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176 • Cyborg Mind
vision, but many can see the appeal of being able to ‘escape’ reality and live
within such a system.
Nevertheless, the American computer game developer Jason Rohrer is
sceptical about the immortality aim suggested by posthumanism. Because
of this, he created in 2007 the virtual game Immortality, where players can
choose immortality and then build structures with blocks. If they grow bored,
however, they can quit voluntarily by choosing death. Rohrer openly admits
that the game plays with the ‘faith’ espoused by posthumanism and acts as a
thought experiment, while asking questions about the aim and meaning of
immortality. He notes: ‘We generally assume that immortality is good, just as
we assume that death is bad. Of course, universal immortality (all six billion
of us) would be physically impractical. But what about individual immortal-
ity? What about for you? If you could become immortal, would you?’348
The game initiated much online debate including on the Internet site The
Escapist in 2008, where it was released. Interestingly, many commentators
were not so negative about the prospect of immortality and the many options
that might be available to those with eternal youth. In fact, some who played
the game believed that it strongly supported the case for choosing immortal-
ity. But most commentators found that the game failed to fully illustrate the
many options that may be available to those with eternal youth, which was the
declared preference of a considerable majority. Among the thirty-eight posts
in which a position on immortality was taken, twenty-eight favoured it.349
Whether or not mind uploading or posthumanist immortality is a realistic
possibility, such aspirations did appear to have been important to the online
virtual world Second Life. Its American creator, Philip Rosedale, suggested
that to be limited by the confines of the human skeleton is not something
to be embraced350 and that there was also value in trying to figure out how
to escape death.351 This resonates with his willingness to believe that some
posthumanist dreams might be realised. Indeed, he appears to accept, with
reservations, the basic premise of mind uploading, claiming that: ‘There’s a
reasonable argument that we’ll be able to leave our bodies behind by upload-
ing into virtual reality.’352
Body-Mind Questions in Computers
Given the different perspectives and interpretations relating to personal iden-
tity, the very possibility that some identities may change if their material
supports were modified should also be considered. Bostrom indicates in this
regard that: ‘Substrate is morally irrelevant. Whether somebody is imple-
mented on silicon or biological tissue, if it does not affect functionality or
consciousness, is of no moral significance. Carbon-chauvinism is objection-
able on the same grounds as racism.’353
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