Ethics in the age of technology | Juan Enriquez | TEDx SHORTS
Summary
TLDRIn this TEDx Short, host Tosan Leonard explores the intersection of ethics and technology with scientist and entrepreneur Juan Enriquez. Enriquez challenges the traditional black-and-white view of ethics, highlighting how technological advancements blur moral lines, exemplified by the evolution of sex and conception. He urges for a more humble and less judgmental approach to ethics, advocating for intergenerational dialogue and understanding as we navigate the rapidly changing ethical landscape shaped by technology.
Takeaways
- 🌐 Technology is rapidly changing our norms and ethics, making what was once black and white now appear in shades of grey.
- 🤔 Juan Enriquez questions who teaches us ethics, suggesting it's a mix of holy books, parents, teachers, and even social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
- 📚 The traditional ethics manual is described as boring and redundant, often stating the obvious and not adapting to the pace of technological change.
- 🔍 Enriquez emphasizes the need for a new approach in judging the past, considering how technology influences our ethical standards.
- 🚫 The concept of sex and conception being separate is highlighted as an example of how technology challenges traditional ethical norms.
- 👴🏻👵🏻 Enriquez uses a thought experiment involving grandparents to illustrate how drastically our understanding of sex and reproduction has changed.
- 🔮 He also speculates on future changes in sexual ethics, suggesting that what we consider ethical today might be seen as unethical in the future.
- 🧠 Enriquez calls for humility in judging the past and establishing ethical rules for the future, acknowledging that technology might lead us to different ethical conclusions.
- 🌱 He suggests that technology can change what is considered ethically acceptable, using the example of alternative meat production that could reduce the need for traditional meat consumption.
- 🌟 Enriquez concludes by advocating for a more generous and less judgmental approach to ethics, encouraging intergenerational dialogue and understanding.
Q & A
What is the main topic of Juan Enriquez's TEDx talk?
-Juan Enriquez's TEDx talk focuses on the intersection of ethics and technology, and how technological advancements shape the moral norms of each generation.
What does Enriquez suggest is a common reaction to the ethics manual provided in new jobs?
-Enriquez suggests that the ethics manual is often seen as a boring and black-and-white document that states what is right and wrong, which people should already know by the time they take the job.
Who does Enriquez ask the audience to consider as their ethical teachers?
-Enriquez asks the audience to consider various sources as their ethical teachers, including holy books, parents, preachers, teachers, lawyers, doctors, the government, peers, and social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
How does Enriquez describe the impact of technology on the concept of ethics?
-Enriquez describes the impact of technology on ethics as turning it from black and white to 'fifty shades of grey,' indicating that technology complicates the understanding of right and wrong.
What fundamental act of evolution does Enriquez discuss in the context of technological change?
-Enriquez discusses the act of sex as the fundamental act of evolution and how technology has led to its redesign, allowing for sex without conception.
What thought experiment does Enriquez propose regarding the ethics of sex and conception?
-Enriquez proposes a thought experiment where the audience imagines having a conversation about sex with their grandparents as 18-year-olds, discussing the modern concept of sex without conception, which would have been considered strange in the past.
How does Enriquez suggest we should approach establishing ethics for future generations?
-Enriquez suggests that we should approach establishing ethics for future generations with humility, understanding that technology will continue to change what is considered allowable and that future generations may find our current practices unethical.
What alternative to traditional meat consumption does Enriquez mention as an example of technology driving ethical change?
-Enriquez mentions the availability of meat alternatives created by technology, such as lab-grown meat, as an example of how technology can drive ethical change by providing options that do not require traditional animal slaughter.
What attitude does Enriquez advocate for when discussing ethics and technology?
-Enriquez advocates for an attitude of ethical humility, generosity, and less judgment towards both the past and the future, as well as the importance of establishing civility in conversations about ethics.
What does Enriquez believe is the significance of building bridges and understanding different perspectives in ethical discussions?
-Enriquez believes that building bridges and understanding different perspectives is crucial for navigating the collision between ethics and technology, helping to find the 'right arc of history' and fostering a more inclusive and progressive society.
How does Enriquez conclude his talk about the current era and the importance of patience and humility?
-Enriquez concludes by expressing his belief that it is the best time to be alive, despite the challenges, and emphasizes the need for patience, humility, and outreach to build bridges and foster understanding in the face of rapid technological and ethical change.
Outlines
🤔 Ethics Through the Lens of Technology
In this TEDx Short, host Tosan Leone introduces a talk by scientist and entrepreneur Juan Enriquez, who explores the intersection of ethics and technology. Enriquez challenges the traditional black-and-white view of ethics, suggesting that technology's rapid advancements blur the lines into a spectrum of gray. He uses the example of social media, where technology has enabled the sharing of every thought, reaction, and opinion, and asks whether we would stand by all our past social media posts. Enriquez encourages a reevaluation of past judgments and a more humble approach to establishing ethical norms for future generations, as technology continues to redefine what is possible and acceptable. He emphasizes the need for humility in judging the past and setting rules for the future, suggesting that future generations might view our current practices as unethical.
🌱 Ethical Humility in a Technological Age
Continuing from the previous paragraph, Juan Enriquez delves deeper into the ethical implications of technological advancements. He highlights the example of meat consumption, suggesting that as technology provides alternatives like lab-grown meat, ethical considerations around food choices may shift. Enriquez posits that future generations might judge our current practices harshly, prompting a call for ethical humility. He advocates for a less self-righteous and more generous approach to understanding the past and guiding the future. Enriquez emphasizes the importance of establishing civility in conversations and understanding different perspectives, as technology continues to drive ethical evolution. He concludes by expressing optimism about the present being the best time to be alive, despite ongoing challenges, and stresses the need for patience, humility, and bridge-building in navigating the ethical landscape shaped by technology.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Ethics
💡Technology
💡Social Media
💡Ethics Manual
💡Polarized
💡Evolution
💡Conception
💡Humility
💡Civility
💡Alternatives
💡Generation
Highlights
Juan Enriquez, a scientist and entrepreneur, discusses the intersection of ethics and technology in TEDx talk.
Technology is rapidly changing social norms and what is considered ethical or unethical.
Ethics are not always black and white, but can be influenced by technological advancements to become more nuanced.
Society's understanding and approach to sex and conception have been altered by technological advancements.
The ability to separate sex from conception challenges traditional ethical teachings.
Enriquez suggests a thought experiment to understand the ethical implications of technological changes.
Polling society on ethical issues related to technology may have yielded different answers in the past.
The ethical conversation about technology needs to consider future generations and their potential perspectives.
Technology may drive different ethical norms when alternatives are provided, such as lab-grown meat.
Enriquez calls for ethical humility when judging the past and establishing rules for the future.
Being less self-righteous and more generous can foster better intergenerational ethical conversations.
The TEDx event in Berlin, Germany, is independently organized by volunteers who support TED's mission.
TEDx talks aim to spread ideas worth spreading, and more can be found on TED's website.
Host Itosa Leone thanks listeners for tuning in to TEDx Shorts and encourages them to listen to more talks.
Enriquez emphasizes the importance of patience, humility, and building bridges in ethical conversations about technology.
He believes this is the best time to be alive, despite challenges, and encourages reaching out and understanding different perspectives.
Transcripts
a quick new idea daily from the world's
greatest tedx talks
i'm your host tosa leone and this
is tedx shorts
today we're going to hear from scientist
and entrepreneur juan enriquez
in his talk he examines ethics to the
lens of technology and how advancements
shape the norms that each generation
lives by
just think about your own social media
feed
technology has made it easy for us to
share every thought reaction and opinion
but would you stand by everything you've
ever tweeted
as we look back from the supposedly
enlightened vantage point of the present
juan advises us to take a new approach
in judging the past
normally i talk about science
and today i'm going to talk about ethics
and the reason i'm going to talk about
ethics is because
there's been a lot of distraction from
science by people who are certain that
they know the answer
and part of it is promoted by ourselves
because when we take a new job
we get this great big book that just
drops on our desk and it's the ethics
manual
and the ethics manual tells you this is
right
and this is wrong
and it's pretty black and white
and it's one of the most boring
documents ever written by a human being
right i mean if you don't know this
stuff by the time you take that job you
shouldn't be in that job
because it's telling you stuff you
already know
and i guess the question that i want to
address today particularly in today's
climate which is slightly polarized
is who's teaching us
what it is to be ethical
so i'd like you to take about 10 seconds
in your own minds
and just think through who taught you
right from wrong
all right now that you've got the answer
in your minds
here's some of the answers that
sometimes you get
so you have a holy book that tells you
the stuff and mama teaches you and the
preacher teaches you and the teacher
touches you
and the lawyer teaches you and the
doctor and of course the government
and a whole bunch of other people your
peers and facebook and twitter and
all kinds of good
ways of learning right from wrong
we're going through this
culture war
during a time when technology is
changing stuff very quickly
it's changing who we speak to it's
changing who we talk to it's changing
what we can do
and in that context ethics doesn't
become black and white it becomes fifty
shades of grey
i don't think we understand how fast
and how radically technology is changing
us
see
the fundamental act of evolution is sex
no sex no evolution
and we take it for granted
that we've been redesigning sex
so
how do we think about this well bring
back grandpa and grandma and let's have
the birds and the bees talk with them
okay
but instead of bringing back as
nice white-haired folks we're going to
take a time machine we're going to bring
them back as hormone-filled 18 year olds
so you now have your four grandparents
sitting in front of you and you're
talking to them about sex
that's an interesting conversation
you can now have sex and not have a baby
do you understand how weird that would
be two generations ago
because every animal and every human
generation normally sex equal conception
and now you're telling them
oh no we can have free sex and never
conceive
now let's come back to the ethics had we
polled society should you do this two
generations ago they would have said
hell no
and they would have taught never do this
so how do we establish the ethics for
the next generations as technology
changes what you can do
technology has a lot to do
with changing the future
and as we sit here today now try the
same thought experiment have your
grandkids age 60 bring you back
and tell you about sex
do you think sex and conception and
reproduction is going to look the same
two generations from now
how do we establish a ethical
conversation on that how do we decide
what should be allowed what shouldn't be
allowed
do we need a certain humility
to judge the past
and to establish the rules for the
future
because they may be doing things that we
might find really strange
and
just as last series of points
it may be that we are doing things today
that will seem pretty darn unethical to
our kids because technology changes the
boundaries
of what is allowable
technology sometimes drives very
different ethical mores
when you have an alternative
and you don't have to go vegetarian and
you can still eat meat
when there are clear alternatives that
are by technology so we don't have to do
this how do you think they're going to
judge us
so let's teach a little bit of
generation
a little bit of
ethical humility
both to our own generation and to the
next generation
as this collision between ethics and
technology takes place
let's be a little less self-righteous
a little more generous
and a little bit less judgmental towards
the past and hope the next generations
are less judgmental towards us
establishing civility in conversations
is going to be really important
understanding where the other person is
coming from what they were taught is
really important
helping bridge
towards what we discover is the right
arc of history which i think we're on i
think this is the best time to be alive
despite all the stuff that's going on
there
but we need patience we need humility
need to reach out
and we need to build bridges
the tedx talk you just listened to was
recorded at a tedx event in berlin
germany all tedx events are
independently organized by volunteers
who believe in ted's mission of ideas
worth spreading
special thanks to the organizing team at
tedx berlin
want to listen to more tedx talks visit
our website at ted.com
tedx shorts
i'm itosa leone thanks for listening and
see you tomorrow
you
Voir Plus de Vidéos Connexes
Moralizing Technology and the ethics of things | Peter-Paul Verbeek | TEDxTwenteU
Introduction to Behavioral Ethics | Concepts Unwrapped
MDKPEP.Bahagian 1.Topik 1 (Bhgn.2)
Introduction to Ethical Theory and Healthcare Ethics
Welcome to the Era of Generative AI
What is the difference between Ethics, Morality and the Law?
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)