Mental sovereignty, says author Nita Farahany, is no longer a given:
Neurotechnologies today—devices that can measure and influence our brains and nervous systems—are growing in power and popularity. The neurotech marketplace, according to Precedence Research, is worth USD $14.3 billion this year and will exceed $20 billion within four years. Noninvasive brain-computer interfaces, brain stimulation devices, and brain-monitoring hardware (measuring alertness and attention at work, for example) are no longer just laboratory experiments and technological curios. The societal and legal implications of widespread neurotech adoption may be substantial.
Nita Farahany, professor of law and philosophy at Duke University, has written a new book, [...] which explores how our lives may be impacted by the use of brain-computer interfaces and neural monitoring devices.
Farahany argues that the development and use of neurotech presents a challenge to our current understanding of human rights. Devices designed to measure, record and influence our mental processes, used by us or on us, may infringe on our rights to mental privacy, freedom of thought, and mental self-determination. She calls this collection of freedoms the right to cognitive liberty. Spectrum spoke with Farahany recently about the future and present of neurotech and how to weigh its promises—enhanced capabilities, for instance, including bionics and prosthetics and even a third arm—against its potential to interfere with people's mental sovereignty.
An interview with Farahany is in the linked article.
Does neurotech's future fill you with optimism for a better world, or dread of what might follow?
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Wednesday March 29 2023, @03:20PM (5 children)
they haven't rebooted "The six million dollar man".
Could have a lot of fun with that.
Or, "Go-go Gadget Google Glass!", lol.
But Governments REALLY need to take AI out of the hands/ownership of corporations and make it owned by the people, free for all to use and no money charged for it's use and no profit to be made off it and not to be used by the military.
but then again, I think i'm still asleep and dreaming... was a long night with my son. :(
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 3, Funny) by jb on Thursday March 30 2023, @05:18AM (4 children)
Presumably due to inflation. These days $6 million might be just enough for an arm.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 30 2023, @09:33AM (2 children)
See 2:06 onwards ( Sanjeev Austin the 6 million rupee man ): https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6hc2tf [dailymotion.com]
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday March 30 2023, @02:17PM
Boy, that took me back: it reminded me of watching SCTV when i was younger.
"Don't touch that knob...don't touch that dial. And stop touching yourself!"
Comedy on the cheap, lol. Love it.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday March 30 2023, @02:27PM
Watched some more: the one guy even reminds me of Eugene Levy on SCTV.
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Gaaark on Thursday March 30 2023, @02:20PM
"The six million dollar man, plus a lot of product placements: tattoos of corporate logos, logo shaved into the back of his head, and what's that on his clothing? more product placements? And why's he holding that can of Cuke all the time?"
--- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Thursday March 30 2023, @02:20PM
Yes, yes it does.
The potential benefits are many, and the potential abuses are at least as great, and will likely need eternal vigilance to avoid.
And given our abysmal track record on the whole "eternal vigilance is the price of freedom" thing so far, and the eagerness with which militaries and intelligence agencies have repeatedly pursued various potential chemical mind control options, I think there's going to be many dark times in our future, quite possibly requiring many rounds of "instructional executions" to discourage repeated abuses for a generation or two.
But I don't see any realistic way to avoid those pitfalls. Even if we banned cybernetics entirely, it would just drive the research entirely into black projects dedicated to abusive uses, while denying us the many benefits.
So onwards, I suppose. And lets hope there is enough published research on how implants can be abused so that we can all recognize and avoid the ones that could do so.
Most of the benefits revolve around motor-sensory I/O, which should be difficult to abuse for anything beyond torture (which is nothing new and thus not worth worrying about much). It's implants that delve into the more cognitive regions of the brain that are ripe for more serious abuse.
But those should be easy to recognize, and even the "beneficial" mind-expanding applications of such implants are likely to mean serious personality changes. Altering the nature of your mind will inevitably alter *you*, and I suspect few people will be willing to surrender who they are for those benefits. So hopefully there will be no widespread adoption of such things, limiting potential abuse to those few who decided the risks and inherent price are worth it.