Will Technology Put an End to Disability?
Event
In collaboration with the award-winning documentary on disability and technology, Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement.
Attention-grabbing advances in robotics and neurotechnology have caused many to rethink the concept of human disability. A paraplegic man in a robotic suit took the first kick at the 2014 World Cup, for instance, and the FDA has approved a bionic arm controlled with signals from the brain. It’s not hard to imagine that soon these advances may allow people to run, lift, and even think better than what is currently considered “normal”—challenging what it means to be human. But some in the disability community reject these technologies; for others, accessing them can be an overwhelmingly expensive and bureaucratic process. As these technological innovations look more and more like human engineering, will we need to reconsider what it means to be able and disabled?Agenda:
12:00 PM: Engineering Ability
Jennifer French
Executive Director, Neurotech Network
Larry Jasinksi
CEO, ReWalk Robotics
@ReWalk_Robotics
Will Oremus
Senior Technology Writer, Slate
@WillOremus
12:45 PM: The Promise and Peril of Human Enhancement
Gregor Wolbring
Associate Professor, University of Calgary
@Wolbring
Julia Bascom
Director of Programs, Autistic Self Advocacy Network
@autselfadvocacy
Teresa Blankmeyer Burke
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Gallaudet University
@teresaburke
Moderator:
Lawrence Carter-Long
Public Affairs Specialist, National Council on Disability
@LCarterLong
The venue is wheelchair accessible and ASL will be provided.
Follow the discussion online using #Tech&Disability and following @FutureTenseNow