Page - 83 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

Neuronal Interface Systems • 83 microsystems that communicate wirelessly with external modules, such as a prosthesis interface link, to deliver naturalistic sensations to amputees’.168 – Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) aiming ‘to develop an implantable neural interface able to provide unprecedented signal reso- lution and data-transfer bandwidth between the brain and the digital world’.169 – Neuro Function, Activity, Structure and Technology (Neuro-FAST) aiming ‘to enable unprecedented visualization and decoding of brain activity to better characterize and mitigate threats to the human brain, as well as facilitate development of brain-in-the loop systems to accelerate and improve functional behaviors’.170 – Restoring Active Memory (RAM) aiming ‘to develop and test a wireless, fully implantable neural-interface medical device for human clinical use. The device would facilitate the formation of new memories and retrieval of existing ones in individuals who have lost these capacities as a result of traumatic brain injury or neurological disease’.171 – Reliable Neural-Interface Technology (RE-NET) aiming ‘to develop the technologies needed to reliably extract information from the nervous system, and to do so at a scale and rate necessary to control complex machines, such as high-performance prosthetic limbs’.172 – Revolutionizing Prosthetics aiming ‘to continue increasing functionality of DARPA-developed arm systems to benefit Service members and others who have lost upper limbs’.173 – Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies (SUBNETS) aiming ‘to create implanted, closed-loop diagnostic and therapeutic sys- tems for treating neuropsychological illnesses’.174 SUBNET could, for example, include deep brain stimulators in order to address neurologi- cal disorders such as post-traumatic stress, major depression and chronic pain.175 In addition, DARPA has been developing a research programme enti- tled ‘Silent Talk’, which could facilitate brain-to-brain communication. Interestingly, the possibility of an immediate exchange of thoughts between a number of human beings, using for example a WiFi system, may serve to blur the distinction between an individual’s particular sense of self and that of a collective of persons all linked into the same system.176 In this regard, the Dublin-based ethicists Fiachra O’Brolchain and Bert Gordijn indicate that: ‘Determining the individual consciousness in such a situation may become increasingly difficult.’177 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.