A set of global values in keeping with human nature and dignity need to be identified and developed.

Human nature as we know it is, nevertheless, malleable and manageable. It may be radically modified as a result of advances in bio-, molecular, nano- and computational technologies. It will therefore be essential to establish a clear code of ethics regulating the use of these technologies sooner rather than later.

It’s important that whatever innovation we are developing is done ethically and sustainably so that it can continue benefiting communities positively. This is especially critical when dealing with challenges like access to clean water and safe birth technologies, which can transform the lives of women and children.

Scientific and technological achievements must serve social progress, focus on humanity, liberate and develop humanity in a comprehensive manner, constantly improve life, for the benefits and happiness of humanity and for future generations.

If there is little or no middle ground in the struggle for peace with justice, what resources of will and of national sacrifice are we entitled, or ethically called upon, to put into the effort to cause a system compatible with superior values to prevail? What risks are we entitled to take with the awful hazard of a nuclear war? What guidelines emerge from a comprehensive analysis of the full range of pertinent considerations? The concept of an ethical framework that has objective validity, over and beyond the values of the individual or societal groups and to which man can aspire to have some degree of understanding, seemed to me to be necessary for there to be a well-founded sense of direction to a foreign policy.

The needs of a society determine its ethics.

As technology puts the God-wand into the hands of mankind, new ethical issues never before facing us pose harrowing decisions.

No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture. But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity: the rule of law; limits on the power of the state; respect for women; private property; free speech; equal justice; and religious tolerance.

The needs of a society determine its ethics,

The unprecedented powers that science now makes available must be accompanied by unprecedented levels of ethical focus and concern by the scientific community — as well as the sort broadly based public education into the importance of science and democracy.

In one form or the other, the quest for human dignity has proved to be one of the most propulsive elements for wars, civil strife and willing sacrifice. Yet the entitlement to dignity, enshrined among the 'human rights', does not aspire to being the most self-evident, essential need for human survival, such as food, or physical health.

As all human rights derive from human dignity, it is important to recognize that human dignity is not a product of positivism but an expression of natural law and human rationality. Although an abstract concept, human dignity has engendered concrete norms of human rights, a practical mode d’emploi strengthened by enforcement mechanisms.

The unprecedented powers that science now makes available must be accompanied by unprecedented levels of ethical focus and concern by the scientific community — as well as the most broadly based public education into the importance of science and democracy.

The great question for our time is, how to make sure that the continuing scientific revolution brings benefits to everybody rather than widening the gap between rich and poor. To lift up poor countries, and poor people in rich countries, from poverty, to give them a chance of a decent life, technology is not enough. Technology must be guided and driven by ethics if it is to do more than provide new toys for the rich.