Page - 28 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

28 • Cyborg Mind In the case of neuronal interfaces, this began with bestselling science- fiction books, including the 1972 novel written by the American Michael Crichton (1942–2008) entitled The Terminal Man. This recounts the story of a man with brain damage receiving experimental, computer-controlled elec- trodes in his brain designed to prevent seizures, but that he eventually abuses for pleasurable aims. Concerns that new brain–computer interfaces could possibly be misused by a government or the military have also been examined. In the 1981 BBC serial The Nightmare Man, a futuristic mini-submarine is wired by a brain implant to its captain, who then turns to murder after having ripped out the implant. However, perhaps the most prominent early science-fiction novels relat- ing to brain–computer interfaces were written by William Gibson. In 1981 he published Johnny Mnemonic, which tells the story of a young data traf- ficker who has undergone an operation enabling him to have a large data storage system implanted in his head. This was then followed in 1984 by a novel entitled Neuromancer, which was the first to be characterised under the ‘cyberpunk’ genre, which is a subgenre of science fiction featuring advanced technological and scientific achievements. In the book, mercenaries are enhanced through the use of brain implants that are linked up through a ‘matrix’ (which is the first time the term is used in this context). Gibson’s writings initiated an explosion of similar books, films and other media exploring brain–computer interfaces, such as the 1989 role-playing game Shadowrun. His book Johnny Mnemonic was even made into a film with the same title in 1995, which was directed by Robert Longo. This story was also the basis of the 1999 film entitled The Matrix and its subsequent sequels. Another example of neuronal interfaces being used in fiction is the 1989 Japanese manga illustrated series entitled Ghost in the Shell, written by Masamune Shirow (the pen name of Japanese manga artist Masanori Ota), which follows a fictional counter-cyberterrorist organisation in the mid twenty-first century.4 Computer technology is so advanced that many members of the public have enhanced (augmented) cyberbrains allowing their biological brains to interface with various networks. It is even possible to transplant human brains into completely robotic bodies so that individu- als have permanent access to cyberspace.5 This gives them a vastly increased memory capacity, total recall and the ability to view another person’s memo- ries on external viewing devices, as well as to initiate telepathic conversation with other cyberbrain users. But this high level of interconnectedness also makes the brain vulnerable to attacks from highly skilled hackers, includ- ing those who will hack a person in order to completely control their will, change their memory and deliberately distort their subjective reality and experience. 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.