World Science Scholars

3.6 The Future & Ethics

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    • As scientists consider the applications of Brain Machine Interfaces in humans, what are some areas you think could benefit from this technology? What might be some of the ethical considerations?

    • yes

    • When a body is withdrawn from reality, the ethical complication is to accept, am I really under my own will, or is it the machine that controls me. No one imagines a paraplegic committing a crime, for him/her later to declare himself/herself exempted from the law under the supposition that he was not him/her who did the crime, but rather the machine in them.

      • I see the law as having 3 functions: restorative, punishment and protect/corrective. Assuming your argument is accepted there is still no relief from financial liability for the victim’s loss. Further, criminal liability may be avoided, but it would be appropriate to permanently and forcibly reprogram your interface so that it is no longer possible for you to commit that type of activity in the future, which may have other undesirable side effects.

    • Vou escrever em Português. Parece-me ser adequado uma vez que o PHD MIguel conseguirá ler sem qualquer problema… 🙂
      A Ética neste tipo de situações deverá ser pensada sob o ponto de vista do paciente. Quem, por uma lesão medular deixou de andar não vai querer voltar a andar? De certeza que sim. Quem não iria querer voltar a ter uma função do corpo que perdeu? Mas reflectindo mais profundamente, o simples fato de pensarmos que podemos ter as nossas funções “restauradas” após perdidas não nos deixará um pouco desleixados em relação ao conceito de vida e sobrevivência? Não sei…
      Não se trata de máquinas ou humanos, de computadores a controlar o ser humano, mas sim da possibilidade do computador (máquina) ser reestruturado de acordo com o conceito de neuroplasticidade. Um paciente cujo cérebro foi ofendido por um AVC não tem direito a reabilitação? Claro que tem…. Penso que o que os entraves éticos colocados em relação à clonagem deverão ser colocados de parte nesta situação. Devem existir outras normativas éticas e legais direccionadas para esta nova situação? Penso que sim. De qualquer forma estou grato por ter tido a oportunidade, infelizmente tardia, aceder aos brilhantes conteúdos deste curso. Parabéns PHD MIguel e Colaboradores. Cumprimentos de Portugal.

    • There are so many benefits, that is exciting!
      From re-gaining the ability to sense and move, as shown in the last experiment, to maybe learn faster different skills like languages for example. But as always there is a downside in the implementation of these discoveries if we learn how to manipulate the brain in an external matter, we will be able to violate the freewill and that is dangerous. The bright side would be found if we are able to learn how to manipulate our own brain, induce this plasticity in our own system so every person is able to re-gain or develop motor, learning and sensing functions by their own.

    • I think all areas could benefit. Sight and hearing, besides movement, are my main targets for improving/re-establishing using BMIs. Another one that I’m personally curious about is creating new qualias, new emotions, but that requires us to do experiments on people (to have them report back what they feel) which has ethical implications thus it’s difficult to do.

    • I look forward to a memory interface, constantly recording my sensory inputs and thoughts for future recall. The power of no more lost thoughts nor inaccurate, incomplete memories. The ethical issue is, what does it take for someone to get the right to access that database?

    • Yes

    • The BMI technology can perhaps also have lot of psychological-clinical applications. Even restoring sight and hearing disorders maybe. I don’t see a lot of ethical stigma around it as the patient not only is able to perform actions but feel them too, making their brains sync with the divide that could have occurred if it was a purely mechanical output with no sensations.

    • Control of a gravitational potential controlling chest implant.

    • Security measures need to be in place, by having computer-brain or brain-brain interface capable humans opens them up to the possibility of corruption or worse malicious manipulation for personal gain.

      Considering BMI will be the technology of the future and is currently being used, caution should be exercised. As there are numerous military and espionage activities that could significantly benefit from signals intelligence that having these devices installed and operational on individuals would give to the community as a whole.

      But where do we draw the line between personal rights and freedoms, and security?

      It makes me wonder how we could hack into these devices to pilfer the transmission signals happening within people’s brains.

    • Hello Ladies and Gentlemen,

      The question, again, is the dream of all dreams. Where can we find freedom? Can we find the tools to talk to the afterlife and learn generational questions unanswerable by temporal life?

      Memory as a BMI can be extended- a shamanic, magical thing, but often granted by those who watch over us.

      BMI interfaces are all about ethics, principles, morals and humanity.

      This is why it is very important to find freedom in Existentialism- the freedom from dead teachings, dead philosophies, and cult of personality trends. There may have been no previous answers to BMI that need to be invented along the way as work in progress.

      We may be forced to use compromises, but we can seek truth.

      Some areas served well from BMI are mega machine movements, multiple machine, synchronized, movements, and distant machine actions.

      In Canada this means robot control by southerners to reap resources trapped in the isolation of the great white north.

    • Human-machine interfaces always have questions.

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    • Physical disability: If blind, physically handicapped will benefit from this technology. It can be applied to military or extremism, terrorism, individual people who are rich and unkind, and new problems will arise, even ethical problems (think of prolonging human lifespan, behavior that violates the laws of nature)

    • `

    • Medical,

    • Human bodies aren’t made for space or deep sea exploration, so we could link up with our devices. I don’t understand why such technologies are only aimed at medical use.

    • Ladies & Gentlemen,

      The former Astronaut and current MIT Prof. Jeffrey Hoffman has shown his use of just such a buddy device in his online course with MITx.

      It’s a good course, and Prof. Hoffman is in my Rolodex 🙂.

      CLG
      🙂
      🍵☕🍵🍵

      jhoffma1@mit.edu,

      617-452-2353

    • yup

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