Since the 21st Century, the rapid development of biotechnology and artificial intelligence has been constantly changing the production and living style of mankind. Biotechnology, especially genetic engineering, will push the transformation of medical science and exert direct influence on human’s reproduction and heredity, while artificial intelligence can increase efficiency by replacing a huge amount of uncreative works. During the process, both of them are nevertheless likely to bring about many ethical challenges, and even to redefine the “human race”.

 

Ethics is the foundation of the human society. In the face of emerging questions posed by the development of biotechnology and artificial intelligence, how can we increase consensus and balance the relationship between the science culture and future ethics to ensure that technological development would really benefit the human race? This is one of the core concerns of the Cutting-Edge Technology session at the upcoming Taihe Civilizations Forum. Hopefully, we will reach preliminary consensus and put forward valuable opinions and suggestions during the event.

 

This year, we will discuss the following three topics during the session:

 

1. The Latest Trends, Applications and Implications of Biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence

The key to the sustainable human development is to look into the future. Only by grasping the latest trends of technological development and the most cutting-edge technological applications can we build a desirable science culture and ethics for the future. The forum will invite experts and scholars in related fields to give keynote speeches on the latest trends, applications and implications of biotechnology and artificial intelligence and create an opportunity for interaction among the participants.

 

2. Technological Development and Social Ethics

The human race is now in the middle of a technological revolution. While the boosting social progress is propelling the society forward, the rapid development of science and technology will also pose challenges on the existing social ethics. What kind of principles should we follow to handle the contradictions between technology and ethics? How could we create a proper mechanism to study and handle the ethical issues brought forth by technological development? During the forum, we will hold a roundtable to discuss topics including the ethical challenges brought by cutting-edge technology, potential mechanism for handling problems concerning technological development and social ethics, the universality of science and technology, as well as the common values of the human kind.

 

3. China and the Future Development of Science and Technology

Enjoying rich historical and cultural heritage over the past five thousand years, the Chinese civilization has made important contributions to scientific and technological progress for the human kind. Meanwhile, with rapid economic growth, China is also gaining strong momentum in contemporary science and technology and takes the leading place in various fields. In the future, China is bound to make significant contributions for the science world. The forum will give an opportunity for participants to engage in free and open discussions on major topics including China’s cutting-edge technology as well as China’s role and influence in creating the science culture and technological ethics.