Like many other things in life, science is a two-edged sword – there are ways to use it for good, as well as options to reside on the other end of the spectrum. It looks like a robotic hand that always turns out to be the winner when challenging humans to a game of rock, paper, scissors has now sent a Tokyo university into an ethical dilemma of huge proportions since 1945 – should Japanese academics do away with a ban that is seven decades old in order to make use of such technology in weapons?
This debate would not remain within the confines of Tokyo University only, it seems, as the general public are not too pleased with the current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s attempts to change some of the country’s constitution while doing away with so many decades of pacifism. While the robot hand in question can be seen to be a scientific breakthrough that does not harm anyone, others see the technology employed within the mechanized limb to be transferred to anti-missile systems, armed battlefield droids and bullet-dodging drones.
What do you think will be the end result? Will the will of the public remain stedfast and unswayed, or will practical issues such as national security be the platform where pacifism takes a back seat?