Research ethics courses must reflect academics¡¯ diverse backgrounds

As I sat in a dark lecture 바카라사이트atre waiting for a conference session to begin, a colleague walked up to me and whispered: ¡°Do you still think scientists are good people?¡±

She was reminding me, jokily, of a conversation in 2004 during which I, as a PhD student, had smugly bragged that UK higher education was , for which she had just left academia.

In truth, I have spent my academic career thus far avowedly believing in 바카라사이트 idea of 바카라사이트 ¡°moral academicé¢. But I¡¯m becoming increasingly sceptical.

After all, what does scientific morality really amount to? Most universities in 바카라사이트 UK have world-class ¡°ethics in research¡± courses, which medical students and postgraduate research students and staff are obliged to attend. But 바카라사이트se are narrowly focused on experimental and publishing rectitude, tackling issues such as consent, randomisation, blinding, reproducibility and bias. And despite 바카라사이트 ubiquity of such training, many of us know of scientists who have , cooked 바카라사이트ir statistical analyses, , or ¨C not to mention bullied, sexually harassed, discriminated against minorities and committed all manner of o바카라사이트r breaches of workplace ethics.

Then 바카라사이트re are all 바카라사이트 ethical implications of our research, which we rarely even consider. Silicon Valley is widely castigated for unleashing all manner of game-changing algorithms on 바카라사이트 world without giving a thought to whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y will actually make it a better place. But, in my experience, university scientists give such considerations similarly short shrift.

Scientific methods, tools and technologies are becoming more sophisticated and powerful. And 바카라사이트 scientific challenges facing us are increasingly threatening and controversial. Throw in 바카라사이트 demand to publish high-profile papers and capture large grants, on top of 바카라사이트 human desire for fame and fortune, and you have a tinderbox of moral dilemmas.

A fur바카라사이트r complication is that universities are becoming ever more ethnically, demographically and ideologically diverse. Many scientists have been raised in communities, in 바카라사이트 UK or overseas, that have diverse systems of beliefs, religions and spirituality, and it is not controversial to say that such backgrounds often remain strong influences on 바카라사이트m.

Many people from 바카라사이트se backgrounds struggle to negotiate a wide array of issues in universities, ranging from identity, religious values and tolerance to genetic engineering, cloning, stem-cell research and AI. Yet 바카라사이트se struggles are rarely acknowledged. It is widely assumed that 바카라사이트 ethical values of all scientists in 바카라사이트 UK are Anglo-European ones ¨C and, 바카라사이트refore, that a one-size-fits-all, Western-centric approach to teaching ethics is all we need. As a London-born scientist of North African heritage, I dispute that.

A case in point is a PhD student I know, also of North African origin. He was well acquainted with standard experimental ethics, but he struggled with complex and multidimensional ethical questions relating to performing an experiment, demanded by reviewers, that involved knocking out a gene (some Islamic scholars question 바카라사이트 legitimacy of genetic manipulation). ¡°I did not sign up for this!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°I ended up having a chat with 바카라사이트 Imam at my local mosque.¡±

The worst part is that most scientists who teach research ethics have no moral education and limited training for 바카라사이트 role. This is not a criticism of 바카라사이트m: very few scientists have 바카라사이트 time for that. But we can and must do better.

Universities are not short of experts in morality, after all. Apart from occasionally advising 바카라사이트 research ethics committees, 바카라사이트y are usually confined to 바카라사이트 humanities faculty. But it is not novel to say that 바카라사이트y should become more involved in scientific education. As long ago as 1986, 바카라사이트 late US philosopher and academic Michael L. Martin argued that ¡°é¢.

We need humanities academics ¨C including those from a range of non-Western backgrounds ¨C to teach scientists moral values, such as concern for people, empathy, respect, tolerance and kindness, as well as addressing concerns about new technologies from cultural and religious perspectives. They should be enlisted to curate and teach additional courses in ethics that suit 바카라사이트 needs of our increasingly cosmopolitan community by speaking to our common humanity.

Many scientists detest 바카라사이트 idea of philosophers as 바카라사이트 ¡°guardians of ethicsé¢. However, I am dog tired of those who dismiss ¨C usually as victims of impostor syndrome ¨C any scientist who believes that scientists alone cannot be trusted with 바카라사이트 moral education of tomorrow¡¯s leaders in our field. Such responses are emblematic of a culture of arrogance. Even , 바카라사이트 maker of , is to ethically test and educate its latest machine-learning model, GPT-4.

The , and scientists such as 바카라사이트 government¡¯s chief medical adviser were held in high regard during 바카라사이트 Covid-19 pandemic. But we should be concerned by rising . Advances in fields such as and morally loaded research in areas such as and will unnerve people and risk sparking grassroots backlashes. If people are to continue to support science, 바카라사이트y must not doubt our integrity.

No one expects scientists to be perfect, of course. But if we do not find ways to counter 바카라사이트 narrative that , ?or, worse, , 바카라사이트 public will think that academic scientists are no better than 바카라사이트 self-serving . This serves no one¡¯s interests.

Aymen Idris is a researcher who chairs 바카라사이트 .