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Pharmacological cognitive enhancement in the 
workplace: new interdisciplinary challenges
Toni Pustovrh
University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Social Sciences, Ljubljana, 
Slovenia, e-mail: tony.pustovrh@gmail.com
Over the last decade, the part of the scientific community 
that deals with the study of the ethical, legal and societal 
implications of new technologies and technological trends 
has become increasingly interested in the phenomenon of 
enhancing the cognitive capabilities of healthy humans through 
pharmacological means. In this context, especially students 
from the US are supposed to be using prescription drugs 
such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) and modafinil (Provigil) 
for learning and successfully coping with exams and project 
assignments. Such use is supposedly also widespread among 
other social groups, for example, in different professions 
where it is important to maintain long-term concentration, 
attention and alertness, and where there are strong pressures 
to be highly productive, efficient and competitive. Thus, 
such substances are presumably also in use among surgeons, 
nurses, pilots, researchers, financial traders, entrepreneurs 
and soldiers. This contribution will address questions such as 
what kind of substances and effects we are talking about, how 
their use is connected with different professions today and in 
the past, and what challenges and implications they present 
for the future of work and the workers themselves. Finally, 
we will also touch on some aspects of modern work and 
life that encourage such use, as well as some of the broader 
ethical and societal issues respectively implications that such 
technological trends bring with them.
Plenarna predavanja / Keynotes