The fully-automated human: how is technology augmenting our identities?

A panel discussion with TEDxCERN speakers
4 November 2016 - From 17:30 to 19:00 CET

What if you could detect cancer years before the visible signs? What if you could analyze your genome to predict your longevity? What if your parents could edit your DNA long before you were born? What if your computer could think, feel and reason better than you?

The tools of today are not only enhancing how we live—they are changing who we are. But they also introduce a new burden of responsibility. With so much information about ourselves now available, who should have access to it? If we have the ability to fundamentally alter our biologies or enhance our personalities, should we?

This panel discussion features TEDxCERN 2016 speakers who are developing identity-changing technologies that are redefining how we perceive our health, our lifestyles and our roles in society.

Speakers

Dennis Lo

Dennis Lo is a professor of chemical pathology and developed a non-invasive technique for prenatal testing. From a small sample of a mother’s blood plasma, Lo discovered how to isolate and amplify the the baby’s DNA.

Gary Marcus

Gary F. Marcus wants to build a human mind from scratch. His research at New York University combines psychology, linguistics, and molecular biology to map the inner workings of the brain and deconstruct common sense scientifically.

Eleonore Pauwels

Eleonore Pauwels is an international science policy expert who explores ethical governance and crafts regulations for emerging technologies. She is particularly interested in the perils and promises of DNA editing, which involves replacing faulty genes to treat and cure diseases.

Moderator

Olivier Dessibourg

Olivier Dessibourg is an award-winning science journalist heading the Science section at the daily Le Temps and the newsmagazine L’Hebdo. A physicist, mathematician and science teacher by training, he is the current president of the Swiss Association of Science Journalism, and the swiss delegate to the World Federation of Science Journalists. His articles also appear in NewScientist magazine (UK), Le Monde and La Recherche (France).

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