January FY2016 Molecular Robotics Research Group / JST Molecular Robot Ethics Joint Workshop
“On Points of Contact Between Molecular Robotics and Ethical Issues”
- Date:
- Sunday, January 22, 2017
- Venue:
- Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tamachi Campus) Multipurpose Room 4 (Free of charge, capacity: 40)
- Organizer:
- Akihiko Konagaya (Tokyo Tech)
- Participation fee:
- Free
- Registration:
- Please register via the application form on this page.
- Related websites:
- • JST “Human–Information Ecosystem” official website (HITE)
• HITE Molecular Robotics project page
Purpose
“Molecular Robotics,” positioned at the boundary of AI, robotics, and nano/bio technologies, is opening the door to an unknown frontier: biomolecular robots equipped with intelligence and sensing. While molecular robotics technologies are developing rapidly, discussions from the perspective of social technology have not been sufficient so far, including ethical issues. This workshop, co-hosted with the JST project planning and survey “A Survey on Approaches to Molecular Robot Technologies from the Perspectives of Law, Ethics, Economics, and Education,” will provide a broad forum to discuss ethics in molecular robotics. We hope it will help uncover key issues.
——— Program ———
13:00–13:30 Registration
Part 1: Lectures
13:30–14:10 Akihiko Konagaya (Tokyo Tech) “On the Need for Molecular Robotics Ethics”
Abstract:
Results from molecular robotics research promoted since 2012 as a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas project have begun to emerge. An “amoeba-type robot,” in which biomolecules such as microtubules, molecular motors, and DNA are encapsulated in a liposome, has already started to move, and an “artificial muscle” that aggregates microtubule networks using molecular motors is also beginning to take shape. While molecular robotics technologies are developing rapidly, discussions from the perspective of social technology—such as ethical issues—have not been sufficient so far. In this talk, we will provide an overview of the development status of molecular robotics and also refer to the concept of the JST project planning and survey launched in November 2016: “A Survey on Approaches to Molecular Robot Technologies from the Perspectives of Law, Ethics, Economics, and Education.”
14:10–14:50 Ryuma Shinba (Seijo University) “ELSI Discussions and Their Background as Seen Through Life-Science Cases: Focusing on GMO and Regenerative Medicine”
Abstract:
Life-science research, which is developing rapidly, is also one of the most important fields in Japan’s science policy, receiving the largest public research investments. At the same time, it raises concerns about Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI), and various discussions—including social and institutional responses—have been conducted to date.
This presentation provides an overview of past discussions and lessons regarding ELSI, media discourse, and communication surrounding genetically modified organisms (GMO) as well as stem-cell and regenerative-medicine fields. Specifically, we will introduce trends in media coverage and their implications, differences in awareness between the public and researchers regarding communication, and experiences and reflections gained from debates over GMO.
Through this review, we aim to stimulate discussion in order to obtain insights for emerging fields expected to develop further in the future.
14:50–15:00 Break
15:00–15:40 Tsuyoshi Yoshizawa (Osaka University) “Technology Assessment of Nanotechnology and Synthetic Biology”
Abstract:
Technology Assessment (TA) refers to institutions and activities that analyze and anticipate a wide range of future social impacts of advanced technologies—especially those that are difficult to handle within conventional R&D/innovation systems and legal frameworks—at an early stage, thereby raising issues and supporting decision-making on how technology and society should be shaped. In the JST/RISTEX R&D project “Development and Social Implementation of Methods for Assessing Social Impacts of Advanced Technologies (Technology Assessment)” (2007–2011), we explored how TA could be institutionalized and established in Japan, and we also conducted TA on several advanced technologies. In this talk, we will highlight TA reports such as “Recent Trends in Risk Assessment and Management of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes” and “Current Status and Social Issues of Constructive Research on Biological Functions: What Is ‘Synthetic Biology’ in Japan?” We will outline their contents and share practical insights, including the process that led to implementation and the difficulties encountered.
15:40–16:20 Mikito Tanaka (Science Media Centre / Waseda University) “Emerging Science and Technology and the Media: Through SMC Practice and Research Activities”
Abstract:
People acquire and cultivate their images of science and technology through the media. Particularly in the early stages of emerging science and technology, it is an important challenge for sound and meaningful research development that researchers and citizens appropriately share risks and benefits and co-create “Sociotechnical Imaginaries.” We have examined this issue through a JST-RISTEX research project that began in 2009 and ran for five years, and through the practice of the Science Media Centre (SMC; www.smc-japan.org), which was born in 2010 within that project and continues to operate today. Based on these outcomes, this talk will consider what may occur when emerging science and technology such as molecular robotics appears in the media, from perspectives such as the roles of stakeholders (researchers, journalists, etc.) and image formation in media space.
16:20–16:30 Break
Part 2: Media Café
16:30–16:50 Satoshi Murata (Tohoku University) “Molecular Robotics: Background, Current Status, and Future Outlook”
Abstract:
Molecular robotics refers to a system in which all components required for robots—such as sensors, information processing, and motors—are realized using artificial molecular devices, and then integrated as a system. Such nano-level systems were once considered impossible; however, recent advances in molecular machines and DNA nanotechnology have made it possible to build prototype molecular robots. In this talk, we will overview the scientific and technological fields underlying molecular robotics, and provide an easy-to-understand explanation of its current status and future outlook, especially for non-specialists.
16:50–17:30 Media discussion session
(We will freely discuss the future of molecular robotics as an emerging science and technology, including audience participation.)
18:00– Social gathering (Participation fee: 3,000 JPY; planned around Tamachi Station)