(Reuters) - A British ethics group has launched a debate on the ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies that tap into the brain and could bring super-human strength, highly enhanced concentration or thought-controlled weaponry.
With the prospect of future
conflicts between armies controlling weapons with their minds, the
Nuffield Council on Bioethics launched a consultation on Thursday to
consider the risks of blurring the lines between humans and machines.
"Intervening
in the brain has always raised both hopes and fears in equal measure.
Hopes of curing terrible diseases, and fears about the consequences of
trying to enhance human capability beyond what is normally possible,"
said Thomas Baldwin, a professor of philosophy at Britain's York
University who is leading the study.
"These
challenge us to think carefully about fundamental questions to do with
the brain: What makes us human? What makes us an individual? And how and
why do we think and behave in the way we do?."
The
Council, an independent body which looks at ethical issues raised by
new developments in biology and medicine, wants to focus on three main
areas of neurotechnologies that change the brain: brain-computer
interfaces (BCIs), neurostimulation techniques such as deep brain
stimulation (DBS) or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and neural
stem cell therapy.
These
technologies are already at various stages of development for use in the
treatment of medical conditions including Parkinson's disease,
depression and stroke, and experts think they could bring significant
benefits, especially for patients with severe brain disease or damage.
GROWING FAST
But
they also have huge potential outside the health context. In military
applications, BCIs are being used to develop weapons or vehicles
controlled remotely by brain signals, and there is big commercial scope
in the gaming industry with the development of computer games controlled
by people's thoughts.
Speaking at a
briefing to launch the consultation, Baldwin said the estimated total
global market for all neurotechnologies - including pharmaceuticals for
the treatment of brain disorders - is around $150 billion.
"Setting
pharmaceuticals aside, the value of the market for the devices and
technologies we are dealing with is something in the region of $8
billion, and growing fast," he said.
Kevin
Warwick, a professor of Cybernetics at the University of Reading and a
supporter of more neurotechnology research, said some experimental brain
technologies had great potential in medicine.
"From
the brain signals, a brain computer interface could translate a
person's desire to move ... and then use those signals to operate a
wheelchair or other piece of technology," he said. "For someone who has
locked-in syndrome, for example, and cannot communicate, a BCI could be
life-changing."
But he and Baldwin
also stressed there are concerns about safety of some experimental
techniques that involve implants in the brain, and about the ethics of
using such technology in other medicine and other fields.
"If
brain-computer interfaces are used to control military aircraft or
weapons from far away, who takes ultimate responsibility for the
actions? Could this be blurring the line between man and machine?"
Baldwin said.
The ethics council's
consultation is at www.nuffieldbioethics.org/neurotechnology. The
deadline for responses is April 23 and it expects to publish a report
with recommendations in 2013.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
0 التعليقات:
Post a Comment