Page - 100 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

100 • Cyborg Mind possible advantages against eventual drawbacks. These ethical hurdles will also have to consider the way in which a decision is made to use such pro- cedures. These include whether legitimate reasons exist to limit individuals from making their own decisions, the manner in which they consent to unidentified risks to themselves and to others, and the consequences that the procedures may have for the whole of society. This may especially be the case with any procedure interfering with the brain, since it is closely associated with a person’s sense of identify and self. In other words, any inadvertent changes to an individual’s brain may have an effect on how he or she under- stands who he or she really is. Moreover, since the short-term and long-term effects of such new inter- faces are unknown, their personal and societal implications need to be carefully examined before being considered as ordinary applications.2 In addition, because some benefits and harms may be more significant than others, the way in which these are balanced against each other may not always be straightforward. On this account, it is crucial to examine what importance should be given to each possible benefit and harm, while then making a judgement about their relative merits. When considering harms, it is essential to note that terms such as ‘mini- mal risk’ may be understood in different ways. For example, it may imply a small risk to a large number of persons or a small risk of very serious harm to a few individuals. This means that it is not just the seriousness of the risk that matters, but also the probability of the harm actually occurring and whether a large number of persons would be affected. Of course, with an increase in understanding of the brain and its func- tions, it may also become possible to better quantify and minimise any risks. However, some residual uncertainty will always remain about long-term use, though this is no different from other forms of biological interventions.3 One final aspect which should be considered is the way in which percep- tions concerning a procedure, such as neuronal interfaces, may change over time. At first, they may be seen as new and ethically controversial, but over the years may become increasingly seen as normal, more commonplace and acceptable. In the following sections, some of the individual and societal ethical challenges already arising from traditional interfaces with computers and cyberspace will be examined in order to put into context some of the new future possibilities that may arise from the development of direct neuronal interfaces. However, as will become evident, these new interfaces will give rise to far more sensitive ethical questions than actually exist with present technologies. For instance, in addition to the concerns over privacy that are already present with information technology, neuronal appliances may actu- ally affect the very manner in which humanity may be understood as Homo 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.