Human Experimentation and cell
phones. These two concepts aren’t generally associated with each other. One
potentially invokes the grotesque acts of mad scientists and cold government
agents on unsuspecting victims. The other is a symbol of how connected the
human race has become, if not a bringer of careless driving. However, the two
ideas are not nearly as separate as they appear and their relationship is about
to become bigger than ever before. Literally.
This year, in Finland, marks the
start of the COSMOS initiative, which has been described as the largest human
experiment ever. One-hundred thousand Finnish people are estimated to have
received invites to participate in the study, which is also being conducted in
Sweden, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Great Britain. The point of this study is to monitor the
effects of electromagnetic radiation produced by cell phones on the people who
use them over a long-term period.
Perhaps counter-intuitively,
this well meant investigation is rife with ethical controversy. The first
question that likely rises to anyone’s mind should be about how a device that
is suspected of causing cancer and other severe conditions such as Alzheimer’s
disease was ever allowed to become as central to modern society as cell phones
are. This can be addressed by assuring the questioner that research has been
done, like in the HERMO study, and it seems to indicate that there is nothing
to fear. This may raise the question as to why research is being done when it
is already accepted that no correlation has been found. Wouldn’t that be a
waste of resources and personnel and constitute an ethics violation in the
process?
Probably, but here is where the
sticky issues come in. The research that has been done, while thorough, has
been accused of being too narrow in focus, too short in duration, or biased as
it was paid for by the big telecommunications companies, like Nokia, that stand
to lose the most if a negative connection was discovered.
Additionally, studies such as
Interphone, performed by the World Health Organization's
International Agency for Research on Cancer, found data suggesting the opposite
conclusion – that there is a correlation between excessive mobile phone usage
and certain types of brain cancer, such as glioma. However, these studies also
have problems, as there is some doubt in the rigor with which the IARC
collected their data on cancer patients.
The ethical issues that rise out
of this mess of conflicting conclusions can be simplified down to: are we
wasting resources by conducting research on a closed case? Are we biasing the
results and putting lives in danger by letting telecommunications companies
fund these studies? Is it right to let the majority of the population use cell
phones while they may potentially be causing cancer or other severe afflictions?
In light of the current
disagreement surrounding this issue, it seems that the best course is to
continue on with the research, while limiting the contribution of the phone
companies as much as possible. In my opinion, this the most ethical way to
proceed.
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