We are pleased to announce the release of the fourth 'Bio-Ethics Bites' podcasts, 'Status-Quo Bias' by Nick Bostrom.
Suppose a genetic engineering breakthrough made it simple, safe and cheap to increase peoples’ intelligence. Nonetheless, if you asked the averagely-intelligent person on the Clapham Omnibus whether we should tamper with our genes to boost our brains, he or she might recoil at the notion. Nick Bostrom, director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, suspects that this reaction may be a result of what he calls ‘status-quo bias’. Listen to the podcast.
In this series of interviews ten leading influential thinkers represent various ethical perspectives and tackle controversial subjects arising out of recent scientific advances. The series is funded by Wellcome Trust and freely available. For other interviews with Peter Singer, Jeff McMahan and Julian Savulescu please see our webpage http://www.neuroethics.ox.ac.uk/bio-ethics_bites