Projects
Project Overview
Rapid developments in science, medicine, and engineering have enriched our lives. However, when conducting advanced research or applying its outcomes to society, various Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) may arise. In recent years, there has been growing interest not only in responding to ELSI, but also in “Responsible Research and Innovation” (RRI), —an approach that envisions the kind of future society we want to live in and then works backwards to determine the ideal form research and development should take.
As research and development transcend national boundaries, ELSI/RRI efforts must adopt an international perspective. Under these circumstances, large-scale research projects around the world are increasingly emphasizing ELSI/RRI, and there is growing global demand for “experts in applied ethics.”
In this division, several projects have been undertaken to meet these expectations.
ELSI of Neuroscience Technologies
Brain organoids are three-dimensional brain tissues created by cultivating iPS cells and cells from other sources outside the human body. Although the current technology can only produce small structures, it can replicate certain parts of the brain and thus help us understand how the brain functions.
They hold promise for elucidating the mechanisms underlying poorly understood neurological diseases and for developing treatments for such conditions. Research is expanding to include transplanting brain organoids into animals or connecting them to computers to advance this field.
At the same time, artificially creating something as singular as the human “brain” raises social concerns. This project aims to examine diverse issues emerging from brain organoid research and its societal applications, ultimately proposing ethical and legal frameworks that enable responsible research and development.
ELSI in Developmental Research
Developmental biology studies how a fertilized egg develops into an embryo. Rapid advances in this field have aimed to understand the process by which a single fertilized cell, guided by various genes, differentiates into our complex bodies.
Understanding human development is essential for understanding congenital genetic disorders and advancing regenerative and reproductive medicine. However, unrestricted research on embryos, which have the potential to grow into babies, poses many problems. Thus, many countries prohibit the culturing of human embryos outside the body for more than 14 days. Consequently, numerous unknowns remain concerning early human development after this 14-day mark. Recently, the creation of “embryo models” using iPS cells to mimic fertilized eggs has gained traction.
This project aims to propose ethical and legal frameworks for developmental research in modern society by examining the ethical, legal, and social issues it raises.
ELSI in Reproductive Technologies
The nature of human reproduction—how we conceive children—has rapidly changed owing to various scientific and technological advances. The world’s first successful in vitro fertilization (IVF) was carried out in 1978. By 2024, approximately one in ten babies in Japan were born through IVF.
Reproductive technologies have helped many people who previously could not have children as well as those worried about health issues and have even assisted prematurely born infants. Research and development continue, and possibilities like “artificial wombs,” which could gestate a baby completely outside the human body, are within sight.
However, these technologies raise issues of safety, equity in access, and social acceptance of new forms of reproduction. Focusing on emerging reproductive technologies, this project explores their appropriate development and use from a broad range of perspectives.
ELSI in Genome Editing in Humans, Animals, and Crops
The “genome” refers to the complete set of genetic information in an organism. Genome editing allows for the modification of genes within the genome, thereby altering the functions of specific proteins. This technology can produce eggs with fewer allergens, fish with more meat, and potatoes that do not cause food poisoning. It also holds promise for the development of treatments for hereditary diseases in humans.
However, concerns have been raised regarding the safety of genome editing, such as “off-target effects,” in which genes that are not intended to be edited are cut. Furthermore, reports from overseas that genome-edited children have been born highlight significant ethical, legal, and social problems.
This project comprehensively examines the ethical challenges that accompany genome editing in humans, animals, and crops, taking into account the history of eugenics and related ideologies. It proposes recommendations on how society should engage with this technology and what rules and procedures are necessary. Hiroshima University is a leading research hub for genome editing in Japan, and we will proceed with this research in cooperation with the genome editing researchers at the university.
ELSI in Digital Haptics Technology
“Haptics” derives from the Greek verb “haptesthai,” meaning “to touch,” and today, it refers to technologies that detect human touch and provide tactile feedback through forces and vibrations. Users are likely already familiar with this technology in devices like smartphones and game controllers.
Digital haptics technology converts tactile information into digital data, enabling the reproduction, enhancement, and extension of the sense of touch. It has promising applications in fields such as medicine, education, and entertainment as well as in industrial and architectural settings. For example, combining visual and auditory information with digitally recreated sensations of weight and impact can create more immersive gaming or VR experiences. In the future, doctors may use digital haptics to convey tactile information to patients in remote locations or even perform remote surgery.
Although the potential applications of digital haptics technology are wide ranging, their legal, ethical, and social implications have not been sufficiently explored. In this project, we collaborate with an engineering research group based at Hiroshima University to examine the ELSI that may emerge during the research, development, and social implementation of digital haptics and engage in RRI-based social practice.
ELSI in AI Technology
Artificial intelligence (AI) has gradually permeated our lives, as seen in smartphone chat services, for instance. While AI has traditionally excelled at tasks with defined rules, such as proving mathematical theorems or playing shogi and chess, recent advances enable it to “learn” from vast amounts of image and audio data, making it capable of image recognition, speech recognition, and even generating images and texts.
In educational contexts, where lack of teaching staff is an issue, AI is used to propose personalized learning plans, answer student questions, and grade tests, thereby improving learning outcomes and operational efficiency.
Nevertheless, concerns include disparities in access to AI-enhanced education and privacy issues related to the handling of personal information. There have also been cases in which AI recruitment tools that were trained on biased data produced discriminatory outcomes and had to be withdrawn. Thus, when AI references biased data, there is a risk of promoting discrimination.
This project focuses on clarifying the ethical issues emerging from rapidly advancing AI technologies, particularly their application in education and the use of big data. With regard to educational applications, Hiroshima University’s expertise in educational studies and philosophy will be leveraged to establish a unique position in international discussions on AI ethics.
Rethinking Concepts of Disability and Medicine
As interest in barrier-free environments and reasonable accommodations grows, the international community increasingly demands that we reconsider our understanding of disability and disease.
For instance, it was long common to think that if a person with a physical disability could not access a public facility like a bus, the problem lay with their body, but the “social model of disability” holds that the problem lies in society’s infrastructure, which can be changed so that everyone can access public facilities. This idea is gradually gaining support.
While the social model of disability is crucial for building an inclusive society, it raises new questions. Even among people with the same “disability,” views and feelings about that disability differ greatly. Technologies developed to support people with disabilities may not always be universally welcomed or beneficial from their perspective. Moreover, those with nonphysical disabilities, such as developmental or mental health conditions, have different experiences and needs than those with physical disabilities.
This project aims to clarify the ethical issues surrounding disabilities and diseases, particularly those concerning the use of advanced science and technology for support. By respecting the diversity of disabilities, conditions, and opinions of those affected, we aim to explore how science and technology can contribute to a truly inclusive society by collaborating with stakeholders.
Theoretical and Empirical Studies on ELSI/RRI
ELSI refers to the ethical, legal, and social issues that arise during the course of research and the development of new scientific and technological innovations. Existing laws and regulations may not fully address the challenges posed by new technologies, which sometimes necessitates the establishment of novel ethical standards. For example, generative AI can produce fake news, and generative AI-produced illustrations might result in copyright infringement lawsuits, issues that provoke anxiety and debate on social media. Beyond understanding how society might accept a particular technology, it is also important to consider how society can engage with and nurture it.
RRI is a research practice that envisions the “ideal form” of advanced technologies in collaboration with various stakeholders and works backward from that ideal to guide research and development. In considering what this “ideal form” should be, serving the public interest, being ethically acceptable, and being economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable are crucial.
Internationally, considering ELSI and RRI in research and development is now encouraged; however, there is still no global consensus on what kinds of activities are practically or normatively desirable. In this course, we not only address the ELSI/RRI of individual scientific and technological fields through our projects but also critically re-examine ELSI/RRI initiatives themselves, aiming to disseminate improved practices from Hiroshima University to the world.
Examining Methodologies in Empirical Applied Ethics
Applied ethics investigates the ethical issues of values and obligations across a wide range of fields including cutting-edge science, medicine, and engineering. Traditionally, ethical problems have been addressed primarily by ethics specialists using theoretical approaches. Empirical applied ethics, however, goes a step further, examining how various people—beyond just ethics experts—think about such issues and using these “data” to inform ethical inquiry.
By employing empirical data, this approach hopes to bring new insight to ethics that theoretical research alone cannot provide. Incorporating perspectives beyond those of ethics specialists is expected to enrich ethical debates with greater diversity.
However, researchers have yet to agree on how to apply such data to ethical discussions or policymaking. After all, what most people support is not necessarily ethically correct; therefore, caution is essential when integrating data into ethics.
This project aims to explore and propose new ways of utilizing ethical data. As other projects also survey the opinions of many people on applied ethics issues, this project plays a foundational role in providing theoretical underpinnings for others.
Science, Medicine, Engineering, and Art
Even if people possess sufficient knowledge of cutting-edge science and technology, they may not embrace it. For instance, some understand that eating insects could help address food shortages yet still feel resistance to consuming crickets.
Past social challenges, such as backlash against genetically modified foods and recent resistance to cricket consumption in Japan, partly stem from failure to consider the “ideal form” of these technologies for the local populace. Understanding the future society envisioned by the people of a nation or region and collaboratively exploring the “ideal form” of advanced science and technology is a shortcut to achieving constructive dialogue between technology and society.
Art can imaginatively express how cutting-edge science and technology influence our society, potentially reaching children who find it difficult to read scientific papers and people who have never been interested in science. Art can provide a space for people to discuss ideal forms” of science and technology.
Recently, particularly in Europe, attempts have been made to explore the “ideal form” of science and technology through collaborations between art and science, medicine, and engineering. This project analyzes the role of art in considering the “ideal form” of advanced science, medicine, and engineering technologies and seeks methods to deepen their connection with society.