When Innovation Harms: Anticipating the Dual Use of Technology
.jpg)
Dual-use research conducted for legitimate purposes that generates outcomes that can be used for both benevolent and harmful purposes poses a pressing and under-addressed challenge in science and innovation today. From AI and robotics to synthetic biology and quantum computing, scientific advancement can be repurposed for surveillance, repression, or violence. Yet building ethical considerations into STEM is often overlooked, with downstream consequences deemed too remote.
When Innovation Harms is an EPFL–UNIL collaboration that moves ethics upstream: into the research lab and the lecture hall. Led by the EssentialTech Centre and UNIL's Faculty of Business and Economics, the project aims to co-develop two outputs —a modular educational framework and an interactive prototype tool — designed to help researchers and students recognise dual-use risks before they become entrenched. The project draws on co-lead Guido Palazzo's work on the theory of ethical blindness, which shows how ordinary people within organisations can gradually lose sight of ethical dimensions.
The project seeks to make ethical foresight an integral part of how science and engineering are taught and practised, rather than an after thought. All outputs will be published in OpenAccess, with the longer-term goal of scaling the approach across Swiss and international institutions.
Photo credit : Pexel/Branimir Klaric
Mariazel Maqueda López holds a PhD in Microsystems and Microelectronics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), building on a strong foundation in nanotechnologies and telecommunications from her bachelor’s and master’s studies. In 2014, a life-changing volunteer experience in Nairobi’s slums with the nonprofit Amani inspired her to focus her career on empowering vulnerable communities.She has since worked with international nonprofits such as SéCoDev, Caritas Internationalis, and B Lab Switzerland, specialising in sustainable development. In 2020, Mariazel joined the EPFL EssentialTech Centre to establish and lead its PeaceTech Division. Under her leadership, the division leverages cutting-edge technologies to prevent violence, and foster peace, with a focus on addressing gender-based violence. Passionate about interdisciplinary solutions, she is driven to align advanced technologies with the urgent needs of developing regions.
.jpeg)
Louis Potter has 13+ years’ experience across global health, sustainability and humanitarian work, including consulting and in-house roles with MSF, EPFL, WHO and the ICRC. His expertise spans programme management, stakeholder coordination, and translating research and policy into practical delivery. Field experience in Africa and Asia informs his pragmatic approach to complex, multi-partner projects. He has set up companies, worked with executive and technical teams, facilitated workshops, and presented at global events. Louis is published in peer-reviewed journals, including PNAS. Louis joined the Centre in March 2026 working both for our PeaceTech Division on the question of Dual-Use, and for the Humanitarian Division supporting the coordination of the HUD - The Future of Humanitarian Design programme.
Misinformation, Disinformation and Hate Speech: A Strategic Review at EPFL
Gender-Based Violence
.png)