Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS
Content archived on 2024-06-18

Ethics of enhancement technology

Objective

The main objective of this ETHENTECH project is to take substantially further forward both the ethical evaluation and public discussion of two important emerging fields of micro- and nanobiotechnology which pose very significant ethical and societal issues of public concern: neurological implants and the potential for human functional enhancement. Neural implants are a major new class of medical devices, which create an interface between nerve tissues and nano- or micro-scale probes. The aim is to enable a patient’s nervous system to communicate with new devices that replace or supplement a malfunctioning organ, for example to restore hearing or eyesight or to treat degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s. Human functional enhancement technology refers to a wide range of converging technologies which have the potential to enable significant modification of the systems of the human body, beyond what might be seen as medical purposes. The subjects of the ETHENTECH project address some of the most far-reaching fields among new and emerging technologies today - in terms of their potential social impact and the challenges these will pose to ethical issues and values of European citizens and societies. The project’s two fields of implant and human enhancement technologies both lack ethical frameworks and European and international guidelines. This absence reflects the emerging and complex nature of both areas. They also represent cases where issues of dual use are a significant and further complicating factor. While several EC and other projects have given useful overviews of the ethical terrain, it is clear that there is now a pressing need to engage in more depth with particular issues in order to focus ethical frameworks and guidelines around particular issues.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-SCIENCE-IN-SOCIETY-2008-1
See other projects for this call

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

CP - Collaborative project (generic)

Coordinator

KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLAN
EU contribution
€ 252 646,00
Address
BRINELLVAGEN 8
100 44 Stockholm
Sweden

See on map

Region
Östra Sverige Stockholm Stockholms län
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

No data

Participants (4)

My booklet 0 0