Invariance as Test of Ethical Theories for use in Social Implications of Technology

Science, engineering, and technology ethics concepts are inherently based on more general ethics frameworks, some of which date back hundreds if not thousands of years. It cannot be expected that all frameworks are consistent with current contexts and, even more fundamentally, there can be ambiguities surrounding which theory should be used in which context. This paper suggests the concept of invariance as a tool for testing ethical theories against scientific standards, while maintaining the “is” vs. “ought” distinction. Invariance testing is based on the notion that, from a scientific viewpoint, there is nothing special about anyone current or future perspective.