Page - 153 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

Cyberneuroethics • 153 the 2013 science-fiction film Her, directed by the American Spike Jonze. It tells the story of Theodore, a lonely man in the final stages of his divorce, who eventually falls in love with his computer program, which is advertised as the world’s first artificially intelligent operating system. But it is not just an oper- ating system  – it is a consciousness called Samantha. As they start spending time together, he grows increasingly closer to Samantha and eventually finds himself in love. This reflects the problem that if truth and reality are lost, concerns and confusions may then arise. Thus, the online and offline identities of an individual may converge into one single identity in some activities and diverge in others. This may depend on whether some individuals would increasingly prefer to live through their avatars and whether there is a deliberate attempt to keep them separate. One example of how the online and offline identities of an individual may converge is in the use of the Internet for sex, with reports from 2013 sug- gesting that about 14 per cent of all searches and 4 per cent of websites are devoted to sex.225 Cybersex is also possible in which a virtual sex encounter may take place between two or more people, connected remotely via a com- puter network, who send each other sexually explicit messages and/or images describing sexual experiences. In this case, the online sexual imagery and events may have direct and worrying effects on real vulnerable persons. Conflict between Online and Offline Identities In the future, the take-up of social media is likely to increase even further and may enable people to express different aspects of their identities. Maintaining an online presence could become normalised to the point where refusing to participate in online media could appear unconventional and may result in exclusion. Moreover, individuals may increasingly find that their online identities are created or mediated by others. The persistence and availability of data on the Internet means that social and biographical identities may also increasingly be merged to a greater degree across social and professional spheres. This means that as societies engage with emerging technologies, there is a need to consider the potential impact on malleable self-identities and ensure there are no unintended or unnecessary detrimental consequences. However, it is impossible to be certain whether the modification of the identities of per- sons through the availability of virtual realities is positive, negative or neutral. For example, neuronal interfaces may be useful if they help people engage in more outgoing and positive behaviours or take on more challenging roles. On the other hand, it may encourage antisocial or pathological behaviour, or result in increased affiliation with subversive elements. 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.