Page - 230 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

230 • Cyborg Mind Yet, at the same time, direct neuronal interface systems already exist and will continue to be developed at a rapid rate by both academic and industrial stakeholders with important applications to: – the sciences; – defence and intelligence gathering; – medicine; and – the game and toy industry. As such, it is certain that they will have a profound and significant impact on society. The Spanish biological scientist Rafael Yuste and others explain: It might take years or even decades until [neuronal interfaces] . . . and other neurotechnologies are part of our daily lives. But technological develop- ments mean that we are on a path to a world in which it will be possible to decode people’s mental processes and directly manipulate the brain mechanisms underlying their intentions, emotions and decisions; where individuals could communicate with others simply by thinking; and where powerful computational systems linked directly to people’s brains aid their interactions with the world such that their mental and physical abilities are greatly enhanced.4 Within this context, however, the ethical challenges of future societies will need to be carefully examined. Yuste explains: Such advances could revolutionize the treatment of many conditions, from brain injury and paralysis to epilepsy and schizophrenia, and transform human experience for the better. But the technology could also exacerbate social inequalities and offer corporations, hackers, governments or anyone else new ways to exploit and manipulate people. And it could profoundly alter some core human characteristics: private mental life, individual agency and an understanding of individuals as entities bound by their bodies.5 What will actually be possible is only beginning to be considered and more discussions should be encouraged with respect to any long-term policy con- siderations. Moreover, at present, no specific legislations exist, either nation- ally or internationally, to regulate and control the use of such neuronal interfaces. This is because the technology is new and the current benefits of such systems generally exceed the potential risks, but this may change in the future.6 In 1931, Aldous Huxley published a book entitled Brave New World, which depicted a society in which human genetic engineering is ubiquitous and where happiness is controlled by biotechnology. A few years later, in 1949, another book was published, this time by the English novelist George 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.