At the end of the last millennium a group of academics and artificial intelligence experts postulated fourteen unresolved questions and problems that they believed would need to be resolved as the development of artificial life progressed. The fourteenth and final problem posed by this committee was to “establish ethical principles for artificial life” in four main aspects: “the sanctity of the biosphere, the sanctity of human life, the responsible treatment of newly generated life forms, and the risks of exploitation of artificial life.”(Bedau 374) As technological and scientific research continues to advance toward understanding and ultimately developing artificial life, the ethical issues surrounding the development of new and novel life forms often seem to be an afterthought; a consequence that we will deal with as soon as the real problems arise. This is not to say that ethics are not thought through at all, or that waiting to address these issues when they are least hypothetical is entirely ill-advised, but rather that there is still much to consider as our synthesized, artificial creations approach the frontiers confused. of what is considered alive. Bedau et al.'s casual placement of all ethical issues. under a single umbrella problem, and subsequent placement as the last problem on the list, is a good example of the normal place of ethics in the discussion of artificial life. This may be because thinkers are currently more focused on the question “can we create life?” than about “what happens if we create life?” or perhaps because technological researchers prefer to run forward with youthful joy, without thinking about the consequences of their actions. But whatever the reason, the ethics of artificial life must be continually discussed... middle of the paper... au et al. they may also believe that there is nothing that can truly prepare us for a future with artificial life. After reflecting on what we can glean from the answers to ethical questions in similar cases found in the disciplines of “animal experimentation, genetic engineering, and artificial intelligence” (Bedau 375), the authors quickly go on to add that these new forms of artificial life “place us in an increasingly unexplored ethical terrain. ethics, until they are able to provide answers to the many new questions and dilemmas that are sure to be raised by the existence of artificial life. In short: We'll probably have to make it up as we go along.