The ethics of using engineering to enhance athletic performance

Abstract

Advances in sports engineering have been shown to contribute to the general trend in improving athletic performance. Whilst the advances made by sports engineers have made sport safer, more enjoyable and more accessible, they have also raised significant concerns about fairness and athlete passiveness. During an extensive programme of public dialog events on the role of technology in sport, issues raised were found to be similar to those commonly associated with other human enhancement technologies such as biological and chemical ‘doping’. It is argued that contrary to a large body of public opinion, sports engineering fundamentally differs from banned enhancement technologies; and that new advances should only be proscribed if they give the athlete an advantage over the sport.