Social And Ethical Impacts
Brain Computer Interface allow subjects thiat suffer from paralysis to be able to control computers with their mind to help lead a more comfortable life and more control, this is a groundbreaking and amazing development that could one day be able to help all peoples with disabilities. BCI has hardly any opposition within the community. It is seen as a system that can assist people with disabilities, or diseases.
However, the idea that a brain can be used as a biological computer to send and recieve information is a controversial subject.
There is one major problem though, that has begun to surface with BCI. In several cases (including Matt Nagel's) it has been monitored that the hardware that the brain is connected to has begun to understand what the patients wish to do and can translate them into actions. The systems are beginning to learn. They are creating an intellegence of their own in which they can predict what a patient wants to do. And it's relations change as patients' intentions change. This could create huge issues in the future in which the computers could indeed turn the tables, and learn to control the human brain, and it's activites, and even possibly shut down parts of it. Can anyone say Terminator? |
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