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Cyberneuroethics • 109
tion continued online. And lo and behold we ‘were working’. By contrast, in
the UK, if I worked late I would often draft emails but save them in my inbox
and send them first thing the next morning. That now seems ridiculous and
archaic to me. Emails are constant here. It’s not that they expect you to answer
out of office hours. More that everyone is ‘switched on’ all the time
– that’s the
culture and pace of New York. I never really heard the concept of work/life bal-
ance when I got to the US. There wasn’t much complaining as people’s expecta-
tions were different. It’s not just in the corporate world. When my family were
moving here and trying to get an apartment I remember being surprised and
delighted that our realtor was calling and emailing us late on a Saturday night.29
Concern also exists about the overwhelming effects of a constant stream of
information. The apparent need for some persons to be permanently online
in order to interact with programmes and other persons through social net-
works is increasingly becoming a problem. Experts are worried that addiction
to new technology is having a negative psychological impact, causing anxiety
when a device is not accessible.30
In 2008, the U.K. Post Office commissioned a research study that coined
the term ‘nomophobia’ (short for ‘no mobile phobia’) to describe the stress
and panic arising from a lack of mobile connectivity. The study found that
53 per cent of mobile phone users developed significant anxiety when their
phone was lost, out of network coverage or out of battery. However, it was
suggested that this obsession with new technology may be reduced as the
novelty wore off,31 although, more recently, a new type of social anxiety called
‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FoMO) has been described. This is defined as an indi-
vidual’s fear that others may be having rewarding experiences that he or she is
missing out on. It is also expressed in a desire to stay permanently connected
to sources of information about what others are doing. As a result, there
seemed to be an inability by some affected by FoMO to commit to anything
out of a fear of having to change their plans in order to not miss out.32
It is further recognised that some games can be somewhat addictive to cer-
tain players when they are constantly being challenged and rewarded while
moving through the skill levels that reinforce the player’s attention. But, at
the same time, being permanently immersed in a fictional virtual world may
reduce a player’s interest in dealing with people in the external real world and
may even encourage him or her to escape the difficulties of this world.
On a more calamitous note, concerns also exist that the whole electronic
system may eventually shut down in a catastrophic collapse, making it
impossible for individuals to access their information on which they have
become so dependent. If ever a future cyber-attack took place, with all cyber-
communication breaking down, the consequences would be monumental.
But, of course, there are also advantages in being connected to cyber-
space. The Internet gives access to a large volume of useful and practical
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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Cyborg Mind
What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics
- Title
- Cyborg Mind
- Subtitle
- What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics
- Author
- Calum MacKellar
- Publisher
- Berghahn Books
- Date
- 2019
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 978-1-78920-015-7
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.9 cm
- Pages
- 264
- Keywords
- Singularity, Transhumanism, Body modification, Bioethics
- Category
- Technik
Table of contents
- 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