Anticipating Ethics

Abstract

Legal and ethical decisions regarding developing technologies are frequently based upon understandings derived from explanations provided by "experts" within developing fields as well as upon tacit public perceptions. This paper focuses upon the emerging fields of robotics and neuroethics to examine the reliability of these primary sources. Included in this assessment is a consideration of internal, disciplinary narratives, the place of metaphor within expert discourse, the role of public expectations in new technologies with current factual possibilities and the state of coordination among technical and policy-oriented disciplines in establishing useful and robust public accounts and ethical-legal standards for new technologies