June 20, 2025

Under the working title: "Ethics of health technologies: Science, Society, Healthcare" from October 09 - 11, experts from medicine, care provision, ethics and philosophy will discuss and network on the ethically and socially responsible development and introduction of new healthcare technologies.

The conference of the Academy for Ethics in Medicine (AEM) will therefore address important questions about what new health technologies we need - as a society, as researchers, as professionals - and what normative goals they should serve. It will examine which prerequisites are indispensable or important for the development and use of new technologies in the field of health and illness, and what healthcare professionals and patients need in order to use them safely.

The question is also how the interaction between humans and machines in the provision of care in different areas of healthcare and public health can be shaped and how new technologies can be used responsibly, safely and fairly in diagnostics, prevention, treatment and care. And, of course, how their application can be assessed and evaluated in the future and which ethical standards may need to be rethought and further developed for the future and how their observance can be ensured in technology development. However, various contributions are also dedicated to overarching topics and discuss the effects that new health technologies can have on perceptions of illness, job profiles, health and social inequalities, social participation, the secure handling of data and digital sovereignty.

Prof. Dr. Alena Buyx and Dr. Kathrin Knochel introduce the topic of this year's conference in this Open Access article:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00481-025-00860-x