*ONLINE* Thinking On Sunday: Right/Wrong – How Technology Transforms Our Ethics

** At the time of announcement this is an ONLINE only event — however, subject to future government guidance, we may make physical tickets available. If this becomes possible we will announce it here, and existing ticket holders will be contacted directly. Please register for an online ticket using the “Book Now” link **

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Most people have a strong sense of right and wrong, and they aren’t shy about expressing their opinions. But when we take a polarizing stand on something we regard as an eternal truth; we often forget that ethics evolve over time. Many shifts in the right versus wrong pendulum are driven by advances in technology. Our great-grandparents might be shocked by in vitro fertilization; our great-grandchildren might be shocked by the messiness of pregnancy, childbirth or unedited genes. In his book Right/Wrong, Juan Enriquez reflects on what happens to our ethics as technology makes the once unimaginable a commonplace occurrence.

Evolving technology changes ethics. Enriquez points out that, contrary to common wisdom, technology often enables more ethical behaviours. Technology challenges old beliefs and upends institutions that do not grow and change. With wit and compassion, Enriquez takes on a series of technology-influenced ethical dilemmas, from sexual liberation to climate change to the “immortality” of mistakes on social media. (“Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google are electronic tattoos.”) He cautions us to judge those who “should have known better,” given today’s vantage point, with less fury and more compassion. We need a quality often absent in today’s charged debates: humility. Judge those in the past as we hope to be judged in the future.

Juan Enriquez is the author of As the Future Catches You, Evolving Ourselves, and other books. A frequent speaker at TED and other conferences, he has contributed to such publications as Harvard Business Review and Foreign Policy. He is a cofounder and investor in brain and synthetic biology start-ups.

LINKS FOR FURTHER INFO:

Website:  https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/rightwrong /

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mitpress

Twitter:  @EvolvingJuan / @mitpress

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** This talk will be held online using the Zoom application (available for PC, Mac, iOS and Android). A link to join the talk will be sent to ticketholders on the day of the event. **