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Cyberneuroethics • 159
inside us, they become part of us, turning us into our own products and blur-
ring the lines we once drew between subjects and object, agent and effect’.243
This, in a way, also reflects the philosophical idea of ‘mind extension’
which suggests that the mind cannot simply be seen as something that is
resident in the brain since it can, in various ways, spread out instead into its
surroundings, merging with other things, places and other minds. As such,
Andy Clark, who is one of the leading philosophers of mind extension,
indicates that:
New waves of almost invisible, user-sensitive, semi-intelligent, knowledge-
based electronics and software are perfectly posed to merge seamlessly with
individual biological brains. In so doing they will ultimately blur the boundary
between the user and her knowledge-rich, responsive, unconsciously operat-
ing electronic environments. More and more parts of our worlds will come to
share the moral and psychological status of parts of our brains.244
The Canadian computer scientist and futurologist Hans Moravec even
indicates that it may, in the future, be possible to connect a human brain to a
computer in such a way that ‘in time, as your original brain faded away with
age, the computer would smoothly assume the lost functions. Ultimately
your brain would die, and your mind would find itself entirely in the com-
puter’.245 This means that when the human body eventually decays, this
brain–computer information exchange may be able to preserve the essence of
self-consciousness, personal histories and creative abilities.246
Another interesting area of research is computer-based brain simulation,
whereby neurobiological systems are used as models to create a computer
imitation of the entire brain, making it possible for a new digital mind to
emerge. As the U.K.-based bioethicists Sarah Chan and John Harris note:
‘The question is whether a computer that simulates the whole human brain
to a sufficiently realistic degree would become, in some sense, a human mind
or indeed any other sort of mind.’247
But could a nonbiological entity lacking any of the human physical attri-
butes ever be considered a ‘human’ being? Kurzweil believes that any new
human-like artificial intelligences that could evolve through such a process
will be ‘human even if they are not biological’248 and suggests that the term
‘human-machine intelligence’ should be used to highlight this fact. In this
way, Kurzweil’s main argument for the humanity of machine intelligence is
that it has evolved very slowly from beings who are undoubtedly human.249
There would then be ‘a world that is still human but that transcends our bio-
logical roots’ in which ‘there will be no distinction . . . between human and
machine or between physical and virtual reality’.250 Yet, as already indicated,
no definition of what is human exists and it is therefore difficult to set any
limits to what is human.
This open access edition has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale.
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Buch Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics"
Cyborg Mind
What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics
- Titel
- Cyborg Mind
- Untertitel
- What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics
- Autor
- Calum MacKellar
- Verlag
- Berghahn Books
- Datum
- 2019
- Sprache
- englisch
- Lizenz
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-1-78920-015-7
- Abmessungen
- 15.2 x 22.9 cm
- Seiten
- 264
- Schlagwörter
- Singularity, Transhumanism, Body modification, Bioethics
- Kategorie
- Technik
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Chapter 1. Why Use the Term ‘Cyberneuroethics’? 9
- Chapter 2. Popular Understanding of Neuronal Interfaces 25
- Chapter 3. Presentation of the Brain–Mind Interface 31
- Chapter 4. Neuronal Interface Systems 43
- Developments in Information Technology 44
- Developments in Understanding the Brain 45
- Developments in Neuronal Interfaces 46
- Procedures Involved in Neuronal Interfaces 47
- Output Neuronal Interface Systems: Reading the Brain and Mind 49
- Input Neuronal Interface Systems: Changing the Brain and Mind 57
- Feedback Systems of the Brain and Mind 67
- Ethical Issues Relating to the Technology of Neuronal Interfaces 84
- Chapter 5. Cyberneuroethics 99
- Chapter 6. Neuronal Interfaces and Policy 217
- New Cybercrimes 218
- Policy Concerns 223
- Conclusion 229
- Human Autonomy 232
- Resistance to Such a Development 234
- Risks of Neuronal Interfaces 234
- Appendix. Scottish Council on Human Bioethics Recommendations on
- Cyberneuroethics 239
- Glossary 244
- Index 251