Responsible innovation, development, and deployment of automated technology

A heated international debate is taking place about the innovation, development, and deployment of automated military technology, such as remotely-controlled aerial vehicles. Recently, the scope of the debate is extended to the moral concerns about (future) automated technology possibly able to make decisions about the application of kinetic force (e.g. fire a bullet) without human intervention. In this abstract, we will argue that it is hardly possible to have a discussion about the dangers of automated technology in general because automated technology is specialist in nature, capable of performing specific tasks within an, often, narrow context. Furthermore, we will argue that automated technology should be designed and developed in a way that supports responsible use from an early design stage all the way to its correct deployment

Designing for responsibility: five desiderata of military robots

Recently, the use of military robots – which may be drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted systems, autonomous weapon systems or ‘killer robots’ – has been debated in the media, politics, and academia. Military robots are increasingly automated, which means that they can perform tasks with decreased human involvement. On the one hand, this may lead to faster and better outcomes, but on the other hand, it raises the concern ‘Who is responsible for the (failed) actions of military robots?’. The issue becomes particularly stringent in the prospect of a future in which armies may deploy military robots that apply lethal force without human interference. In this abstract, we approach the responsibility question from an engineering perspective and suggest a solution that lies in the design of military robots. First, we would like to make a distinction between legal and moral responsibility. Legally, the person or organization deploying military robots, i.e. the army here, is responsible for their behavior, rather than the designer, programmer, manufacturer or the robot itself. The army’s legal responsibility, however, does not imply that it is in the position to take moral responsibility. In accordance with the Value Sensitive Design approach, we argue that the way technology is designed affects moral responsibility. For instance, most people will agree that in principle the person firing a gun, and not the manufacturer or the gun itself, should be held responsible for the consequences of a shot. In this case, the gun’s design supports moral responsibility. Acting responsible is harder, however, when you rely on a decision support system that is incomprehensible, or when you have to use a weapon that may fire accidentally. In these examples, the system’s design hinders moral responsibility. A gap between moral and legal responsibility is undesired. We, therefore, argue that military robots should be designed such that the army is in the position to take moral responsibility for the behavior of military robots. In other words, we have to design for responsibility

Evidence that Mechanosensors with Distinct Biomechanical Properties Allow for Specificity in Mechanotransduction

Various cell types can sense and convert mechanical forces into biochemical signaling events through a process called mechanotransduction, and this process is often highly specific to the types of mechanical forces applied. However, the mechanism(s) that allow for specificity in mechanotransduction remain undefined. Thus, the goal of this study was to gain insight into how cells distinguish among specific types of mechanical information. To accomplish this goal, we determined if skeletal myoblasts can distinguish among differences in strain, strain rate, and strain-time integral (STI). Our results demonstrate that mechanically induced signaling through the c-jun N-terminal kinase 2 [JNK2] is elicited via a mechanism that depends on an interaction between the magnitude of strain and strain rate and is independent of STI. In contrast to JNK2, mechanically induced signaling through the ribosomal S6 kinase [p70(389)] is not strain rate sensitive, but instead involves a magnitude of strain and STI dependent mechanisms. Mathematical modeling also indicated that mechanically induced signaling through JNK2 and p70(389) can be isolated to separate viscous and elastic mechanosensory elements, respectively. Based on these results, we propose that skeletal myoblasts contain multiple mechanosensory elements with distinct biomechanical properties and that these distinct biomechanical properties provide a mechanism for specificity in mechanotransduction

Long-term follow-up of children exposed in-utero to progesterone treatment for prevention of preterm birth: study protocol of the AMPHIA follow-up

Introduction Preterm birth is one of the main problems in obstetrics, and the most important cause of neonatal mortality, morbidity and neurodevelopmental impairment. Multiple gestation is an important risk factor for preterm birth, with up to 50% delivering before 37 weeks. Progesterone has a role in maintaining pregnancy and is frequently prescribed to prevent (recurrent) preterm birth and improve pregnancy outcomes in high-risk patients. However, little is known about its long-term effects in multiple gestations. The objective of this follow-up study is to assess long-term benefits and harms of prenatal exposure to progesterone treatment in multiple gestations on child development. Methods and analysis This is a follow-up study of a multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised trial (AMPHIA trial, ISRCTN40512715). Between 2006 and 2009 women with a multiple gestation were randomised at 16-20 weeks of gestation to weekly injections 250 mg 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate or placebo, until 36 weeks of gestation or delivery. The current long-term follow-up will assess all children (n=1355) born to mothers who participated in the AMPHIA trial, at 11-14 years of age, with internationally validated questionnaires, completed by themselves, their parents and their teachers. Main outcomes are child cognition and behaviour Additional outcomes are death (perinatal and up to age 14), gender identity, educational performance and health-related problems. We will use intention-to-treat analyses comparing experimental and placebo group. To adjust for the correlation between twins, general linear mixed-effects models will be used. Ethics and dissemination Amsterdam UMC MEC provided a waiver for the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (W20_234#20.268). Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed journals and summaries shared with stakeholders, patients and participants. This protocol is published before analysis of the results