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Clone the Kialo discussion "What ethical constraints should there be on the pursuit of knowledge?" and share it with your students.

• For larger groups, you may wish to use Small Group Mode.

Use Tasks to set minimum expectations for students during the session.

Snowball discussion activity: What responsibilities do we have as a society when it comes to advancing knowledge through research and technology?

Give students two minutes to note down their own ideas. They should join with a partner to discuss each other’s ideas and add to their notes. 

Then, each pair should join to make a group of four and repeat the discussion and complete their notes. 

Ask each group to feedback one idea in response to the question. They must not repeat ideas that have already been shared.

Students will participate in the Kialo multi-thesis discussion: What ethical constraints should there be on the pursuit of knowledge?

• You will need to clone the discussion and share it with your students.
• For larger groups, you may also wish to use Small Group Mode.
• Use Tasks to set minimum expectations for students during the session.

Divide students into four groups and allocate each group one scenario from the discussion.

• They should examine their scenario by adding pros and cons to the discussion in relation to the main question.
  • Scenario 1: A journal article reports the outcomes of a medical trial for an experimental new drug, with potential to revolutionize treatment for a serious illness.
  • Scenario 2: A research team completes a groundbreaking study on genetic editing, demonstrating the potential to alter human embryos to eliminate hereditary diseases.
  • Scenario 3: Anthropologists conduct a study in a conflict-ridden area, documenting cultural practices of communities living under threat.
  • Scenario 4: A tech company working in mental health diagnostics develops artificial intelligence capable of real-time emotion recognition through surveillance cameras.

• Provide students with these questions to guide students' responses as required: 
  • What are the potential benefits of sharing the findings, and how do they compare to the ethical risks involved?
  • How might vulnerable groups be impacted, and what ethical responsibilities do researchers have to protect them?
  • What challenges do researchers face in obtaining informed consent?
  • How do we balance the pursuit of knowledge for the public good with the need to respect individual rights and privacy?
  • What are the potential long-term societal implications of the knowledge gained, and how should researchers account for these in their work?
  • What ethical frameworks can be applied to evaluate the actions and decisions made, and how might they lead to different conclusions?
  • What role should regulatory bodies play in overseeing the research and publication of findings to ensure ethical standards are met?
    

When the discussion is complete, ask students to identify common themes, principles, and arguments between the four distinct scenarios that coherently link at least three of them.

Ask students to use the completed discussion to identify points of divergence with respect to themes, principles, and arguments. 

• What potential consequences might arise from adhering strictly to one ethical perspective over another?

• Is it possible to respect differing ethical views while advancing the pursuit of knowledge?

• How has this discussion influenced your own understanding of ethical constraints in knowledge pursuit?