Life Isn't Fair, But Should it Be?

Life Isn't Fair

Anita is a high jumper and has realized a new method that will ensure she improves her personal best dramatically. She knows that as soon as she demonstrates it, others will copy her, so she keeps it a secret until the Olympic games. upon arriving to the contest, she cruises to gold and sets a new world record. was this fair?

Does a world where human cloning or genetic selection exist mean there will be greater or less fairness?

Whose future?

there is no generic future for humanity

Will new technology lead us to have less regard for fairness?

how will new technologies affect fairness?

How should we make sense of the future?

Professor Andy Miah

Human enhaNcement

Director, Creative Futures Research Centre

University of the West of Scotland, UK

@CreativeFutur

What makes a vision of

the future compelling?

sports are becoming posthuman practices and this will align them with the general direction of humanity

Gene doping

When is the future?

10 years from now?

100 years from now?

1000 years from now?

but should it be?

LIFE extension

Professor Andy Miah

Perfection

What kind of fairness do we seek for our societies? Is equality of opportunity enough to satisfy our pursuit of justice, or would we prefer it if goods were evenly distributed across the population? How will this balance be affected in the future, where we might use technology to genetically engineer a person to be a great athlete, or an extraordinary musician? Would this make our society more or less fair? Would the absence of the genetic lottery mean that people are more likely to get what they deserve, rather than just what was afforded to them because of good or bad luck? This talk will consider what is at stake when we move from chance to choice in our pursuit of justice.

From chance to choICe

Fairness

The rules are not enough

IS

this

fair?

social justice

What do

we expect from fairness?

What if that method was to involve leg amputation?

will the

future be

different?

David is an undergraduate student who works hard to get good grades. on the approach to exams, he is struggling to focus, is slightly anxious and cannot tires very easily. he seeks some medication from the doctor to help him stay alert, allowing him to study more effectively. he passes his exams with flying colours, beating most of his peers. was this fair?

Danny is an elite skier and has discovered a great new, legal wax for his skis, which will shave seconds off his time. he decides to tell his competitors about this who, nevertheless, decide not to use it on their skis, believing that it will not help them. the competition takes place and danny wins by a clear margin. was this fair?

Consider josie, the golfer, who arrives at a competition to find that her opponent, through no fault of her own, has lost her clubs. josie happens to have a spare set she could loan to josie, but should she?

REF: Robert simon 2000

beautiful or monstrous?