Philosophy Ethics

Insights into ethical and legal ramifications of growing brain organoids from human fetal brain tissue

Researchers discuss whether a "brain organoid" should be treated as a person by law, and suggest the need for legal and social discussions uncoupled from debates on consciousness.

Research performed on human blastoids, a research model of an early embryo built out of stem cells, may allow scientists to understand better what causes birth defects and lost pregnancies, and so prevent them. But such research is also ethically fraught, warn bioethicists, due to differing beliefs on whether the blastoid possesses sentience or has the potential to do so.

A research team has studied how humans react to the introduction of AI decision making. Specifically, they explored the question, “is society ready for AI ethical decision making?” by studying human interaction with autonomous cars.