Part 3 – Ethical considerations
Key deductions and insights
- The core tenets of morality are universal, but interpretation varies across
cultures. Adopting human augmentation will therefore be uneven, and we
should be prepared for allies and adversaries to exploit human augmentation
in different ways. - Ethical perspectives are changing faster and more radically as a result of
growing access to information. Defence cannot wait for ethical views to
change before exploiting human augmentation; it must join the conversation
now to ensure it is at the leading edge of the field. - Safety versus potential benefit is the critical factor for employing human
augmentation. This equation is more complex in a military context where the
causal link between safety and risk must also consider the adversary and
operational context. Defence must engage early and regularly with human
augmentation development to ensure that these unique ethical factors are
considered. Defence should also consider how to counter human
augmentation developments introduced by adversaries. - Human augmentation could exacerbate existing inequalities and create new
divisions. International dialogue and regulation of human augmentation
technologies will be critical in averting this potential outcome. - There could be an increasing moral imperative to use human augmentation
if it offers ways of safely improving our well-being. Militarily, there may also
be an obligation to protect against or match human augmentation fielded by
adversaries. - Ethics will be a critical aspect when considering whether to adopt human
augmentation, but national interest will also inform, and may even fundamentally
reshape, the moral calculation. There is likely to be a fine balance between
upholding the ethics that underpin our way of life and avoiding ceding an
unassailable national advantage to our adversaries.