Recoding Innovation
Some of the questions the NSF is posing to scientists and engineers
The National Science Foundation is currently gathering stories (in video form) from scientists and engineers about how they use their own personal values, ethics and beliefs to guide their research and work. The purpose is to put them together in a film called Recoding Innovation, which is focused on the humanity imbued within science and technology innovations. The tagline is "Ethics as a Creative Force in Science and Engineering".
Human issues drive all of what we do here at the R.A. offices - and ethics and values are at the core of medical science and innovation. The topics most often discussed in terms of health care right now are all rooted in ethics - patient safety, confidentiality, humanism & professionalism, the limits of genetic testing/engineering/research, reproductive health, and death/dying just to name a few.
I think it's a great idea (and hugely important) to get people talking about and sharing their thoughts and ideas in this realm, and I'm excited to see the finished film. In fact, I might try to get some of us here to think about these questions before or during the holidays, and either write up our answers or shoot our own video. The process could be both grounding and illuminating.
