Controlling Death: Assisted Dying, Radical Life Extension, and the Meaning of (Im)Mortality

As debate continues around issues of assisted dying, another set of (often separate) discussions has focused on the possibilities and desirability of radical life extension in various forms - from epigenetic interventions to digital doppelgängers. Join us for a panel-style discussion that will take up these two topics together, with a focus on questions of human identity, suffering, aging, and the meaning of mortality in our lives.

 

William B. Hurlbut (Stanford University, USA)

William is Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Scholar in Neurobiology at the Stanford Medical School. He is the founder and principal investigator of the Boundaries of Humanity Project. His primary areas of interest involve the ethical issues associated with advancing biomedical technology, the biological basis of moral awareness, and studies in the integration of theology with the philosophy of biology. He is the author of numerous publications on science and ethics. In addition to teaching at Stanford, he has also worked with NASA on projects in astrobiology and was a member of the Chemical and Biological Warfare Working group at the Center for International Security and Cooperation. From 2002-2009, Dr. Hurlbut served on the President’s Council on Bioethics.

 

 

Ann-Marie Shorrocks (University of Oxford)

Ann-Marie is a graduate medical student at the University of Oxford. She completed her undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge before completing a PhD in Oncology at the University of Oxford. Her doctoral research focused on investigating the consequences of cellular damage that occurs naturally as we age. Building on her study of the biological process of DNA damage accumulation and its impact on aging, she is also interested in cotemporary moral questions pertaining to our cultural understanding of death and dying, and especially weighing the importance of one's quality of life in contrast to simply prolonging it.

 

 

Cristina Voinea (University of Oxford)

Cristina is a Senior Research Fellow at the Uehiro Oxford Institute and a 2023–2025 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow for the project "Well-being in the Digital World". She works at the intersection of digital ethics, AI ethics, and moral and political philosophy. Her current research examines the ethical and societal implications of emerging digital technologies, with a focus on human–AI relationships, well-being in digital environments, and the role of AI in care and decision-making contexts. 

 

 

Dominic Wilkinson (University of Oxford) 

Dominic is Professor of Medical Ethics at the University of Oxford, and Director of Medical Ethics and Deputy Director at the Uehiro Oxford Institute. He is a consultant in newborn intensive care at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford and a senior research fellow at Jesus College Oxford. Dominic has published more than 250 academic articles relating to ethical issues in medicine for seriously ill adults, children and newborn infants.