Doctrine and Organization for Determining the Ethics of Human Performance Enhancement
Abstract
The formation of HPE ethics should spring from human performance doctrine and an appropriate organization for collecting, collating, and analyzing HP information with concomitant authority to make ethical decisions. The ethical utility of HPE technology for the human weapon system should be considered at the earliest opportunity when developing CONOPS and integrating the human into weapon systems. Too often, science offers a technology that is pressed into service devoid of doctrinal guidance or the benefit of accrued operational information resulting in an ethically slippery slope. Inadequate Human Systems Integration or weak CONOPS leads to the default of "enhancing" the human - extending the human beyond established and sustainable limits because of failure to understand the role of the human in the system (e.g., pharmaceutical enhancement of alertness during a 40 hour flying mission). An overarching approach to HPE mitigates the need for enhancement where possible and provides a life-cycle perspective to the ramifications of enhancement - to the individual and to society. A doctrinal and organizational framework for ethical HPE provides the capacity for consensus. The DoD and NATO should pursue 1) a common HP doctrine, 2) a code that balances ethics with the need for superior weapon systems, 3) the means for longitudinal surveillance of those exposed to HPE agents, and 4) a definition, based on evidence, of minimum standards for assessing the effectiveness and safety of HPE modalities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA567870
Entities
People
- David L. Brown
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory