Brain-machine interface: New challenge for humanity (original) (raw)
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The Mind and the Machine. On the Conceptual and Moral Implications of Brain-Machine Interaction
NanoEthics, 2009
Brain-machine interfaces are a growing field of research and application. The increasing possibilities to connect the human brain to electronic devices and computer software can be put to use in medicine, the military, and entertainment. Concrete technologies include cochlear implants, Deep Brain Stimulation, neurofeedback and neuroprosthesis. The expectations for the near and further future are high, though it is difficult to separate hope from hype. The focus in this paper is on the effects that these new technologies may have on our 'symbolic order'-on the ways in which popular categories and concepts may change or be reinterpreted. First, the blurring distinction between man and machine and the idea of the cyborg are discussed. It is argued that the morally relevant difference is that between persons and nonpersons, which does not necessarily coincide with the distinction between man and machine. The concept of the person remains useful. It may, however, become more difficult to assess the limits of the human body. Next, the distinction between body and mind is discussed. The mind is increasingly seen as a function of the brain, and thus understood in bodily and mechanical terms. This raises questions concerning concepts of free will and moral responsibility that may have far reaching consequences in the field of law, where some have argued for a revision of our criminal justice system, from retributivist to consequentialist. Even without such a (unlikely and unwarranted) revision occurring, brain-machine interactions raise many interesting questions regarding distribution and attribution of responsibility.
The mind and the machine. On the conceptual and moral implications of brain machine interfaces
Abstract Brain-machine interfaces are a growing field of research and application. The increasing possibilities to connect the human brain to electronic devices and computer software can be put to use in medicine, the military, and entertainment. Concrete technologies include cochlear implants, Deep Brain Stimulation, neurofeedback and neuroprosthesis. The expectations for the near and further future are high, though it is difficult to separate hope from hype. The focus in this paper is on the effects that these new technologies may have on our ‘symbolic order’—on the ways in which popular categories and concepts may change or be reinterpreted. First, the blurring distinction between man and machine and the idea of the cyborg are discussed. It is argued that the morally relevant difference is that between persons and nonpersons, which does not necessarily coincide with the distinction between man and machine. The concept of the person remains useful. It may, however, become more difficult to assess the limits of the human body. Next, the distinction between body and mind is discussed. The mind is increasingly seen as a function of the brain, and thus understood in bodily and mechanical terms. This raises questions concerning concepts of free will and moral responsibility that may have far reaching consequences in the field of law, where some have argued for a revision of our criminal justice system, from retributivist to consequentialist. Even without such a (unlikely and unwarranted) revision occurring, brain-machine interactions raise many interesting questions regarding distribution and attribution of responsibility.
The Interpenetration of Mind and Machine
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000
We here provide our assessment of the growing intimacy which is the relationships between humans and technology. With the development of each more innovative and intimate system, the line between human and machine is becoming increasingly blurred. The concept of human qua human and machine qua machine are no longer situated at polar extremes of a human versus automation spectrum. Rather, human and machine represent a converging dyad that is evolving toward a hybrid commonalty. Within this overarching context, we discuss the concept of intimacy using four basic dimensions: i) the internal perspective, ii) the external extension, iii) interpersonal interaction, and finally, iv) the societal reflection. Through the use of three case study personae (a disabled individual, a military operative, and a student), these dimensions are shown to be flexible to the characterization of various classes of users and can thus be used to frame the multilevel and emerging impacts of emergent physical and cognitive intimacy.
2015
Imagine you want your computer or any computing device to perform an action. But before you have to get up and interact with it, the device is already doing it! Because directly from your intention, from your thoughts the control signal for the action is identified. Would such a novel interaction technique be of interest for us or would it be too scary? How far is the technology already towards the line of direct brain-controlled or brain-responsive devices? In this chapter we will introduce the field of brain-computer interfaces, which allows the direct control of devices without the generation of any active motor output. The control of brain-actuated robots, wheelchairs and neuroprosthesis will be presented and the concepts behind, like context awareness or hybrid systems are explained. Furthermore, also cognitive signals or mental states are possible sources of interaction. Whenever our brain identified an error performed by the system, we could automatically correct it, or based on our attention or other mental states the interaction system could adapt itself towards our current needs in speed, support or autonomy. Especially, since human computer confluence (HCC) refers to invisible, implicit, embodied or even implanted interaction between humans and system components. Brain-computer interfaces are just one possible option to achieve such a goal, but how would we or our brain embody such external devices into our body schema?
Brain to Computer Communication: Ethical Perspectives on Interaction Models
Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) enable one to control peripheral ICT and robotic devices by processing brain activity on-line. The potential usefulness of BCI systems, initially demonstrated in rehabilitation medicine, is now being explored in education, entertainment, intensive workflow monitoring, security, and training. Ethical issues arising in connection with these investigations are triaged taking into account technological imminence and pervasiveness of BCI technologies. By focussing on imminent technological developments, ethical reflection is informatively grounded into realistic protocols of brain-to-computer communication. In particular, it is argued that human-machine adaptation and shared control distinctively shape autonomy and responsibility issues in current BCI interaction environments. Novel personhood issues are identified and analyzed too. These notably concern (i) the “sub-personal” use of human beings in BCI-enabled cooperative problem solving, and (ii) the pro-active protection of personal identity which BCI rehabilitation therapies may afford, in the light of so-called motor theories of thinking, for the benefit of patients affected by severe motor disabilities.
Journal of Neural Engineering, 2008
The theoretical groundwork of the 1930's and 1940's and the technical advance of computers in the following decades provided the basis for dramatic increases in human efficiency. While computers continue to evolve, and we can still expect increasing benefits from their use, the interface between humans and computers has begun to present a serious impediment to full realization of the potential payoff. This article is about the theoretical and practical possibility that direct communication between the brain and the computer can be used to overcome this impediment by improving or augmenting conventional forms of human communication. It is about the opportunity that the limitations of our body's input and output capacities can be overcome using direct interaction with the brain, and it discusses the assumptions, possible limitations, and implications of a technology that I anticipate will be a major source of pervasive changes in the coming decades.
… in theory and …, 2008
8 The New Interface of Brain, Mind, and Machine: Will the Emergent Whole Be Greater than the Sum of the Parts? Chris Berka, Daniel J. Levendowski, Gene Davis, Vladimir T. Zivkovic, Milenko M. Cvetinovic, and Richard E. Olmstead CONTENTS 8.1. The. Intersection. of. Brain,. ...
Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, 2009
This reviews the first of a tripartite symposia series dealing with novel neuroscientific technologies, the nature of consciousness and being, and the questions that arise from such interactions. The event took place on May 8 2009, at Georgetown University, and brought together ten leading figures on fields ranging from Neuroscience and Robotics to Philosophy, that commented on their research and provided ethical, moral and practical insight and perspectives into how these technologies can shape the future of neuroscientific and human development, as well as denoting the potential abuses and the best way to proceed about them.
Exploring Frontiers of the Mind-Brain Relationship
The British Journal of Psychiatry, 2013
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Technologies of the Mind: The Brain as a High-Tech Device
Symphony of Matter and Mind. Part Five., 2021
The brain is the source of sensations, emotions, desires, thoughts, memories, movement and behavior control. All these are aspects of the process we call the Mind. Despite a vast amount of data on the nervous system functioning down to the molecular level, no concept has yet uncovered the physical mechanism and the technology of this process. With this aim in sight, the author continues to develop the Teleological Transduction Theory. The book contains hypotheses about the physical nature of the Mind and provides examples of how physics manifests in the nervous system physiology. It also shows how the Mind’s algorithm produces a reality model with constant updating based on incoming data and performs the self-learning functions. The theory encompasses the physical processes that create the enormous capacity, speed and multi-level complexity of our memory. It solves the riddle of how the brain forms and reproduces a vast number of representations almost instantly. A significant part of the book is devoted to the teleology of all these technological solutions. Building a model of reality is not an end to itself. The final goal is to act based on this model. The nervous system specializes in controlling the body and organizing purposeful movement. But how does it perform the function? The book contains hypotheses about the technology and physical mechanism that create the observed speed and efficiency of motion control. Taking all these aspects together, the proposed theory claims to finally cover the explanatory gap about the physical nature of the Mind.