FUTURE
DYSTOPIAS
NOW!
This year's theme is a means to debate the moral panics about technology; the idea that a new technology is scapegoated because we feel too overwhelmed by more urgent problems in society like social deprivation. We will aim to:
1. Consider the moral issues and (lack of) evidence-base, in debating the potential benefits and risks of new technologies.
2. Advocate for reasoned debate and set an expectation that the professional status of psychiatry is used to offer a credible & balanced point of view in speaking out against sensationalist media statements.
3. Call for support to develop a convincing evidence base. Complaining about the lack of evidence should come with an obligation to do something about it.
4. Argue against technology moral panics becoming a distraction from helping people with the things that are definitely bad: Social deprivation, isolation, inequality, lack of access to effective support and treatment for mental illness.
