Pole A: Technology score 0
Technology to expand the human. Common argument for it: technology has always widened what people can do and live through, and refusing enhancement means accepting avoidable suffering.
POLITICAL POSITION · DIMENSION 12 OF 12
Technology: technology or biology
Technology is the dimension that records how far a person accepts that technology changes the body, the mind and the conditions of human life.
What it is
Technology is the dimension that records how far a person accepts that technology changes the body, the mind and the conditions of human life. At the Technology pole, gene editing, cognitive enhancement, artificial intelligence and automation are welcome when they expand capabilities; at the Biology pole, biological limits and human nature are preserved, and such interventions call for caution or refusal.
What the dimension covers
- gene editing and assisted reproduction
- physical and cognitive enhancement
- replacing human judgment with automated systems
- life extension and body and machine interfaces
The two poles
0 · TechnologyBiology · 100
Pole B: Biology score 100
Preserving biological limits. Common argument for it: there is value in the human as it is, and irreversible interventions in the body and the species carry risks we cannot yet measure.
How the instrument measures it
The Evidence instrument (schema evidence-pol-1) records this dimension as a number from 0 to 100: 0 is the Technology pole, 100 is the Biology pole. The number comes from your answers to the questionnaire or from a result imported from another instrument by URL; either way it is a self-assessment, computed in your browser, and nothing reaches the server without an explicit action from you. With no answer for this dimension, it stays unknown (UNKNOWN), never 50.
| No. | Statement | Agreeing points to |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Technologies that extend human abilities, such as implants or gene editing, should be encouraged, with safety rules. | Technology |
| 24 | There are natural limits of the body and of life that technology should not cross. | Biology |
| 36 | New technologies should be released and fixed through use, instead of waiting years for testing. | Technology |
| 48 | When the risks of a new technology are uncertain, it is best to ban it until it is proven safe. | Biology |
Formula p = (resposta - 1) / 4 if agreeing points to Biology; p = 1 - (resposta - 1) / 4 if it points to Technology; placar = 100 * media(p)
There are 4 original statements, with opposite directions to reduce the effect of agreeing with everything. Answers run from 1 to 5 (1 Strongly disagree, 2 Disagree, 3 Neither agree nor disagree, 4 Agree, 5 Strongly agree); "Don't know" does not score. Each answer becomes a position between 0 and 1, the score is the mean position times 100, and confidence combines coverage (how many of the 4 statements scored) and consistency (how far answers point the same way): high from 0.75, medium from 0.50.
In the Evidence portable format, this dimension is the technology parameter of the profile URL. Scale, evidence states and limitations are in the instrument method; the terms are in the glossary.
Why it is a separate dimension
It differs from Social norms: one can be progressive on mores and cautious about gene editing, or traditionalist and keen on technology. It differs from Economic coordination: the issue here is change to the human, not who regulates the technology market.
Compare with Social norms and Economic coordination.
Frequently asked questions
Is this dimension about liking technology?
No. It is about accepting that technology changes the body, the mind and the species, as in gene editing and enhancement. Using a phone or the internet is not the topic.
Does artificial intelligence belong to this dimension?
It does insofar as it touches human capabilities and decisions, such as replacing human judgment with an automated system. Market rules for technology companies belong to Economic coordination.
What does a score of 50 on Technology mean?
That the answers ended halfway between Technology and Biology, through balance or through a mix of answers in both directions. It is not the same as moderation or the political center, and it says nothing about the other 11 dimensions.
Is my result sent or published?
No. The computation runs in your browser, nothing reaches the server without an explicit action from you, and the result page is not indexed by search engines. Political opinion is sensitive personal data under Brazil's LGPD (art. 5, II, and art. 11).
Literature and references
- Human EnhancementStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: the ethical debate on human enhancement.
- Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and RoboticsStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: autonomy, responsibility and risks of automated systems.
- Philosophy of TechnologyStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: what technology is and how it changes human life.
Reference readings on the topic. None of them validates the Evidence instrument, and no text, question or weight was copied from them.
Conceptual sources of the instrument
The stance on technologies that change body and life: adopting and extending abilities (technology) or respecting natural limits and precaution (biology). Thinner conceptual basis than the other dimensions.
Other dimensions
- Related dimensionSocial normsProgressive · Traditionalist
- Related dimensionEconomic coordinationPlanning · Free market
- PreviousSocial normsProgressive · Traditionalist
- NextState structureFederal · Unitary