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110 • Cyborg Mind
information, such as books and articles. Some may even feel a sense of
reward from gaining an ever-increasing amount of such information.
Improved access to the Internet may also allow individuals to keep in
touch more easily and frequently with family and friends.33 This means that
events that occur elsewhere in the world can have an immediate impact on
persons.34
In short, when considering the possible risks and advantages of hyper-
connectivity to the Internet, it should be recognised that this is already part
of modern life. This means that if a direct neuronal interface eventually
becomes available, accessing cyberspace through the mind of a person may
just continue on a trend that has already started. Many more individuals may
then increasingly spend ever more time in cyberspace, which may eventually
become the ‘normal’ space in which to interact with others because it may be
far more attractive than the ‘real’ space of reality.
Virtual Worlds
As already mentioned, an increasing engagement in virtual worlds is already
developing in modern society. This makes it possible to define three general
types of virtual reality, depending on how much the user may perceive and
engage with the virtual world:35
– fully immersive (with head-mounted and other devices attached to the
body);
– semi-immersive (with large projection screens); and
– non-immersive, such as using a personal computer.
The above classification is characterised by the level of immersion in the
virtual world, with non-immersive virtual worlds influencing a larger pro-
portion of the population, at present, than more immersive forms of virtual
reality.
Within virtual worlds, it is also possible to recognise two categories, with
ludic virtual worlds describing rule-based games involving direct competition
between players, and paidic worlds promoting free play and creativity, with
less emphasis on rule-constrained competition.36
One of the most popular examples of the paidic type of virtual worlds is
the already-mentioned Second Life. Although joining this world is free, users
often need to purchase items using a virtual currency called Linden dol-
lars. In this way, it is possible to buy clothes or sell houses for other people’s
avatars. There is even an exchange rate with the U.S. dollar.37
The attraction of spending time on Second Life is that persons are able to
set aside their problems in the real world and instead change their reality,
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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