institute, Lucivero’s research will include interviews and an ongoing dialogue. ‘This reflection of what scientists are doing on a daily basis comes with an equal partnership,’ she explained. ‘They are the actors that can change the development process. But as an ethicist, I hope to broaden their views on the social implications of their research and enhance their awareness of their responsibility.’ The final goal of her research is to reflect on the methodology for other ethicists to use when assessing the impact of expectations on emerging technologies.

The Center for Philosophy of Technology and Engineering Science (CEPTES) of the Philosophy Department is dedicated to bridging the gulf between the humanities and engineering sciences. It also aims to develop and disseminate a philosophical understanding of technology and engineering science and their impact on society.

When asked about how people react when she says she’s from Napoli, Lucivero shrugged, slightly exasperated. ‘Whenever I say I am from Napoli, the first word that comes up is “mafia” and the second is “pizza.” There is some truth in this, but the thing that people don’t realize is the mafia is not a localized phenomenon. It is not just in Napoli or Italy, but rather, a large network of global criminality that could not exist without a world economy.’

She smiled and admitted that Napoli does have the best pizza and coffee in Italy, ‘because of the water,’ and then went onto the merits of living in the Netherlands. ‘I like the Dutch directness, although it was difficult in the beginning and something I had to learn. I also like the absence of hierarchy, which I cannot experience in Italy. But I miss an architectonic landscape. I miss walking down the street and being in love with what I see — the art and history around me. Whenever I return to my beautiful city, there is an emotional connection. A feeling of home.’

Lucivero poses with a photo of Karl Marx. ‘He believed that philosophers need to interpret the world in various ways. But as philosophers, we also need to change the world and the way people think. I try to do that too.’ (Photo: Gijs van Ouwerkerk)

Workshop on how ethicists can best work with scientists

On June 1-2, CEPTES will hold an international workshop on ‘Ethics on the Laboratory Floor’ to explore how ethicists can best work with scientists in the research context and anticipate the ambiguous impacts that technological innovations can have on the quality of human life. Lucivero is one of the workshop organizers and will be making a presentation about her work.

Several scholars have developed views on how an ethicist can contribute to the technological product at a stage when it is still malleable, but there is not yet a detailed ‘method’. This workshop aims to contribute to the development of such a method. The focus during the two days revolves around the themes of reflection and deliberation.

The questions that will be explored include: What is reflection/deliberation? How should ethicists enhance reflection? What are the consequences of such an enhancement of reflection on the deliberation about research choices? How much this deliberation should be broadened? And what is the specific input of an ethicist in this deliberation?

For more information, go to www.utwente.nl/ceptes/ceptes_activities/deliberation_engineering