It is possible one day that humanity will be able to avoid aging and the numerous pathologies that come with it through some sort of expensive therapy. However, the effective doubling (or even more) of our life expectancy brings about new issues. A growing population as the old live longer and are fertile for longer. Growing income inequality as the rich live longer than those already disadvantaged and are therefore able to make even more money and leave the poor further behind. This video highlights the need for ethical reflection on anti-aging technology like CRISPR gene-editing techniques as healthcare heads in the direction of significantly prolonged human life.

Machine learning, the process by which a machine learns from data on its own, is able to save lives in healthcare by going through mountains of patient data and comparing it to that of a single patient to detect symptoms and provide an early diagnosis. Dr. Saria’s Targeted Real-time Early Warning Score (TREWS) machine learning system is able to detect the symptoms of Sepsis, a potentially deadly condition, around 12 hours before physicians alone. Artificial Intelligence has the potential to save countless lives by searching through electronic medical records and determining how, when, and with what to treat patients.

The exploration of the ethics of data science is necessary because of the rapid expansion of big data in recent years and the issues surrounding the ownership of data. The lack of a standardized framework for the ethical treatment of copious amounts of personal data must be remedied by future data scientists concerned with the ethical ramifications of their practices.