Page - 232 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

232 • Cyborg Mind In a pertinent essay entitled ‘Dreaming with Diderot’, written in 2007, the American sociologist and bioethicist James Hughes looks back at the book D’Alembert’s Dream, written in 1769 by the French philosopher Denis Diderot, in order to discuss future possibilities. Accordingly, Hughes high- lights the fictional philosophical dialogues between Diderot, his friend d’Alembert, a physician called Bordeu and an educated woman called Mademoiselle de L’Espinasse. In the discussion, Diderot suggests that since human consciousness is a result of the brain, the human mind can, in theory, be deconstructed and rebuilt to give the original.11 But whether Diderot’s proposal may eventually be realised with the devel- opment and convergence of disciplines such as neurobiology, computer science, artificial intelligence and neuronal interfaces is an open question. However, what is certain is that human brains will increasingly be integrated with advanced computers because of the advantages these may offer. Human beings may then experience greater levels of sensations, such as sights and sounds, or be able to improve their memories and intelligence, while also avoiding fatigue and inattention. They may even be able to better control their emotions while being more resistant to depression, compulsion and mental disorders. In addition, as artificial intelligence merges into human minds, it may be possible for humanity to deconstruct, rebuilt and redesigned itself in a manner that cannot yet be predicted.12 D’Alembert asks: ‘[I]f everything is in a state of flux, as the spectacle of the universe shows everywhere, what might not be the result here and elsewhere of several million years of changes?’13 In Diderot’s book, the educated lady also points out that since the mind is connected by nerves to the body, all minds in the universe could be inter- connected to one another (like a Universe Wide Web), to which the doctor responds that if such a web were to develop, it would be comparable to God.14 In a way, Diderot’s discussion of such a possibility seems to herald many other later suggestions that humanity should aim to develop interconnectivity with machines and between individuals to form a community or collective. However, it is impossible to predict whether such a community of all that exists would represent a utopian paradise or a dystopian nightmare in which the very individuality of a person is lost, absorbed or controlled by the collec- tive.15 The educated woman questions: ‘Who knows what new species may once again evolve from such a huge mass of sensitive and living particles?’16 Human Autonomy While there is much to welcome in the development of neuronal interfaces, especially when new biomedical applications are being developed, it is true 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.