New plant breeding technologies (NBTs) such as genome editing enable more efficient and flexible innovations in agriculture and food production than conventional breeding methods. Therefore, they can potentially contribute to global food security and improve public health and environmental sustainability. However, NBTs are currently covered by the Swiss moratorium on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The regulation of NBTs is difficult due to the low societal and political acceptance of GMOs and their ethical and social impacts. These issues need to be addressed to overcome polarization and enable a conscious public and political debate. This project aims to provide an ethical assessment of the social and societal impacts of NBTs. We will combine ethical analysis with empirical analysis of public debates and stakeholder perceptions, with a focus on the social acceptance of NBTs in Switzerland. The results of the research project will help to analyze the nature and possible reasons for the low societal acceptance of GMOs in Switzerland and its implications for the regulation of NBTs in Switzerland and the European Union.

EQUIMED investigates sex and gender inequalities in implantable medical devices. Through interviews and multidisciplinary research, it aims to improve equity in medical technology.

Despite technological advancements, medical devices do not function the same way for men and women, with women experiencing more adverse effects. Implantable devices are particularly affected by sex and gender biases. EQUIMED studies this issue in Switzerland, the UK, and Germany by analyzing data, interviewing experts and patients, and evaluating ethical policies. Its goal is to make these devices safer and more effective for everyone.

EQUIMED seeks to understand and reduce these inequalities by exploring why women and gender minorities face higher risks and what factors contribute to these disparities. Its research will support the development of fairer solutions for implantable medical devices, such as pacemakers and neural implants, while also setting new ethical standards in medical technology.

By addressing biases in research, design, and regulation, EQUIMED aims to improve the safety of medical devices for all. The project will provide evidence-based recommendations to help policymakers, manufacturers, and healthcare professionals create more inclusive technologies. Collaboration between regulators, industry, and healthcare providers is essential to ensuring safer and fairer medical devices for everyone.

Imported from Grants Tool 4703090

Released in November 2022, ChatGPT gained over 100 million users in just two months to become the fastest growing application of all time. This Natural Language Processing Artificial Intelligence is capable of producing human-like responses on an incredibly large range of topics. It is inevitable that ordinary people will use it for medical diagnostic purposes, much as they do any other search engine. Although it, and other NLP tools like it, are comparable in diagnostic accuracy to human doctors, their use as substitutes to, or surrogates for, human doctors raises numerous ethical challenges. Not least of which is the impact this will have on vital doctor-patient relationships in under-served communities.

Current research focuses on quantitative research which does not take into consideration real-world patient experiences. The proposed project will provide an in-depth analysis of real-world patient experiences of using NLP tools in comparison to human doctors.

Following a scoping review, the project will use a novel qualitative research methodology. Real-world patients will be interviewed before a doctor’s consultation. They will then immediately engage in a similar mock consultation with an NLP tool. Data will be subjected to thematic analysis and recommendations produced for NLP tool developers and Swiss policy makers.