Cosmic Questions

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What we probably don't want to happen is to rush into orbit without a 'big picture' strategy. We don't want individuals or corporations or governments to make up a plan as they go along, whether it's to camp on or erect billboards on or lay claim to other planets, untethered by orderly processes and safeguards. Had we given that kind of forethought to administering the Internet, we might not have had cybersquatters camping out on domain names, or disgruntled teens writing virus programs that exploit gaps in the technology, or unscrupulous companies clogging our in boxes with spam.

History gives us plenty of other examples of our introducing new technologies and crossing barriers without giving forethought to our actions, which then caused problems that we could have avoided. We don't even need to look at the most obvious cases, such as splitting the atom. The automobile, for example, enabled us to travel greater distances easily and quickly, but it also created pollution, urban sprawl, pressure on natural resources, and other problems-things we could have addressed much earlier.

Some may see these looming ethical issues as hype or annoying roadblocks to moving science and business ahead. But if we've learned anything from history, it's that ethics must go hand in hand with technology and business, no matter where we find ourselves in this universe.

Patrick Lin, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy, is director of the Nanoethics Group, a nonpartisan organization that studies the ethical and societal impact of nanotechnology. This text was excerpted and adapted from a speech he delivered in May at the 25th annual International Space Development Conference in Los Angeles.

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