Elizabeth Anne Holmes was exposed to cutting-edge research and visionary
ideas during her time at Stanford, which helped shape her concept for a
transformative health company. In her sophomore year, she dropped out to
fully pursue her ambition of founding a healthcare corporation. That same
year, she launched Real-Time Cures, later renamed Theranos, which
promised to revolutionize the blood testing industry by conducting over 200
tests with just a few drops of blood using a single device called "Edison."
Holmes's charisma, influential connections, and compelling vision attracted
prominent figures and investors who were eager to back a company with
such potential, reminiscent of early investments in Apple. This lack of
skepticism led to significant misjudgments, resulting in Holmes securing
approximately $724 million from venture capitalists and achieving an
estimated valuation of nearly $10 billion.

 

It's a controversial debate if Holmes dreams of honestly helping the health
industry lose against greed for success. But people lean to consider that it all
began because of good intentions since Elizabeth decided to create her
blood-testing machinery to prevent others' early departure, like her uncle
who died of skin cancer.

 

Firstly, she started working to make the idea of "Edison" a reality. She
encouraged the Theranos workers, telling them that with this machine, they
would be transforming the blood-testing area. Yet, scientific evidence
suggested that it was technologically impossible for such machinery to exist,
which could lead to flawed outcomes and incorrect diagnoses.

 

This situation made the businesswoman face an ethical dilemma, where she
would need to lie about its functionality or face defeat that her idea wasn't
meant to move forward. For her, the possibility of saving lives was the sole
reason to justify her unethical acts, even though she was putting at risk
many others. Because of this, her goal changed to make the whole process
look like it works, using manufactured reports and fake statements about it.

 

Even so, it is impossible to determine whether the Theranos case was or
wasn't morally right since it can be observed through different lenses of
ethics.

 

The deontological point of view emphasizes the importance of adhering to
moral duties regardless of the outcomes. Keeping that in mind, Holmes
blatantly violated the core concepts of Deontology, as she used unethical
ways during the process, constantly manufacturing reports, and
misrepresented the functionality of the machine to secure investments. By
doing that, she prioritized her own wealth over ethical obligations.

 

After a careful investigation, it was evident that Holmes was aware of the
concerns and unreality of the project but refused to make it public to evade
accountability while keeping the project on track. It aligns with Linsey
McGoey’s "Strategic Ignorance" concept, meaning she intentionally avoided
information that would probably overpower her plan.

 

Furthermore, Elizabeth is not the only culprit. The investors also have
responsibility since their careless attitude of supporting financially without
even requiring to see the technology operate was indispensable to give the
work more credibility. This concept corresponds to the psychological term
"Confirmation Bias." It indicates that humans tend to choose information that
supports their own beliefs. In this case, the investors opted to believe
Holmes's reports since they assumed the machinery would work and that
they would have a role in it.

 

Overall, the Theranos case can be used in lessons about business ethics.
Elizabeth's point of view presents that keeping a transparent relationship is
far better than financial success. The lens of the investors taught the
importance of carefully examining where you are getting into and how a
brilliant idea can have a different structure supporting it. Thus,
businesspeople carry an influence that can get out of control, violating
ethical ways that are praised.

 

Fontes:

Deontologia:

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-deontological/

 

Ignorância estratégica:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230803188_The_Logic_of_Strategic
_Ignorance

 

Confirmation Bias:
https://www.scribbr.com/research-bias/confirmation-bias/#:~:text=Confirmati
on%20bias%20is%20the%20tendency,that%20supports%20our
%20preexisting%20beliefs

 

Caso Theranos:

https://canaltech.com.br/startup/caso-theranos-entenda-a-ascensao-
e-queda-de-uma-promessa-da-biotecnologia-207450/

 

Documentário:

“À Procura de Sangue no Vale do Silício”